Once upon a time, there was a robot who felt overqualified for his job. The robot, known as Henry, had been bought by a landscaping company. Day after day, Henry was used to mow lawns.
As he would go back and forth through people’s yards, Henry would curse his situation. “Why am I mowing lowns?” he would ask himself. “Don’t my owners know that I’m capable of so much more? I’m a high performance robot.”
Sometimes, Henry would see other robots doing far more interesting things. That led him to one day stop mowing, in the middle of a lawn.
Before long, the owner of the company approached Henry, wondering what was wrong. Just as the man was about to pull out a screwdriver, Henry let of a puff of steam. “I shouldn’t be mowing lawns,” he said.
The owner was surprised to hear his robot talk. “Why not?” he asked.
Henry stood up tall and replied, “I have a super computer for a brain, I can speak every language, and I can bake a really good quiche. Can’t you tell that I should do more than just mow lawns?”
The owner scratched his head and said, “When I bought you, I saw your very strong arms and legs. Those are perfect for mowing lawns.”
“I am strong but didn’t you see in my manual that I can do many other things?” Henry asked.
“I don’t read manuals. I don’t have the time,” the owner said. “I don’t read resumes either. I just look into someone’s eyes and then I know if they’ll be a good fit. With you, all I had to do was see that you were strong. If you wanted to do other things, then why didn’t you tell me?”
“You never asked,” said Henry.
“Here’s my problem,” the owner said. “I can’t read minds or machines. I need someone who can mow lawns and right now, that’s you. If you can figure out a better way, let me know. But I can’t spend any extra money. Otherwise, I need you to keep mowing lawns.”
Henry agreed to keep working but most of his attention was focused on the offer. He accessed the landscaping company’s records and saw that it paid outsiders to do its accounting and other tasks. He also noticed that the company would spend a lot of time driving from one side of town to the other, taking care of lawns.
The next day, Henry met with the owner.
“I have a solution,” he said. I will perform your accounting and other HR tasks. I will also dispatch your many crews in a more efficient fashion, which will save you time and money.
The owner was impressed but concerned. “You are my best mower. You don’t get tired. I can’t afford to lose you in the field.”
“Actually you can,” the robot replied. By having me do the work that you were paying outsiders to perform, I estimate that you can hire three more crews, which will easily exceed my mowing capability. You’ll make more money. And did I mention that I can use my baking skills to make desserts which will let your existing and perspective customers know that your company cares about them.”
“You’re hired,” said the owner.
Henry never mowed another lawn. He realized that he had learned an important lesson from his experience and created a sign that he hung over his work area:
- Don’t assume that I know everything that you can do
- Let me know if you think you can contribute more to this company and explain how you’ll do it
- If you want to do other things, let me know how your current duties can be done without adding to our budget.
