Today I found myself in a video chat with an absolutely terrific marketeer. As it was early in the morning he was just preparing his coffee — using a cafetière (or french press if you want). He clearly put thought and effort into making his morning coffee — and whilst we were chatting about coffee he mentioned in passing that he also warmed his cup before pouring his coffee.
The simple and small act of warming your cup before pouring your carefully prepared coffee reminded me of something: If you made the decision to do something; and do it right — why stop halfway? Why not go the full nine yards and do what you do with perfection. Especially if the additional effort is marginal (it really doesn’t take a lot of effort to pour some of the water you warm for your coffee anyway into your cup).
And yet… All too often we end up doing things half-assed.
Just in case you’re wondering: How does this jive with the mantra “don’t die in beauty” (or the lean methodology)? Simple! Sometimes you need to drink Keurig coffee instead of carefully crafted artisanal roasts. ;)