Bored professional or enthusiastic amateur?

At the June meeting of Trade Marketing Klub, I heard the remark that “I would rather work with an enthusiastic amateur than a bored professional” from one of our colleagues. Ever since, I have been thinking about this: how can a professional be bored? One of the wise sayings I have heard from my mentors during my sales career goes like this: “Do you know what the difference is between a professional and an amateur? You don’t? Professionals know that they know what they have to know and do their best to solve whatever they have to solve with self confidence.Well, amateurs know that they are amateurs. They know their limits and can make up for the lack of knowledge or experience with enthusiasm and more work. Semi-professionals however, are the people you have to be wary of, since they think they are professionals, whereas in reality, they are amateurs.” To answer my question, I do not think a professional can be bored, because as soon as one becomes bored, he or she is no longer a professional. Consultants love 2 x 2 matrixes, like the “CAN-WILL” matrix as these make practical conclusions easy to see. We are not however, always willing to use a straightforward method like this. We are often inclined to regard old colleagues as “professionals” automatically, just because they have been with us for a long time. .Being employed for a long time is not a virtue. Being a good employee is a virtue. CEO-s are often lonely. We often forget that employees in the lowest positions, performing routine tasks with dedication can be just as lonely. Fortunately, we can see an increasing number of job satisfaction surveys being conducted, which can help in adapting work environments and organisational structures to suit dedicated employees.