The puzzle and the purpose

I am a few hours away from submitting my paper and figures for expert review to the new Journal of Distilling Science. Pulling it together reminds me of it being like a (not too difficult) jig-saw puzzle because independent calculations must be performed and then a final sum of the results is computed. It is not difficult because one follows a clear path laid down by predecessors and I’ve seen it fully resolved in a fine paper published in the MBAA Technical Quarterly for breweries across two orders of magnitude. Like a jig-saw puzzle, I have the reference photo at the top of the box that the puzzle came in. Yet imperfection is embedded in my paper, as it is in all my actions and works.

A few days ago as I was working on the piece, I was asked an unexpected question, emailed to me from áron, as he primed me for a new and fun conversation: What really matters to you, and where do you get your sense of purpose from?

For me, it’s very much a return to the jig-saw puzzle metaphor and the ‘purpose’ is the reference photo you see at the top of any puzzle box. We all plop the pieces on a table, stare and start working to align them and use the photo on the box cover as our guide. It is so much harder to progress any puzzle if the box cover is taken away and not accessible. I have been I situations in my past where I did not have the reference photo at hand, and I was afraid of being wrong. 

In almost all our minds, we know there is nothing wrong with wrong. …it is how we learn. We accept that our failure is a legitimate form of learning. But really taking that in took me time, across a few brewery jobs. So often we don’t have all the information to make a 100% perfect decision, and we make judgements, not conclusions. We get it wrong at times. But our ‘purpose’ is what allows us to dust ourselves off and go back into things,

So here’s where I think we get our sense of purpose…

• Know what motivates you…is it production management or is it new product development…or is it both? Is it engineering and optimization? For me, it is several things ranging from design and technical trouble-shooting to people management.
• Helping others… the attribute we all appreciate in others with whom we work
• Discovering the ways you can help make your company better
• Identify performance metrics that really matter to you, your ‘personal KPIs’
• Trying to do some good for your industry

If we are fortunate, we have found a company that supports our personal goals and allows us to never lose sight of our purpose. Or we have found ourselves in a situation alternatively that motivates us to keep going with excitement while also increasing our resilience.

Life shows us that those who have enjoyed purposeful work can lose that feeling. So many people we know are less than happy because they don’t have that integrated purpose, the jig-saw puzzle reference photo, to stare at.

I am so fortunate to have my puzzle's box and cover clearly in view.