Progress is Beautiful

When great isn’t good enough

A lot of writing I do on here comes out of personal experience. Sometimes my thoughts come from reflections on hard lessons I’ve had to learn through major failures. I do not work for myself, which is something I think can be said of a lot of us.

Recently I was asked to create something very specific. I wrestled with it for a few days. Came up with a game plan and carried it to completion. Now I’ll be honest. I wasn’t enthralled with the concept from the beginning. But it’s my job. My job is to serve my client and ultimately create for them what they seek.  So, I get over that aspect of my job fairly quickly. It just comes with the territory.

And by the way, this following point is free. This is a entirely separate post in itself. Didn’t really want to get into it. But I think it’s so prevalent in creative cultured circles. Not matter what, it’s still needs to get done. And there’s two way’s you can go about doing it.

You can fuss/moan the whole way through, and let everyone know how unpleasant of an attitude you have about is.  Or you can do your best with what you have and create something you can be proud of.

More on that another time.

Bottom line. I created something. I did what I was asked. I met and surpassed the expectations. Showed it to the client. They didn’t like it.

What!?!

I did exactly what I was asked to do. And they acknowledged that it was what they asked for and I met the expectations that were laid before me at the start of the project.

But…it wasn’t what they were looking for. And there is a big difference.

Don’t mistake the fact that just because you give them what they ask for you are giving them what they need. Sometimes clients don’t know what they need until they get what they asked for. Sometimes that’s when the real magic happens. Remember…it’s a process. And, it’s not one that’s for everyone. It’s the nature of the game we have chosen to play.

So instead of flying off the handle and bad-mouthing the client (c’mon…we all do it) the next time you deliver what was asked and it wasn’t what they were looking for, look to embrace the process. Embrace the challenge that was difficult to begin with and probably feels more impossible the deeper you get.  

You get to help them find what they are looking for. You get to guide them. It’s quite a responsibility.

When you finish, finish with just as much hope/passion/hype for the project as you started it with. And if you didn’t start with an attitude like that, change it. We get to do what we love. Act like it. It’s more rewarding and you’ll look like you enjoy your job.