“I am struggling in my job. I don’t know if I should quit my job or continue. And if I continue, whether I should focus on this or that or the other thing. Is this type of work even for me? I feel exhausted. Not much positive feedback, and I don’t really know if what I’m doing is valuable for the company, for any customers or for other employees. I feel kinda lost. What should I do?”

He looked at me across the table. Across his cup of coffee, and mine. I started out slowly:

“You know, there’s stacks of books written about this, countless methodologies and coaching practices addressing these kinds of issues.”

He looked eagerly at me, waiting for some book or methodology that would match his complex problem. Some kind of intricate way of resolving his issues. But then I went on:

“But really, it boils down to just one simple concept. Just one.”

He looked sorta disappointed. Like I was about to invalidate his complex problem or insult his intelligence.

“You only need to impress.”

Uh?

“Yes, impress your customer, your boss, your colleague, your wife, your kids, yourself. But impress by delivering something of value. Impress your customers in every meeting. Impress your colleagues every workday. Impress your kids by really playing with them when they bring out the Lego. Impress your wife in bed. Impress by delivering. Unconditionally and as much as you can. If you do this, you’ll be doing good. And this is all you need to do.”