Nine-to-Five

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“Remember that nothing great was ever achieved by people working only nine to five.”
-LLIC 2003

A week or two back, I went to my first "Midwest Regional Meeting" with my company. There, we talked about new software that my company developed to help us engineers do our jobs easier/faster/better than the competition.

I was not expecting to have nearly all of the group sessions being led by the guys I work with.

You see, in addition to working with our clients, the guys in my office in Kansas City have also been developing software, using Excel, to make many of the calculations we use daily easier, and more robust. During the meeting, they explained to many of my co-workers around the Midwest how they worked, and how they would make life easier.

I won't bore you with what the tools were. Trust me, though, as an engineer, these things are amazing, and as someone who is very computer-competent, I have to tell you I had no idea Excel would do so many cool things. What my co-workers in Kansas City have developed for my company is very, very cool.

It is also very, very time-consuming.

Many times I come home from work after 5pm. Why? Well, for one, I have nobody to come home to, so I might as well make the most of my time, and two, sometimes things just need to get done. Even if I show up at home after 6pm, though, I'm not the last one out of the office. No, I'm usually the 4th-to-the last. (Or more!)

The accomplishments of my co-workers, and their advancing themselves and the company I work for beyond expectations is simply an accomplishment that cannot be held within the confines of an 8-to-5 job. To really advance, to really excel, and to really make a difference, one has to be willing to give more time, effort, and energy than what is expected of him.

After all, how can one exceed expectations unless you work more/harder/longer than you are expected to?

…and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!