You Cannot Manufacture Readiness

Fifteen years ago I ran a small factory in a town in central Mexico.

We made jewelry cleaners. We had just finished a large order for Chile. The place felt good. People had worked hard. There was momentum.

One of the employees was a young man named Edgardo, from Michoacán.

One Friday, he told me that his real interests were English and computers. We had a back and forth and his answers made my mind up.

That weekend I spoke with my wife. I told her I thought he was sharp, and that I wanted to give him a shot. I decided I would offer him free English lessons, give him an old laptop, and teach him what I knew.

I was genuinely excited about it.

On Monday morning I arrived with the laptop and a clear idea of how I would make the offer, and what the most useful learning path would be.

Edgardo never came in.

Around noon I asked his friend if he knew what had happened. He said he would find out.

That afternoon he came back with an answer.

Edgardo had gone back to Michoacán. To dig holes and plant trees in the fields. The work he had done before coming to town.

I have thought about this many times since.

The same conversation that made me want to invest in him made him decide to leave.

He didn't reject the offer. He never heard it.

Two decisions, made at the same time, on different boards.

You cannot manufacture readiness from the outside.

Some things are not refused.

They simply never arrive.