Comments on: Random observations - Part 2

By: peacemeat™ » Blog Archive » ideas on ideas

peacemeat™ » Blog Archive » ideas on ideas — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:27:51 +0000

[...] Karjaluoto makes some really great observations over at his blog, ideasonideas. It’s great to read some truthful writing about becoming a [...]

By: LaurenMarie - Creative Curio

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:39:08 +0000

I think I'm with Lisa on the "team player" thing and I struggle with that at work--in the sense that I feel forced to be exactly like everyone else on the "team," which goes hand-in-hand with #15. The important point to remember about a team is that everyone has a specific job and those rarely, if ever, overlap. It's like baseball: if the catcher ran to catch the ball in left field no one would be at home plate to tag the runner out.

Heh, #14. I've spent so much time unlearning the rules they taught me in school.

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:24:24 +0000

Hi Lisa,

Sorry that it took a moment for your comment to be shown. (All comments at ideasonideas are moderated before they appear online.)

Thanks for your feedback; I'm happy to hear that you've found the blog to be useful. :-)

Teamwork is, in my mind, the great part about this work, as well as the aspect that frustrates me most. When you're working with people who share the same goals, most projects gain from the increased number of perspectives. That being said, when these objectives diverge, it can be quite a different story.

I currently teach Branding; and, for the introductory class I insist that students work in groups. At the beginning of the semester they all seem to think that this will make the class a cake-walk; however, by the half-way point, three-quarters of the students are perplexed by the difficulties they have in working together. Clearly, these are learned skills that we have to work to improve.

Personally, I am lucky to work with a talented team, in which we all share respect for one another. This makes us stronger than we'd be as individuals and it shows in our output. The work is better as a result of our collaboration, and I think that this galvanizes our team.

I'm not sure if I entirely answered your question. Did that help at all?

Cheers!

Eric

By: L Wilder

L Wilder — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:16:00 +0000

that is my name, and I don't have a website yet, and I don't think my comment was offensive

By: L Wilder

L Wilder — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:15:20 +0000

Love your posts, your practical and straightforward advice and observations are a godsend. Could you write something about working in teams in the design business? I know teamwork is important but sometimes I think if I hear the words "team player" again I'm going to puke
Thanks Eric

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:15:05 +0000

Hi Scott,

I haven't been employed by anyone for almost a decade now, so my thoughts on this front are mostly from a client-focused standpoint. To date, I've never been "fired" by a client, but there are likely a few people out there for whom we might not be the first choice to work with again, given our approach.

Mostly, I think the whole issue is about honesty. People are universally tired of bullshit. As such, if a client is making a choice that could damage their business, I have to make note of this. Some are put-off by such feedback, but most appreciate my candor. (And those typically turn out to be the nicest people to work with.)

I think you're on the right track to just tell the people who you work with that you're working on something and haven't found the solution yet. Things like these simply take some time to figure out. In my mind, there's nothing wrong with that. :-)

Cheers!

Eric

By: Scott Lowe

Scott Lowe — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:06:48 +0000

15 is great. Have you ever been fired for trying to solve a problem the way it needs to be solved rather than your employers idea of how to solve it?
Its something I'm always worried about. I feel like saying that I am trying to understand the problem and its possible solutions just makes me sound foolish, especially if I don't have a strong direction yet.
What do you think?

By: Steven Clark

Steven Clark — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 02:35:51 +0000

Number 20: so true. It's no use marketing to the masses as the average solution.

I read a few Seth Godin books where he talks about Purple Cows and marketing to the edges. Anyone can be mediocre, you're talking about the same thing as Seth there - being exceptional or remarkable at something.

Apologies for the side rant. I do think more people in the industry need to be aware of number 20. One web manager rescinded a job offer after getting to know me - he said I "took the web too seriously". My perspective is that sites should be accessible, usable, semantically marked up etc etc. I'm glad I never got that job BTW...

Great tips. Thanks for sharing.

By: ansari ali

ansari ali — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:37:04 +0000

Lovely post. insights and perspective where i think everyone can relate to. thank you for writing.
godspeed in your journeys everyone.

By: Sean Hodge

Sean Hodge — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:00:57 +0000

Thanks for the post. Go as narrow as you can approach. I've found that applying this to blogging helped to grow the fist thousand subscribers. Not I'm working on expanding the subject, while still writing about the core subject occasionally. Thanks.