The ‘one thing’ City Slickers can teach us about our jobs

Still not sure what the "one thing" in City Slickers was. But in our jobs, it's: "Know what you don't know." (Image credit: Sundayeducation.com)

Remember the movie City Slickers? Billy Crystal and his friends head out on a guy’s trip to drive cattle and find themselves. Crystal befriends an old cowboy named Curly, played by Jack Palance. Curly tells him the secret to life is “one thing,” and he holds up his index finger. Crystal seems to get it, he and his friends bring the cattle in, he keeps one as a pet, he goes home a changed man. The end.

I like that movie a lot, but two things about it always bugged me. First, they never really said what that one thing Curly was talking about really was. It’s just implied that Crystal gets it and it makes him a happier person. Second, you can’t have a calf as a pet living in New York City, can you?

Forget the calf for a second. The “one thing” analogy is the one we’re looking for here. Only I’m going to tell you what I think the one thing is. No Hollywood guessing games.  For me, here it is:

Know what you don’t know.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Maybe so. But for many people, it becomes a stumbling block in their career they can’t get past. Here are three ways people usually get tripped up:

1. Ego. This is the most common and obvious obstacle to doing your job well. A person who knows what he/she doesn’t know looks for others to be part of the team who can fill those gaps. My first boss used to say she always looked to hire people who were smarter than her because it made the team stronger. If you try to do everything, pretty soon you find out it’s impossible and you end up doing nothing well. If you are a sports fan, you know the phrase a team is only as strong as it’s weakest link. Ego is a good way to become the weakest link.

2. Ignoring the customer. One thing you will never know in any job without listening is the customers’ experience. If you create product and campaigns in boardrooms without any input from the people buying those products, your sunk. There was one guy and one company that has been incredibly successful building products behind closed doors with little input from research or listening. And since you are not Steve Jobs and you do not work for Apple, I’d advise the alternate route.

3. Lack of practice. Think about the time athletes put into preparing for the next game. They study film, analyze the playbook and practice like crazy. Why don’t we do that in the business world? We’re too busy, right? Too many deadlines. Don’t want to fall behind. Look, every time you pass up a professional development opportunity or networking event where you could hear a different perspective, you fall behind. I don’t know any sports team that just plays the games and doesn’t practice. Yet that’s how many of us approach our jobs. Doesn’t make a ton of sense.

One of the other scenes I always remember from City Slickers is when Billy Crystal’s boss comes in and plays this really bad “Pizza Guys” ad. Then he asks Crystal how he could put that on the radio and tells him he has to ask for permission before selling any more ads.

No one wants to be that guy. That guy who hates his job and gets demoted. Especially since most of us probably can’t afford a week trip to drive cattle, meet a cowboy named Curly who helps us find ourselves and have a happy Hollywood ending. So if you take anything away from this post, think about what you don’t know in your job. And use it to your advantage.

Also, don’t try to bring home a calf as a pet in a big city. I’m betting your landlord would be pissed.

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