Gaussian Distribution Of Height

When somebody says “Jump,” don’t ask “how high?”  Just jump as high as you can

It does seem to be a good approach, though perhaps not as efficient as it could be.

That's about the only problem with my system, I think.  But when you compare it to all of the problems it solves, ultimately, I think it's worth it.  Here's what I mean.

It's a fairly common phrase, when somebody is trying to assert their superiority over you, they will say, "When I say jump, you ask how high."  This makes no sense.  First of all, the whole point is to eliminate any semblance of insubordination.  But, by its very nature, it's inviting you to question authority.  The command "Jump" isn't good enough for you, you need to go and get a clarification before you do, rather than simply jumping and getting the whole thing over with.

Secondly, asking the question only serves to force micromanagement of your position.  Not only do you need to be told to jump, but you're not competent enough to know how high you're supposed to jump.  What else don't you know how to do without specific guidance?  Do you need help with the cover sheet on your TPS report?  Micromanagement is annoying, probably for both sides, so there's no need to bring this on yourself.  First of all, know enough about jumping to know when to do it, then have at least a rudimentary understanding of why jumping is required and you should be able to figure out for yourself how high of a jump is necessary.  That's the way to get ahead in life.

Finally, asking how high to jump reinforces the notion that  you're only interested in doing the absolute bare minimum amount of work involved to get the job done.  You should want people to think of you as a go-getter, who's willing to go the extra mile to get the job done.  If the job is jumping, and you want to know how high, it implies that you only want to jump as high as necessary.  Sure, maybe you plan on adding an inch or two to your jump just to be on the safe side, but how is anyone else supposed to know that?  You could announce your intentions, but not only would that cement the belief that you're doing the minimum (plus a little extra), but it also puts extra time and talking in between the command to jump and the actual jumping.  This is probably completely contrary to what the person actually wants when telling you to jump.  

Your best bet when being told to jump is to not worry about how high you need to jump, just jump as high as you can.  If the minimum requirement was a small jump, then you have far exceeded expectations, showing that you're a team player and an extra-effort kind of person.  This is good.  If your jump wasn't high enough, you can't blame yourself for not trying, and you can't blame your lack of understanding of the issue.  All you can do is admit to yourself that your jumping ability is not sufficient for the task, and either try to improve or admit defeat.  Your response to that says a lot about you, and the person telling you to jump's reaction says a lot about them as well.