Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Getting The Job Done
February 28, 2006
Larry Polyak, Scoutmaster

One summer during high school I had a job at a chemical plant. I was hired to help maintain the machinery and the grounds. After about a week on the job, the boss told me to go and repair something. I've forgotten exactly what it was, but I had no idea how to do it. I started to tell him that I didn't know how to do it but he cut me off by saying "Look kid - I didn't hire you to whine. Now go out and get the job done." So I left his office and asked one of the other workers to help me. As it turns out, it wasn't that hard of a task, I just needed some help.

Several years later, I was almost done with college and I had a job interview with International Business Machines. This was before PCs and before Apple. IBM was the king of computers back then, so I felt honored to even get the interview. I remember it like it was yesterday... After a short tour of the place, a manager brought me back to his office and started asking questions. While I was answering his questions, he was looking out the window, away from me. Suddenly he whirled around, stared me right in the eye, and said "Why should I hire you?".

I was totally unprepared for the question. But I remembered the experience from my old boss and I said "I'll get the job done. Give me a job to do and you can count on it getting done." He thought for a moment then said "Ok, good answer.".

I got a job offer from IBM, but I ended up taking a different job. Ever since then however, I've realized that it's good to strive to be the guy that people can count on to get the job done. Getting the job done doesn't always mean you know exactly what to do. But it does mean that you are willing to take the responsibility, use your leadership abilities and get help if you need it.

Next Tuesday, we'll have our first Patrol Leader's Council with our new group of elected leaders and you'll all have jobs to do. There is not a single person in this room that you couldn't ask for help if you need it. I hope I can count on you to get the job done.

Thanks for listening.