Good people do bad work too

This is an emotional brain dump of pragmatism.

We all know people in our fields and social circles that we like as people but do not respect as professionals. This disconnect between affinity and evaluation of skill often causes us to make bad business decisions for the sake of friendship. DON’T.

This is especially true of arrangements of subcontracting work. Ultimately, your bottom line is based on the timeliness and quality of the finished product you present to the client. All subcontracting arrangements require management and direction. Editorial decisions must also be made to ensure that what you deliver is something of which you can be proud; as well as what the client has requested.

Therefore, I posit that working in your social circle is not entirely a bad decision; but certainly one that must be based on respect for work instead of respect for friendship. These arrangements can build social capital, but often create tensions and ego problems.

The reason you do what you do is because you believe you are good at it. Good enough, in fact, that what you offer is better that what someone else can offer. Your opinions matter. Your clients buy your services because of their faith in you. Make sure you trust your reputation to the people you think are the best at what you don’t do.

Side note: I have said before that I believe that it is almost always better to refer work out instead of subbing it. I stand by that. Unless you want to run a company, firm, or agency; at which point I say subcontracts should be converted to employment contracts.

Hugs and Headbutts,

-Bully

Awareness of self springs from awareness of others

I am awesome. I know this. You know this (or you should). This is great. However, I am not an island.

I have said one million two hundred and twenty-seven times that no one can do everything (well) alone. We need specialists to make things great.

Being a ‘linchpin’ – a term I am tired of hearing – as Godin suggests in his book of the same name, is not being able to do everything; it is being able to understand how many things are done. I am broad, not deep, in many subjects. I have an intellectual curiosity for knowing how other people view their work and their worlds because I am interested in understanding how to communicate with those people. I don’t need to possess the technical skills to do a specialists job.

My favorite thing about my job and my volunteer work is that I tend to become the central clearinghouse for workflow and information passing between others. I get to see everything that is happening and make sure that everyone is on the same page. It is not creative direction; but rather project management. What this teaches me on a daily basis is that I am good at what I do and others are good at what they do. A mutual respect society is created.

I am not critical of others; but instead I find out through interaction what others are capable and incapable of. This leads me to recognize what I am capable of at the same time. It is self-realization. The statement that “you don’t know what you don’t know” rings both true and false in these instances. It is true from the standpoint of understanding that there are things you simply aren’t even aware of until someone else shows you that it exists; or is possible. It is false based on the availability of that information if you are paying attention.

So open your eyes and recognize the talents, skills, and value of those around you and, in turn, you will recognize your own contributions and shortcomings.

Or not,

Bully

Give me Liberty

I realized today, in discussion with a former colleague, that one important reason (there were many considerations) I was able to walk away from my last longterm job was that I felt stifled only helping one group of people succeed. My position required me to diagnose the problems of many; but did not allow me to assist in fixing them. I know now that that is what I enjoy the most: helping as many people as possible to reach their goals.

This need to help others is driven by two fundamental facets of my personality:

1. I like contributing.
2. Helping other people with their problems helps me put mine in perspective.

The one part of working in the same environment for a long time that burns me out is that I begin to become personally attached to the culture of the company and it’s problems become my personal ones. When the problems of my work become personal, I lose the perspective of distance and the ability to “de-clench”.

Thankfully, I don’t know many people that have so many problems that they need a permanent ‘me’ around; and the short term nature of problems means that I can have a new goal every so often. So I eschew the normal assumption that you work for someone for as long as they’ll pay you what your worth. I stand on the platform that says “give me liberty; and I’ll gladly do the work.”

-There is Brevity in Bully