This spectrum of Really Care vs Just A Job isn't entirely accurate. A lot of projects are honestly just hard to "really care" about. The technical work is uninteresting or the mission itself isn't interesting. The monetary goal of success could be the most interesting aspect (i.e. your startup makes it big and you're rich), but the day to day could just not be that compelling.
Over enough time, you will naturally go from a Really Care person to a Just A Job person given the right project environment. The novelty of a job will wear off.
There's no nobility in trying to really care about everything you are paid to do.
I think people who Really Care are as much a product of the environment as they are responsible for creating the environment. I Really Care about what I work on, and I try very hard to make it the best option out there, giving it a huge portion of my creative energy and not just keeping my head down and turning a crank, but I also recognize that in the end, it's also just a job.
upd: I did generalize "I care so much" people as well; but I do consider myself one.
- Colleagues push back on providing status, while simultaneously asking for a long roadmap of your future requests.
- Promotions for your best people get blocked by peers because “Not enough time at level, and others will complain”
- Punishment is much higher for picking up a dropped ball “and not following process” than leaving the ball on the floor.
In the end, if you’re outnumbered too much, it’s a road to frustration rather than success.
> but people that have experienced being embedded with Really Care workers are going to be appalled at the relative effectiveness.
Unless you've experienced the Really Care type of team and situation, it's difficult to understand.
I don't mean any disrespect to the Just A Job people. There is nothing wrong with keeping your head down, getting your work done, and checking it at the door when you sign off at 5PM Monday through Friday. Frankly, that's the correct approach for most people.
However, there really are situations and teams where people won't stop until they can get the outcome as close to their vision as possible.
In my experience, this is far more likely to happen at small startups where members have reasonable equity to work with, as well as significant career upside for accomplishing the big tasks. Large companies like Google are so big that finding upside or even a niche to influence can seem impossible. Combine that with guaranteed high income and the motivation to do work that goes above and beyond gives way to a motivation to be associated with the right projects at the right time, regardless of your contribution.
When I look back, the happiest time of my career was when I was embedded among people who Really Care, trying to accomplish a goal that was likely to fail, working well over 40 hours a week (my choice), and not getting paid much. I've since moved to much higher compensation at bigger companies, but I'm often tempted to give it up to get back to a situation that sparks that kind of motivation and happiness again.