The Ruthless Work Ethic of Santa Claus
There’s this scene in Elf when Santa arrives back at his workshop. He just finished delivering all presents, the elves are celebrating; he steps in and says,
“Alright, alright. We’ve had another very successful year. So, after all that hard work, it’s time to start preparations for next Christmas.” — Santa
And how many times have people felt this?
You work your butt off.
Do great work.
Finish everything on time.
And your reward — more work.
In this scene, Santa couldn’t have been gone more than a full day. And already, ALREADY! Returning to his workforce, stepping in to cut celebrations short, and encouraging them to get back to work. And they do it, cheerfully, because he has taken to breeding his own staff and training them from birth like a mob of Oompa Loompas.
But you can’t do this to people!
There are so. many. things. happening in every person’s life. Especially now. The work environment needs to be more flexible, more adaptive, and more sustainable for families. My 6-Week Cycles approach helps you work this way.
The pandemic has been a giant reset button on our society, and we have the chance to rewrite “work.” As we enter into the next year, I hope you’ll join me in saying goodbye to The Industrial Revolution-style work-environment we’ve grown up in. 2021 is our chance to write a new one.
Joe Martin is a Chicago-based author & entrepreneur with a fascination for time travel. His ideas around corporate culture, planning, and productivity have been featured on Fox News, WGN, and the TEDx stage.
