I came across this quote in the late 1980s -- so long ago that I have lost the reference.  My recollection is that it may have been in one of David Gerrold's novels.  The reason that it stuck in my head was that I was questioning whether I fit in the world of consulting.  As Jim Collins would say, I was looking very closely at whether I was "on the right bus".

As I was working my way through the usual pros and cons to my current situation, Yung happened to have lunch with me.  As usual, he knew the right thing to say in the situation.  He did not try to convince me to stay.  He did not invoke loyalty or guilt or any other emotion that usually surfaces during a discussion like this between supervisor and employee.  He simply asked me to evaluation whether I was 80% or more satisfied with what I was doing.  If that was the case, then what of that other 20% was within my power to change.  He pointed out that I could change employers, or that he could get me a new assignment. However, I was unlikely ever to do much better than 80/20.  And if I was already ahead of this ratio, then I should feel very lucky that the match was as good as it was.

He said that if there were things that were both out of my control to change and were impossible to live with, then I might be better off finding a new bus.  However, if I could improve my satisfaction by working on a couple of things and the rest of the stuff was not overwhelmingly outside of my comfort zone to live with, I might be better off staying -- until at least the balance changed.

At that point, I remembered my promise to my husband which was that I would try consulting "6 months at a time".  I promised myself that I could always change if the next 6 months did not improve.  So, I continued my work as a consultant, as a manager, as an account liaison for 14 years -- 6 months at a time.

However, as I watch the turmoil in many companies today, I am reminded of the quote that started this discussion.  If I were wearing my manager hat today, I would watch carefully to be sure that key people and key skills were not leaving the company simply because they had the power to move.  I would endeavor to find that 20% that is driving the best people from the ship and having them either head to shore or to another ship.

A small part of Verse 23* of the Tao suggests that change is inevitable. It is possible that 6 month from now, your 20% will have changed.  Then how would you feel, if your move had let you escape from the best experiences of your working life?

" A strong wind does not blow all morning
A cloudburst does not last all day
The wind and rain are from Heaven and Earth
     and even these do not last long
How much less so the efforts of man"

*Tao Te Ching, The Definitive Edition, Lao Tzu with Translation and Commentary by Jonathan Star, Jeremy P Tarcher/Penguin, 2001, page 36