American Professionalism

I love going to NBA games (I haven’t gotten to other kinds yet). Besides the sports itself and all the guys running around with the ball, I love something else about it: I always know that everything will go according to plan (I wish I could be as certain of Nets’s score…) and that I don’t have to get to the game an hour earlier in order to get to my seat. I only need to come 15 minutes before, even though Barclay’s Center holds an audience of 17 thousand.

Every time when I take part in a mass event here in the States (no matter if it’s a concert, game, or a regular event), I’m impressed by the quality of organization. Everything is pitch-perfect, everyone knows their own place, everything is clearly marked, you can always ask the staff for guidance and you will get specific information (I won’t even mention how nice everyone is). People act differently than they do in Poland, as well – no one is pushing you, everyone waits their turn, there’s no panic of fighting for seats. Every time I am sure that in case of a problem, it will be solved in no time.

This is what I like here and what I am learning – professionalism and great organization. I never went to school here, but my friends explained the secret to me. Young people here are taught to work as a team. They work in groups, where everyone is commissioned a task and is responsible for it – everyone is working for the shared success. Everyone knows that if they fail to do their part, they will fail – and the whole team and the entire project as well. In a word: doing your part lies in everybody’s interest.

Things were different in Poland – no one taught us to work as a team, which meant frequent chaos and disorganization. I am wondering if schools nowadays are any different? Not before we understand that in order to build something great we have to cooperate, will we be free of the haphazard logic of the Polish saying “every man for himself”. Which translates in practice into lack of professionalism and poor quality. Our national disease is the sentence: “We will manage somehow”. Sure, “somehow” is a given, but wouldn’t it be easier for everyone if “somehow” became “great” instead? NY teaches me that professionalism builds trust and opens the door to a higher level of things. The question is really simple: which level would you like to live on?

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