I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel. My 3D des1gner stayed up all night to get through the latest round of changes from my crazy people. What he brought in today looked great. My people looked at it and started with quibbling little comments about the height of a screen or what direction the elements were facing on a shelf. I pulled them back by asking, "So, judging by the things you're picking out, am I right to think that you're basically happy with the overall design?"
"Oh, yes. It's great."
Finally! This has been the two longest weeks of my life. Our strateg1st went to the client on Monday and walked them through our approach and they said he was right on, so at least they won't be in total shock when they see the solution (I hope). I never have work dreams and last night I dreamt that I was with two of the clients and we were trying to print a banner for the p1tch. We were totally stressed about content and delivery. Which IS my next hurdle. I have to pull together content for a writer who thinks he has 6 days to work and I have to tell him we need content by EOD Friday. The standup is Thursday and we have a m1crosite, a PDF 'book' and a p1tch deck to layout before then.
Somehow people think that you hand content to a des1gner and push print and it pops right out. They have NO idea how many hours it takes to lay things out, much the less find images, create graphics and then make sure there aren't stupid typos. Grrrr... At least I'm not doing the final layout so that's a relief. I'm 'managing' so I don't have to be in the trenches.
3 comments:
Your final line troubles me: "I'm 'managing' so I don't have to be in the trenches."
That line reflects a conventional American, elitist attitude -- that management is above the peons.
Here are two example on which you can reflect:
"At General Electric, I was able to witness several excellent managers in action. The capable production managers walked the plant daily. They knew many of the workers by name. They often conversed with them. The workers knew that -- if anything was troubling them -- they could tell it directly to the top dog. Thus, the boss could learn both good and bad news that wasn't coming up the chain of command. Walking the plant kept the manufacturing operations balanced and improved both morale and productivity. The hourly workers -- as well as the tech people -- knew that their efforts mattered and were appreciated.
Contrast: Boeing. It (still) does most of its
production in the Seattle area. But, its head-
quarters is in Dallas. A prescription for disaster.
And the larger problem: Our profit-glutted
corporations have learned that they can survive
and thrive without need for American workers.
Both Lockheed and Boeing are thinking of
assembling mainframes in India -- except for
profits, a programmed disaster.
Second example: Pope Gregory I (the Great) -- the pontiff who put together the papacy as an international empire -- described his job as "the servant of the servants of God."
That's the right Christian perspective -- the job chart is not a pyramid, but a V.
I suspect that you know all this in your gut and do it instinctively, but beware of elitist management thinking.
I just wanted to thank you for your encouragement with my latest post. That particular post was my entry into a scholarship contest for the conference. :-)
I'm glad that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You certainly have a lot going on, and I would imagine it's all a bit overwhelming, and would likely be more so if you were in the trenches.
Take care! Looking forward to more updates!
Thanks, Dad. You're right that there's an elitist attitude. After three years of getting content chucked at my head on a Friday and due on Sunday, I'm fighting hard for my creatives to get the time they need to do their work. I'm just relieved I don't have to do the all-nighters to make this stuff happen. If that relief makes me an elitist, so be it! ;-)
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