Two of the building blocks of a resilient society.

And the opposite of the lazy shortcut.

The meanings of both clauses change over time…

Play fair:

Everyone gets an opportunity to participate, from the very beginning
Leave your campsite cleaner than you found it
Take responsibility for the effects and side effects of your work
Don’t seek monopoly power
The long-term is the point
Show your work and bring transparency to the market
Don’t be a jerk
Give others the benefit of the doubt
Call your own fouls and don’t work the refs

Work hard:

Do the reading
Ask good questions
Create value
Change your mind before it’s fashionable
Engage in emotional labor and seek out uncertainty
Write the spec, don’t just follow it
Play by the rules or work to change them

Social media and politics have done a great job of celebrating people who seek selfish shortcuts, simply because it’s entertaining or easy to believe.

Few of us do the hard work of manual labor these days. Instead, we have the chance to sign up to work hard on solving useful problems in a way that’s generative and resilient.

I hope it’s pretty clear that most of us would like to work in a culture like this. But if we don’t work at it, it disappears.

PS Play Hard & Work Fair helps us see the list with even more nuance…

May 26, 2024