The founder of modern economics, Adam Smith, argued for specialization during his discussion of the pin factory. Smith noted that individuals working in a factory were able to make somewhere between one and twenty pins in a day; however, if there were to be a group of pin makers who would specialize in each section of the pin making process, the production would go much quicker. How quick? Smith estimated that ten people working alone could make between 10 and 200 pins a day, but with ten people uniquely specialized to contribute to each step of the process, there could be around 48,000 pins produced a day.
Tag: work
The Carrot or the Stick?
The question of motivation is one that plagues the mind of the procrastinator, the binge watcher of Netflix, and the collegiate student alike. There is no doubt that motivation is one of the most ambiguous terms in our language in the sense that not only is it hard to adequately state what motivation is, but it is also challenging because each individual is motivated by different things.
Skiing Through “Flow”
When I was in high school, our senior class took a ski trip to a local ski resort. Upon arrival, I made my way directly to the lodge to find a good seat to view the mountain and a warm cup of hot chocolate. I watched skier after skier descend from the peak; some of them made it to the bottom, some of them ended up cartwheeling down.
Death by Passion
In 2005, Steve Jobs spoke to the graduates of Stanford University. In doing so, Jobs articulated one of the most impactful addresses to a graduating class in history. His parting words included: “And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
thereisnopeak.com 