The term for someone fascinated with rules, not changing outcomes, obsessing over imagined possible violations. A spectator at life.
Their work product is a shifting, unprioritized list of what could go wrong, real and imagined. It’s a task that doesn’t ever need to end, a full time occupation without effort.
I was playing in a golf tournament and was admiring an old guy’s line of chatter. One of our group took me aside and said the guy was a cheater, he fluffed his ball.
I said, “That’s no problem, it’s just a stroke. Did you call it?”
He said he had never personally seen it, but he had heard…
After the round, one of my playing partners was describing my birdie. His wife asked me, “Did you cheat?” Lady, I didn’t hit the ball enough times to cheat.
I was ordering a keg. Someone, not attached to the group, asked me, “Did you consider the less fortunate?”
I said I was ordering a keg. What did they want me to consider? Again, “Did you consider the less fortunate?” I missed their point, again.
This gets into focus. If you don’t choose your path, you probably won’t get where you want to go.
In crew settings, I watch some people attach value to delaying launch. I guess that’s because when no one is moving forward, they look like they are making an equal contribution. After others start producing, the rules baytus’ lack of contribution becomes obvious.
Launch is required to find out which possibilities are real. Completion is getting past the obstacles, forecast and random, that truly stand between you and the goal.
Time costs, rust never sleeps.
What did I miss?
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Isn’t it a shame that some folks will attribute winning to being a cheater – although there’s no indication of impropriety. Equally sad is when a person advocating a social change will launch the catch phrase at any opportunity – even when it makes no sense and does not advance the mission one little bit.
There are rare instances when the rules sheriff makes a positive difference – mostly they seem to be distracting Doers from actually completing the work.
Great post!