i've never been one for due process
My talent in general is spontaneous creative combustion. Applied to my current profession of research I end up with fairly stable predictable outcome. However over time its clear to me what works and what doesn't and lately I've been a stubborn dick about what doesn't work and rather than taking the typical shutout, I take it all the way to source and confront them. I will always been the jack of all trades. I can dabble in this, speculate in that, kickss in this other thing, know a bit of that, have some tasty observations in y and have heavy interests in z. Its a good and bad thing for me.
I do get snagged on things like the big picture, fixing something in the interior of a project when the outside is unusable really rubs me the wrong way. Its like here, fix this gun firing mechanism and btw, gun itself is not usable nor wanted or even realized by the end user. So why fix G, when a b c d e f haven't been addressed yet? I always get hung up on this. Cause so much of the real experience, or adoption of this product relies on it being "real". However I'm a ho like anyone else, I'll take the work, perform as needed, submit my results and move on.
Lately I've been getting nipped here in there on things. There are always pawns of power in play. Those that fight for clout, space, say, lately its been say. Who's got say over x over y over z. I'll probably never have say of research methodologies or approaches to the extreme of x and y and z. You get say based on yer background. Do I have 20 years of interactive blissful xp? No. Can i make some reccomendations? Sure. Do I have years of xp in video? Yes. Technology? Yes. Creative approaches to field research needs? Yes. Report writing? No. Hah... Like the blog my report writing is a stream.
Alot of times I fight for more realistic reports. A 50 page document looks nice, yep, its heavy. If I was Howard Huges of X corp, I'd look at it and if I couldn't find resolve or any realization of what went wrong in the first 3 pages - I'd show you the door. I like to get to the point. And not all scholarly either really. Biz does have its share of word wizards, but consumers rule them, consumes buy them, consumers in the common language of 'this sucks" or 'this rocks the house" is what makes people passionate. So say it. Take out the 14 point scrabble words, dare to actually say what you wanna say without sending people to dictionary.com to better understand what you mean by "this blows fix it".
I realize there's a fine line of course. My hurdles are often, like web design, i get stuck in what I want. Creative types do that I think. We get locked in on one aspect and then we freeze, cant move until we figure it out yet that aspect of its development is trivial really, move past it, innovate, thats what you do.
Trying to juggle what I want and what I want to say and how I want to be read is important. Lately I've taken what is at first a type of slam, and turned it around on the would be slammer. And what gets me the most is terminology. We profess that we need to tell the client to speak in the common language of the customer in order for their application to be successfully adopted and here at work, I barely find common language between co-workers. My example of X are Y to someone else, so I get told.. "we didn't have Y.." and I say "well thats X" and they say "yeah but.." and there's nu but usually. We are creative thinkers, if two apples are on the table and one is "delicious" and the other "new york whatever" type, we can't even agree that they are both apples. One apple must yield to the other apple. Sometimes I think its funny how research firms express these golden rules for doing it right amongst the masses yet they themselves need to go look in the mirror as well. Why can't people see similar aligned values and make the connection that hey this goes with this. But instead i get reminded that I missed Y.
Fight the fight that's worthy of fighting. I'm old. I take pride in caring about what matters really. Petty arguments don't go far with me really. Get over it. Change and move on. Someone wants me off a project - cool by me. Be productive. Typically its fine really, lately, I've had fine with an added clause for why. Cause if I don't know why then I can't improve or factor in whether or not I want to improve, or if it makes sense to improve, but I want the option. Other wise I can't really learn anything. No one can.
I've done some interesting lines of work really. I've sold broadcast video gear, I've sold Avid's and editing systems, I've worked with great consultants and trendy sales folk, I edited Japanese animation and subtitled on an avid god forbid. I've edited trailers and created web sites, I've created visual image campaigns to stimulate a brand, I've been a voice in marketing and brand perception and placement in the marketplace. I've made reccomendations and shared my undying passion for what I feel is a "hit", a judgement that if fails costs you dearly. I've worked on live action films, worked hand in hand with directors, I've done field research and devised mechanisms and research approaches that are out of the box. I've pushed aside what typically is expected and tried to over deliver in all my works. I've met with clients and talked the talk but always made it clear that honesty is king. Be an ass is fine if you want to impress, but being yourself is far more impressive. I've made everyone laugh a bit along the way. It's been a good ride really.
So take it easy. Fight for what's important, friends, family and love for one another... damn that sounds cheesy. Don't ya hate it when love one another just sounds so hookey? Ahhh well. Be respectful but remember to laugh, pick up those pennies and have a good time ya know. And remember, always remember, you've come a long way baby!