Your Co-workers

  What about them? Of course, you are perfect.
 
Consider the people you work with.
Is each of them competent? Are most competent? Are any of them competent? Do any of them care about how competent they are? Do any of them apply extra effort to improve their skills? When one of them makes a mistake, does he immediately rectify it, improve his procedures, and learn from his error? Does he ever try to teach you about his error in order to improve your skills?
Pause to consider how concerned and involved with their work some of your co-workers are.
Consider those who have little regard for the caliber of their work. Consider how anxious they are to leave work each day. Consider how much time they take for breaks and lunch. Consider how much time they spend listening to iPods, talking on cell phones, downloading entertaining and personal information each day while on company time... while not performing their task assignments.

Pause to consider how reliable your co-workers are.
Consider who among your co-workers you could be confident in relying upon in a critically dangerous situation.
Pause to consider various professions and tradesmen with whom you interact.
Consider how many doctors, lawyers, accountants, managers, and top executives you interact with who are not able to comprehend the subject and technical aspects of their work. How many would you trust in your own business and personal life?
Consider how many mechanics, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and others do not actually understand the fundamentals of their work. How many of them strive to improve their skills? How many would you trust in your business and personal life?

Considering your co-workers, those individuals whom you know and interact with, how could you expect government workers to be any more competent? How might government workers be more competent? Or, even as competent as your co-workers? After all, they are entwined within a bureaucracy where they are insulated from the consequences of low performance, they often have excess time to complete task assignments, and they have guaranteed near-permanent job security.

What about you? How much respect for and interest in your work product do your co-workers have for your skills and job performance?

Perhaps in today's economy with the option to out-source jobs that cost less and return high profit, perhaps you should expect no more from anyone else than the amount of high caliber effort and quality workmanship that you provide on your job.
Consider the broad range of individuals that you have been reviewing in your mind as you read this. Yes, the incompetence, laziness, uncaring, uninvolved, disregard openly exhibited by your co-workers is pervasive.
And you?