Due diligence, do diligence
April 17, 2006 | 12:00am
A couple of weeks ago, I went to a religious bookstore upon the recommendation of my good friend and cousin-in-law, Dr. Alex Ayco,
who recommended the book Bringing the ‘Imitation of Christ’ Into the 21st Century. The book is a revised, modernized version of Thomas a Kempis’ 15th century classic, Imitation of Christ, one of the most widely read books in world literature. Not a lot of people know this – but the Imitation of Christ was actually the last book (apart from the Bible) that Dr. Jose Rizal read right before he was executed on December 30, 1896. Even if you weren’t that religious, if only for this fact, the book is worth looking into. Personally, Imitation has made an impact on my life – and continues to do so. It’s a book that challenges my faith constantly. And since I love challenges, the book has become my constant companion, especially when I travel.
Anyway, according to Dr. Alex, this revised version was worth buying because it made the teachings in Imitation of Christ more applicable to modern times. So I went out and searched for it. I went to the store where Doc Alex said it could be found. When I got there, I went straight to the bookstore manager.
"Meron kayong Bringing the ‘Imitation of Christ’ in the 21st Century, I asked the bookstore clerk.
"Ay, wala na po," she immediately replied. I was disappointed upon hearing that because Doc Alex had told me there would surely be copies there. I asked the store clerk again – twice in fact. "Sigurado kang wala? Hindi yung ‘Imitation of Christ’ yung hanap ko, ha. Yung "Bringing the ‘Imitation of Christ’ into the 21st Century" ang hanap ko. Iba yon ha. Sinabi sa akin meron dito."
"Wala po talaga. Out of stock na yon," the store clerk answered adamantly. Disheartened, I said, "Ah, OK, salamat," then turned around and browsed at the shelf of books behind me. Almost immediately, I saw five identical books lined up in the center of the shelf. I looked at the title on the books – Bringing the ‘Imitation of Christ’ to the 21st Century.
Igot a copy of the book, showed it to the bookstore clerk and asked sarcastically, "Miss, ano’to?" The store clerk just gave me an embarrassed smile and said, "Ay meron pala." She got the book from me and punched it in her cash register. As she prepared my invoice, I remained calm and just stared at her blankly. But deep inside, I wanted to strangle her. It was very hard for me to accept the store clerk’s laziness. The book was in a shelf that was literally four feet away from her. Plus, there were five copies left! I would have fully understood if there was only one copy left and I found the book buried in a pile – or if it was in a deep corner of the bookstore – or if it was on sale and mixed with other books. I would’ve been more forgiving if she had at least tried to look around, or maybe ask her fellow clerks if they knew of the book. But she didn’t – she just sat there in her seat and said, "Ay, wala na," – and that’s why I was so tempted to give her a piece of my mind. But I figured she had been embarrassed enough by the fact that I found the book immediately after she said there was none. I managed to control myself and decided not to embarrass her further. Besides, I was buying a religious book. If I was buying a Dan Brown or Tom Clancy book, perhaps I would have had less control and I would have thrown a fit. I know that sounds a bit mean. But hey, I’m human. I get mad too. And personally, I have very little patience when it comes to lazy people – not because I don’t get any benefit from them – but because I know there are a lot of people who are sick, paralyzed or bed-ridden who would literally give an arm and a leg to simply be able to stand up and go to work every day. That’s what ticks me off.
Chapter 25 of Bringing the ‘Imitation of Christ’ into the 21st Century talks about the zeal that we ought to show in amending the whole course of our lives. And the first sentence of the chapter goes, "You have to watch carefully, and work hard, if you are to serve God." Later in the chapter, it says, "What sight is so mournful, so depressing, as the go-as-you-please community, in which the work it was called to do gets left undone." And then finally, in the last paragraph, it says, "You aren’t going to form any good habits without taking the trouble over it, working hard for it. The moment you begin to cool off, trouble starts."
While the book talks more about our spiritual work rather than our office work, those phrases also apply to our daily lives in the corporate world. We’re all tasked to do a role here in this world. And whether that role is to lead a company with 5,000 employees or to act as a bookstore clerk, we have to do that role with due diligence. And diligence is not a mere concept that’s nice to aspire for. Diligence is something that you do – day in and day out.
Note that diligence is not only about persistently working hard. It’s also about care or attention to what you do. Sometimes, when I go to a gas station, I am impressed by the new attitude of the gasoline boys. They ask you if you want your tires pumped, your windshield cleaned, your water checked, your garbage thrown out, your oil level examined, etc. The only thing they don’t ask is "Do you want fries with that?" No, but really, I’m impressed with the marked improvement – so kudos to the petroleum companies. But then again, sometimes you wonder – are they really going about it the right way? The gas boys (and girls) do seem to be diligent – and they do show a great zeal to what they’re doing – but sometimes you wonder if it’s the right kind of diligence and care. Sometimes, when they throw you all those questions, you almost feel that they don’t mean it – that they’re doing it because they were told to. They’re saying it while they’re busy doing other things – like getting the pump ready or trying to open your gas tank. It doesn’t seem natural. Again, there seems to be diligence – but it doesn’t seem right. Sometimes, the way they ask the questions is very irritating. And there’s the problem right there. If it’s the wrong kind of diligence, all the effort may result to nothing.
I once knew of a sales manager who was very diligent on his computer. He would work on all these forms and charts and graphs. He would put a lot of pizzazz on his powerpoint presentations. But at the end of year, he ended up with the lowest sales output. Eventually, he had to be let go. He worked hard, yes. But he wasn’t diligent. That’s the difference between working hard and being diligent. Diligence is all about knowing the right care and attention to give to the right things. It’s about knowing what you need to do and giving care and attention to that. Working hard is not simply doing a lot of things – without due regard to whether what you’re doing has any relevance to what you need to accomplish.
So in all the work you do, give due diligence. And "do diligence." Because at the end of the day, it’s not all about just getting a paycheck on the 15th and 30th. It’s all about getting the work done right – and done well.
Thanks for your letters! You may e-mail me at rodhnepo@yahoo.com
who recommended the book Bringing the ‘Imitation of Christ’ Into the 21st Century. The book is a revised, modernized version of Thomas a Kempis’ 15th century classic, Imitation of Christ, one of the most widely read books in world literature. Not a lot of people know this – but the Imitation of Christ was actually the last book (apart from the Bible) that Dr. Jose Rizal read right before he was executed on December 30, 1896. Even if you weren’t that religious, if only for this fact, the book is worth looking into. Personally, Imitation has made an impact on my life – and continues to do so. It’s a book that challenges my faith constantly. And since I love challenges, the book has become my constant companion, especially when I travel.
Anyway, according to Dr. Alex, this revised version was worth buying because it made the teachings in Imitation of Christ more applicable to modern times. So I went out and searched for it. I went to the store where Doc Alex said it could be found. When I got there, I went straight to the bookstore manager.
"Meron kayong Bringing the ‘Imitation of Christ’ in the 21st Century, I asked the bookstore clerk.
"Ay, wala na po," she immediately replied. I was disappointed upon hearing that because Doc Alex had told me there would surely be copies there. I asked the store clerk again – twice in fact. "Sigurado kang wala? Hindi yung ‘Imitation of Christ’ yung hanap ko, ha. Yung "Bringing the ‘Imitation of Christ’ into the 21st Century" ang hanap ko. Iba yon ha. Sinabi sa akin meron dito."
"Wala po talaga. Out of stock na yon," the store clerk answered adamantly. Disheartened, I said, "Ah, OK, salamat," then turned around and browsed at the shelf of books behind me. Almost immediately, I saw five identical books lined up in the center of the shelf. I looked at the title on the books – Bringing the ‘Imitation of Christ’ to the 21st Century.
Igot a copy of the book, showed it to the bookstore clerk and asked sarcastically, "Miss, ano’to?" The store clerk just gave me an embarrassed smile and said, "Ay meron pala." She got the book from me and punched it in her cash register. As she prepared my invoice, I remained calm and just stared at her blankly. But deep inside, I wanted to strangle her. It was very hard for me to accept the store clerk’s laziness. The book was in a shelf that was literally four feet away from her. Plus, there were five copies left! I would have fully understood if there was only one copy left and I found the book buried in a pile – or if it was in a deep corner of the bookstore – or if it was on sale and mixed with other books. I would’ve been more forgiving if she had at least tried to look around, or maybe ask her fellow clerks if they knew of the book. But she didn’t – she just sat there in her seat and said, "Ay, wala na," – and that’s why I was so tempted to give her a piece of my mind. But I figured she had been embarrassed enough by the fact that I found the book immediately after she said there was none. I managed to control myself and decided not to embarrass her further. Besides, I was buying a religious book. If I was buying a Dan Brown or Tom Clancy book, perhaps I would have had less control and I would have thrown a fit. I know that sounds a bit mean. But hey, I’m human. I get mad too. And personally, I have very little patience when it comes to lazy people – not because I don’t get any benefit from them – but because I know there are a lot of people who are sick, paralyzed or bed-ridden who would literally give an arm and a leg to simply be able to stand up and go to work every day. That’s what ticks me off.
While the book talks more about our spiritual work rather than our office work, those phrases also apply to our daily lives in the corporate world. We’re all tasked to do a role here in this world. And whether that role is to lead a company with 5,000 employees or to act as a bookstore clerk, we have to do that role with due diligence. And diligence is not a mere concept that’s nice to aspire for. Diligence is something that you do – day in and day out.
Note that diligence is not only about persistently working hard. It’s also about care or attention to what you do. Sometimes, when I go to a gas station, I am impressed by the new attitude of the gasoline boys. They ask you if you want your tires pumped, your windshield cleaned, your water checked, your garbage thrown out, your oil level examined, etc. The only thing they don’t ask is "Do you want fries with that?" No, but really, I’m impressed with the marked improvement – so kudos to the petroleum companies. But then again, sometimes you wonder – are they really going about it the right way? The gas boys (and girls) do seem to be diligent – and they do show a great zeal to what they’re doing – but sometimes you wonder if it’s the right kind of diligence and care. Sometimes, when they throw you all those questions, you almost feel that they don’t mean it – that they’re doing it because they were told to. They’re saying it while they’re busy doing other things – like getting the pump ready or trying to open your gas tank. It doesn’t seem natural. Again, there seems to be diligence – but it doesn’t seem right. Sometimes, the way they ask the questions is very irritating. And there’s the problem right there. If it’s the wrong kind of diligence, all the effort may result to nothing.
I once knew of a sales manager who was very diligent on his computer. He would work on all these forms and charts and graphs. He would put a lot of pizzazz on his powerpoint presentations. But at the end of year, he ended up with the lowest sales output. Eventually, he had to be let go. He worked hard, yes. But he wasn’t diligent. That’s the difference between working hard and being diligent. Diligence is all about knowing the right care and attention to give to the right things. It’s about knowing what you need to do and giving care and attention to that. Working hard is not simply doing a lot of things – without due regard to whether what you’re doing has any relevance to what you need to accomplish.
So in all the work you do, give due diligence. And "do diligence." Because at the end of the day, it’s not all about just getting a paycheck on the 15th and 30th. It’s all about getting the work done right – and done well.
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