Archive for June, 2007

• 6.11.07 "DC and Identity" is posted in Reflections

Walking around DC with khakis and a blue shirt is so anonymous. Some of us want to save the world, and some want to take it over. But we’re special, right? To who, though?

Oh great star! What would your happiness be if you did not have us to shine for?
Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra  (thx, Andrew, for the reference)

Studies say something like 85% of us think we’re better looking than average. (Well that might be the case for the girls around Adams Morgan, but that doesn’t really help my mood.) We all have followed our paths, some have lived up to their dreams…but when you’re stuck behind two dozen tourists on the incredibly long Dupont Center escalator…none of us are really special.

I don’t know, it’s just one of those nights. Part of me knows my work is changing people’s lives. And I’m happy with the path I’ve traveled. But it’s hard to feel unique sometimes. I don’t know that a change in wardrobe would help any, either.

• 6.5.07 "Commitment" is posted in Rant, Reflections, Work & Career

Sometimes I wonder how it is that people can live with themselves. I respect those that have different values and I recognize that we all have our weaknesses–but from where I stand there’s no reason why people say they’ll do things and then don’t. Sometime between birth and eighth grade it became apparent to me that commitments were not to be broken and that there really isn’t much ambiguity–you just do the things you say you’re going to do and there’s nothing more to it.

Let me make this clear–I’m not talking about attempting things and failing or missing a deadline. I’m not talking about New Year’s Resolutions or personal challenges that don’t pan out after a few weeks. And I’m not talking about times when there is a psychological or societal pressure to say something. I’m talking about when things are cut and dry–when you say you’re going to do something and the person you say it to has every reason to genuinely believe that you’ll do it.

In general the things that bug are me are really small, like saying that one’s going to call (without any prodding on your end for them to) or canceling multiple times for reasons like, “I’ve had a long day.” If I’m making time for someone then I know they’re making time for me, and I’m not going to mess up their day even though it’s not convenient for me.

One of my all time pet peeves (more…)

• 6.5.07 "Sometimes the stars align, but still things get heavy" is posted in Reflections, Work & Career

Sometimes the stars align, like they did this month at work. We got a lot of great business, and my folks stepped up to the plate and swung hard. Three huge projects and some marketing efforts, all well done–such a good feeling. But now it’s back to the same old grind.

It’s not bad, it never really gets bad. But being in a service business feels precarious at times. Got to come up with a new plan for selling. Got to make the processes faster and more reliable. Got to keep everyone happy. Got to figure out how to grow, and ask yourself why at the same time.

I guess the goal as a businessowner is to try to get things to exist without you–so that the business becomes a thing unto itself and you’re not required for every decision and every action. But the scary thing with that, at least for me, isn’t the giving up control. With trust, I can let go of things. The scary thing is that each time you hand away one more responsibility you have a little more commitment and dependence. They trust you for there to be work and you trust them to complete it. And both of those areas can get hairy…they just haven’t yet for me. Well, maybe they have, but their names aren’t going to mentioned in this piece… (more…)