Do More Great Work Quotes

“In his book Getting Things Done, David Allen shares a crucial insight: “You can’t do a project. You can only do the next step.”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it’s the only one you’ve got,”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. LEONARD COHEN”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“But the very nature of doing more Great Work means there will be times when you stumble, times you lose the path, times when you’re hacking through the jungle. You’ll ask yourself if this was the right path in the first place. As various military leaders have pointed out over the years, “No plan survives contact with the enemy.”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“When all is said and done, a lot more is said than done. LOU HOLTZ”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“Don’t think of it as failure. Think of it as time-released success. ROBERT ORBEN”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“You are remembered for the rules you break. DOUGLAS MACARTHUR”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“GREAT WORK IS ABOUT DOING WHAT’S MEANINGFUL. GREAT WORK ISN’T ABOUT DOING IT WELL. Here’s the irony: It’s often easy to deliver Bad Work and Good Work at an excellent level. (Just how many times have you revised that worthless Power Point presentation?) And Great Work? It’s often new work at the edge of your competence, work that tangles you up because it’s different and you haven’t done it a thousand times before. You’re unlikely to be able to do it perfectly. When I say “Great Work,” I’m not talking about a standard of delivery. I’m talking about a standard of impact and meaning.”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. ANNA QUINDLEN”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“If you don’t change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news? DOUGLAS ADAMS”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.
MARK TWAIN”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“This ebb and flow reminds me of an anniversary card I once saw that read, “Thanks for 20 great years . . . 7 average years . . . and 2 absolute stinkers.”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“1. Great Work decays. Over time, Great Work decays into Good Work. As Great Work becomes comfortable and familiar as you master it, it no longer provides the challenge, stretch, or rewards it once did. Your Great Work of today won’t be your Great Work five years from now. The iPod syndrome kicks in. Remember how special iPods were when they first arrived on the scene? Now everyone has one, and they’re taken for granted. 2. Good Work has its attractions. Even as we hunger for more Great Work, we’re always drawn back to the comfort of Good Work. It’s a perpetual tension—the challenge, risk, and reward of the Great against the familiarity, efficiency, and safety of the Good. 3. Different years demand different responses. Some years are “stretch” years when you go for it; others are years to conserve your strength, gathering ideas and laying the groundwork for your next initiative. This ebb and flow reminds me of an anniversary card I once saw that read, “Thanks for 20 great years . . . 7 average years . . . and 2 absolute stinkers.”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.

“You always need Good Work in your life. At an organizational level, Good Work is vital. It is a company’s bread and butter—the efficient, focused, profitable work that delivers next quarter’s returns. Great Work Great Work is what we all want more of. This is the work that is meaningful to you, that has an impact and makes a difference. It inspires, stretches, and provokes. Great Work is the work that matters.”
― Michael Bungay Stanier, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters.