Managing the Gray – Positive Advice That Everyone Can Use to Succeed

C.C.

This is an interesting question.

I think when you’re dealing with business and politics isn’t involved it’s easy to look past differences and help with succeeding in that business. When it comes to politics…you are helping someone whose whole job it is is to fight for things that you could be completely opposed to or in agreement with.

I think it gets interesting when you talk about taking on a client that you don’t believe in. This can go multiple ways. It can be that they stand for something you don’t believe in. It can also be a situation of the company not striving to truly do great things and differentiate themselves. Being stuck in the “status quo” if you will. This isn’t limited to taking on a client but can also apply to working internally at a company…trust me.

Here’s a challenging question:

Who would you go to bat for on the Red Team?

Would I even do that is an even bigger question?

Great, open discussion question CC. I really think a big part of this decade is about restructuring what money will and won’t buy you. With so many things of value being created for free by unpaid workers (the open source movement, podcasting in large part, online file sharing, etc.) people really have much more power to say “no thank you.” No thanks to clients who really don’t value the work being done for them as well as not taking on a client in the first place when there isn’t a “good” mix between client and vendor.

Good of course, is defined by each relationship. For me it is a commitment to enhance the bottom line of both companies while working with mutual respect and even admiration.

Doing it for the buck is getting fewer and fewer takers it seems to me.

You might. I know I would. It’s a firm belief of mine that having ANY one party in power for too long is bad for everyone. Opposition and divided government creates compromise and moderation, which is usually good, at least in my admittedly Sith-like opinion.