Earlier quoted context omitted.
If the janitor didn't have reasons to hide behind, then he should have taken initiative to get the new keys or pick the lock or break the door or whatever it'll take to achieve his goal. The notion is that a VP shouldn't have reasons to hide behind. She must achieve her goal using any approach necessary, especially since her process is not spelled out for her like the janitor's is. A VP should take initiative even if…
"Steve Jobs doesn't have expectations for janitors." That whole ideology is unsettling to me. The way in which janitors are singled out as not having the same level of expectations to accomplish their tasks as a VP or any other position. I was a janitor for my high school, and I can tell you from my experience we busted our tails making sure the floors were swept and mopped and the all garbage was taken out on time e…
Asses were busted but at the end of the day you go home and there's no lingering stress. I did my rounds, I cleaned my floors, I noted the gauges and rewound the tapes. It's someone else's shift now, they can deal with the leaky pipes or the stuck elevator or the mold in the stairwell. It was a very different type of job from say... founding a startup, or even just being yet another software engineer.
I guess the more you introduce creativity, ownership, and absence of process... the more you depart from the land of janitorial services.