The Adaptation Advantage

6Finding the Courage to Let Go of Occupational Identity

Key Ideas

1. Know why: Understanding what you do, or even how you do it, pales in comparison to knowing why you do what you do.
2. Let go: Defining yourself, your skills, and your knowledge beyond the scope of your job is the first step to gaining your adaptation advantage.
3. Embrace failure: Sometimes your “worst” setbacks are your best career boosts.

What Does the Parable of the Three Stonecutters Have to Do with You?

In his seminal book The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker describes the parable of the three stonecutters:

An old story tells of three stonecutters who were asked what they were doing. The first replied, “I am making a living.” The second kept on hammering while he said, “I am doing the best job of stonecutting in the entire country.” The third one looked up with a visionary gleam in his eyes and said, “I am building a cathedral.”¹

Before you read on, think about your own work, then jot down which stonecutter sounds most like you.

Drucker used the stonecutter parable to illustrate the importance of managers who see the bigger picture, are driven by a vision, and are not distracted by the means to that end. Drucker identified the first stonecutter as a highly manageable individual seeking a “fair day's work for a fair day's pay.” The third stonecutter, he wrote, was the true manager. The second stonecutter, he lamented, was the real problem. “The majority of managers in any business enterprise, are, like ...