Why Fighting the Last Battle Never Works at Work
When the French set up the Maginot line after World War I, they wanted to make it impossible for the German army to attack them again, the way the Germans did in August 1914. Of course, when the Germans attacked again in World War II starting on May 10, 1940, they didn't use the same plan or tactics. France was overwhelmed and surrendered within 6 weeks. They tried to fight the last battle. It didn't work. In fact, it was a disaster.
Fighting the last battle is a typical tendency most of us have - and it's not just a military thing. We prepare for the enemy we know, for what we've faced in the past. But things hardly ever repeat themselves the same way. We prepare for one thing, then face another sometimes different entirely problem or threat.
What does this have to do with us Catholic men at work?
We all work on two levels: the natural and the supernatural. On a natural level, we need to bring all our skills and talents to our jobs every day - especially during these tough times. (If you're unemployed now, you need to bring all your skills and talents into the search for a job.) The world of work - whether it's our competition, our clients, or maybe even the boss - has a way of throwing new challenges our way. Sometimes it seems like we get new challenges every day.
You can't always handle new problems and challenges the same old ways. You can't just fight the last battle. One of the companies I once worked for - a big consumer products company - fought the last battle against a long time competitor. It's all we ever heard about in our internal meetings. Meanwhile, a new, smaller competitor was cleaning our clocks out there in the real world. We never knew what hit us until it was too late.
So we've got to bring all our practical skills and talents to work every day. We need to pay attention, stay focused on the challenges of the day, do our business to the best of our ability.
Now for the supernatural level. Much as we're absorbed in the practical details of our daily work, we Catholic men can't forget the supernatural. Our work isn't just about pleasing our boss, or making a sale, or fighting the competition, or driving profits to the bottom line. That's all important. But we can't forget the struggle to sanctify our work. We can't forget that ultimately we work our way towards Heaven.
We can't fight the last battle in our supernatural life either. Between our own shortcomings and the creative ways the devil has of getting to us, we've got to be vigilant. Here's a quick example:
It took me a long time to get into the habit of daily Mass (at least most days). I struggled to get my schedule "just so" until I was able to carve out the time for Mass every day at 12:30. Just when I got the "routine" down, the church got rid of the12:30 Mass. Okay, not the end of the world. I adjusted to the noon or 1 PM Mass (lucky me, having such a choice!).
But then my work moved to another part of town. My commute was longer, my work was a bit different.
I tried the same approach - forcing myself into a set routine that carved out a time for Mass. It didn't work. It wasn't that there wasn't a Church nearby with a noon Mass. It was just that the priest was - well, he was this really "modernist" type who said the Mass in a kind of quirky way that was totally distracting. He also occasionally said things during his sermons that, if they weren't outright heretical, were at least theologically questionable.
So instead of the struggle to get to Mass being one of establishing my "routine," this time I had to either get to a Church farther away (not always practically possible), or just find some way to "ignore" this priest and focus on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass itself. I thought my struggle would be to set up a new routine. And I'd gotten pretty good at disciplining myself to keep a Mass schedule. But it wasn't that. It had to deal with this priest.
So I'm fighting that old battle - getting into a routine of getting to Mass. But all of a sudden this weird priest pops into the picture. New battle.
In the end, there is one thing that doesn't change: the struggle. Whether it's the struggle to keep the business running smoothly, or the struggle to sanctify our work each day, we Catholic men are always on the front line.
We can't afford to be complacent. That last battle you fought is over. Today's a new day. It's time to fight today's battle.
Fighting the last battle is a typical tendency most of us have - and it's not just a military thing. We prepare for the enemy we know, for what we've faced in the past. But things hardly ever repeat themselves the same way. We prepare for one thing, then face another sometimes different entirely problem or threat.
What does this have to do with us Catholic men at work?
We all work on two levels: the natural and the supernatural. On a natural level, we need to bring all our skills and talents to our jobs every day - especially during these tough times. (If you're unemployed now, you need to bring all your skills and talents into the search for a job.) The world of work - whether it's our competition, our clients, or maybe even the boss - has a way of throwing new challenges our way. Sometimes it seems like we get new challenges every day.
You can't always handle new problems and challenges the same old ways. You can't just fight the last battle. One of the companies I once worked for - a big consumer products company - fought the last battle against a long time competitor. It's all we ever heard about in our internal meetings. Meanwhile, a new, smaller competitor was cleaning our clocks out there in the real world. We never knew what hit us until it was too late.
So we've got to bring all our practical skills and talents to work every day. We need to pay attention, stay focused on the challenges of the day, do our business to the best of our ability.
Now for the supernatural level. Much as we're absorbed in the practical details of our daily work, we Catholic men can't forget the supernatural. Our work isn't just about pleasing our boss, or making a sale, or fighting the competition, or driving profits to the bottom line. That's all important. But we can't forget the struggle to sanctify our work. We can't forget that ultimately we work our way towards Heaven.
We can't fight the last battle in our supernatural life either. Between our own shortcomings and the creative ways the devil has of getting to us, we've got to be vigilant. Here's a quick example:
It took me a long time to get into the habit of daily Mass (at least most days). I struggled to get my schedule "just so" until I was able to carve out the time for Mass every day at 12:30. Just when I got the "routine" down, the church got rid of the12:30 Mass. Okay, not the end of the world. I adjusted to the noon or 1 PM Mass (lucky me, having such a choice!).
But then my work moved to another part of town. My commute was longer, my work was a bit different.
I tried the same approach - forcing myself into a set routine that carved out a time for Mass. It didn't work. It wasn't that there wasn't a Church nearby with a noon Mass. It was just that the priest was - well, he was this really "modernist" type who said the Mass in a kind of quirky way that was totally distracting. He also occasionally said things during his sermons that, if they weren't outright heretical, were at least theologically questionable.
So instead of the struggle to get to Mass being one of establishing my "routine," this time I had to either get to a Church farther away (not always practically possible), or just find some way to "ignore" this priest and focus on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass itself. I thought my struggle would be to set up a new routine. And I'd gotten pretty good at disciplining myself to keep a Mass schedule. But it wasn't that. It had to deal with this priest.
So I'm fighting that old battle - getting into a routine of getting to Mass. But all of a sudden this weird priest pops into the picture. New battle.
In the end, there is one thing that doesn't change: the struggle. Whether it's the struggle to keep the business running smoothly, or the struggle to sanctify our work each day, we Catholic men are always on the front line.
We can't afford to be complacent. That last battle you fought is over. Today's a new day. It's time to fight today's battle.
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