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2004-10-01 - 12:11 p.m. How to build a cathedral In France, in the town of Chartres, just south of Paris, stands one of the oldest cathedrals in Europe. Built in the 12th century, over a period of nearly a hundred years, it is breathtaking. There is a story about the building of the Cathedral. It�s said that an Italian traveler visited the jobsite during the construction. He arrived at evening, just as the workmen were finishing their day�s labor. Of each man, he asked �What are you doing?� �I am a stonemason. I carve and fit the blocks.� �I am a glassblower. I make the sheets of colored glass for the windows.� �I am a smith. I work iron.� Then, the traveler saw an old women, sweeping up the stone chips, glass shards and iron filings from the day�s work. So, he asked her, �What are you doing?� The women leaned on her broom, looked up at the arches overhead, and replied, �Me? I�m building a cathedral to the Almighty God.� How bad has your week been, Theo? Well, I�m an engineer that got a new laptop on Monday and haven�t even turned it on yet� Yesterday, many people sat down together to resolve the issues that have haunted my professional life for the past weeks. At this point, I have no idea who considers me uncredible and who considers me incredible. At some point, it ceased to bother me. At some point, I remembered the sweeperwomen of Chartres, who had the step back, look up, and appreciate the larger view of how her efforts fit into an endeavor that she would never live to see completed. I�m building a mission who�s science data will improve mankind�s understanding of how the sun drives all life on our planet. So, what have you learned from all this? my dad asked me. Many things. If you want to listen to my woes, I will tell you about how my ethics and working style differ from others, how I need to grow a thicker skin in some areas, and how many other people need to find more courage in addressing their concerns. Most of all, I have learned that old lesson that just when you are all overwhelmed and have no time to breathe, is exactly when you need to make the time to step back and look up. So, what are you going to do about all this? I have made two huge pans of brownies and bought a ton of beer and drinks; tomorrow, I am paying off a bet � I bet my team they wouldn�t be the first to deliver and I lost. In fact, I�m feeding them all, even the ones in trouble, because I was raised to say thank you. By the way, if a leader ever bets you you can�t do something, it�s all a thinly veiled trick to encourage progress. Hmmmm. says Roland. My managers don�t buy me beer and chocolate. You don�t work for me. If you�ll excuse me, I need to go ice the coolers. � � Scribble to Theo previous - next �