Good is Not Good Enough When Better is Expected

"Good is not good enough when better is expected." This is a quote of Vin Scully. He is an American sportscaster, known mainly as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn, and now, Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio. He was named both Broadcaster of the Century by the American Sportscasters Association (2000) and top sportscaster of all-time on its Top 50 list (2009). Baseball Almanac has presented an unprecedented collection of baseball related quotations spoken by Vin Scully. Did you know that Vin Scully has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? It was placed there on June 9, 1982 — the same year he was enshrined at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Let us look at an old story. A strong woodcutter wanted a job with a timber merchant and he got it. His pay was good as were the working conditions. So he was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the place where he was to knock down the trees. On the first day he brought down 15 trees. His boss was happy and told him to carry on with his work. He became highly motivated and tried harder the next day but could only bring down 10 trees. On the third day he tried even harder but he was able to bring down only 7 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees. He thought he must be losing his strength. He went to his boss and apologized saying that he could not understand what was going on.  "When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked.  The woodcutter stated, "Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…"

Most of us never update (or sharpen) our skills. We think that whatever we have learned is enough. But good is not good when better is expected. This reminds me of a funny quote from Rosie Perez’s character in "White Men Can’t Jump" a good movie starring Wesley Snipes:  "Sometimes when you win, you really lose, and sometimes when you lose, you really win, and sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie, and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose."

Copyright © 2010 Suprio Ghatak