Continuing on through Nehemiah, I read through Chapter 3 recently. This chapter tells how everyone was pitching in with the completion of the wall. It describes the specific places where the people of Jerusalem were building. When you breeze through the chapter you see that there are mayors, nobles, priests, men, women, and all kinds of people helping with this great cause.

You also see that the people are building around “their” area of the wall. An English Play write and Poet, John Heywood said, “many hands make light work.” This does not mean, however, that many hands make great work. There is a huge difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Timothy Ferriss talks about this in his book, The 4-Hour Work Week. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean your are doing a good job. And just because you have worked hours on end doesn’t mean that you accomplished anything meaningful.

What did Nehemiah do to ensure great work happened while rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem? He let the people work on the wall around their homes and neighborhoods. The things that were the most important to them. We take pride in our own “stuff” and tend to not worry about everyone else’s stuff or security. This way, not only were there many people working on the wall to get it built quickly, but they were also working effectively producing a great product.