Yesterday’s video post about why you should give up perfection and start aiming for awesome got some great comments and emails. Thanks!

What I learned from shooting the video

I’d been planning to make the video for two months.

• I wrote a mind-map of the points I wanted to make.
• I bought a new video camera with my Christmas money.
• I played around with the camera.
• I bought a nifty tripod.
• I took Elizabeth Potts-Weinstein’s 4 Weeks to Video course.
• I signed up for Andrew Lightheart’s free Presentation Superpowers course.
• I changed the mind-map.

None of this mattered diddly-squat.

What mattered was that on Sunday I picked up the camera and started making the damn video. Then editing it. Then uploading it. Then telling people about it.

It was terrifying.

When I write one of my posts I’m confident that I’ll get some positive feedback. I had no such certainty with the video, and I was nervous.

Yesterday my web server and comments system both had the hiccups and everything went awry and so instead of the half-dozen comments and tweets I usually get in the first hour or so of posting I got zero. None.

I had a minor anxiety attack and had to go lay down for half an hour so I didn’t frantically hit refreshrefreshrefresh on Twitter, email, forums etc to see if someone had responded yet. I was even reloading the YouTube account page to see how many views the video had, which is truly sad and I’m resisting the urge to go do it again.

Was it worth it?

No.

I spent my entire Sunday shooting, editing and watching the damn thing upload (it took 12 hours) until I was so brain-friend I watched Johnny Mnemonic and thought Keanu’s acting was okay.

I spent Monday excitedly thinking about how this was going to be the Next Big Thing and wondering if I should up my server’s resources in case I had a thousand people watching it.

Tuesday was a nightmare of everything going wrong and hand-clenching why-is-no-one-reponding pacing and the realisation: being shouted at is better than being ignored. (At least shouters care, even if they don’t approve.) And when there were commenters again, they were pleasant and supportive and offered good advice but it was not enough to slow my racing anxious heart. I had a sick headache and I got no work done because I could think about nothing other than how it was being received.

The supreme irony

I was acquiring more resources instead of shooting. I spent more than two months planning and planning and never executing. I was incredibly anxious about whether it would be liked.

It sounds a bit like I was trying to make it perfect, doesn’t it?

Hilarious!

What I should have done

If I’d shot the video on the first day I’d thought of it, I would have moved faster than my expectations. It wouldn’t have been as good (I had less presenting and technical skill and a much dodgier camera), but I’d be happy with the number of views, comments and tweets no matter how small it was. And I would have made another video the next day. And the day after. By now I would have two months of regular footage and I know I’d be better at it than I am now.

By taking the time I let perfectionism sneak in and whisper in my ear. And perfectionism can sound so reasonable! I did need a better camera. I did need to learn more about editing and lighting and presentation.

But that’s still bullshit. That’s still fear talking. Every time I think I have it beat, that sneaky little bastard finds a new way in.

What I’ll do now

I’ll be reshooting that video in the near future with improvements from the feedback: the new version will have louder sound and be much shorter. (The two-shirts schtick will stay since everyone seems to like it. I’m glad!)

Most important, I’ll keep being vigilant about stopping perfectionism from sneaking in to my awesome. And my best chance of doing that is to act before he gets a chance to whisper in my ear.

Your five-minute mission, which you should damn well accept…

1. Pick one thing that you’ve been too uncomfortable to do because too much seems to be riding on it: calling a prospect, writing a post, confronting someone, building something…

2. Go and do it Right Now.

3. Come and tell me what you did in the comments.

photo credit: somegeekintn

Ideas are tricky little buggers: sometimes you have to step outside of your usual routines to trap the good ones. In the list below, steer away from actions you perform regularly. Try something new and you’ll discover a bunch of new ideas lurking!

1. Buy a book. Buying a book instead of borrowing it makes you more likely to think of it as important and pay attention to the information inside. (I use BetterWorldBooks.com because they recycle old books and give them a new life. Also, cheaper shipping to Australia, score.)

2. Chat to a stranger. Open up a conversation with the person in front of you in the line at the post office. If they’re unresponsive, try someone else. Why yes, it is awkward! But if you’re always talking to the same few people then you’re missing out on an awful lot of ways to see the world. And a lot of really awesome ideas.

3. Read a political blog. One that you violently disagree with! Spend some time trying hard to understand their viewpoint. Why do they feel the way they do? Do their ideas make sense, even if you don’t agree with them?

4. Read a magazine. Get something you’d never read in a squillion years. (Crotchet Monthly? Truck Haulers World? Mad About Mandolin?)

5. Go somewhere new. I don’t mean Guatemala, (although if you can afford it send me photos), even three suburbs over is fine. Have lunch, people-watch in the park, see what’s the same and what’s slightly different.

6. Eat a scary meal. Your idea of scary and mine will likely differ. (Internal organs? Shudder.) Choose something that is edible (in the sense that you can see people eating it), but that you’d never, ever considered putting in your mouth.

Did new actions bring forth new ideas? Tell us in the comments!

photo credit: donakeannadoanek3n4an

The following is the fruits of seven years or so of having been involved in interviewing and hiring techies, and over ten years of working amongst my own kind and observing. And to clarify, by techies I mean people with specialised computer skills, whether it’s administering servers, developing code for your website, or possibly even doing the visual design and layout for your site. Now, you might find that the majority of jobs you need a techie for are short, clearly defined pieces of work that are well-specified. In which case, the personality and peccadilloes of the techie is less important than their resume or previous work.

All the same, the info here might be useful in determining whether to use someone again and again. So here’s some traits to keep an eye out for, and some possible ways to check for them.

Also, I’ve thrown in some quotes from Hagakure, my favourite book. It’s relevant in a way, given that the book is primarily about the relationship between a retainer and their lord (albeit in feudal Japan) Because fundamentally techies are retainers – well-trained retainers, but retainers all the same. We’re here to serve some fundamental need that is larger than just our work. At any rate, here’s hoping you find the quotes interesting.

Once there was a certain man who was very clever, but it was his character
to always see the negative points of his jobs. In such a way, one will be useless.
If one does not get it into his head from the very beginning that the world is full
of unseemly situations, for the most part his demeanor will be poor and he will not
be believed by others. And if one is not believed by others, no matter how good a
person he may be, he will not have the essence of a good person. This can also
be considered as a blemish.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Arrogance: What’s Their Attitude to Mere Mortals?

If I had a nickel for every time someone I’d worked with on a contract had said “They just don’t get it, man” then… I’d have a very heavy pile of nickels that wouldn’t do me much good in Australia. But it would still be a potent visual reminder that this sure happens a LOT.

A common byproduct of such specialised knowledge, and a genuine love for the field that they work in, which are both laudable traits on their own, is the unfortunate tendency to look down their nose at people who don’t understand and appreciate the inner workings of their field themselves. Which is a shame when it happens.

What To Do: When talking with your potential techie, pick a particular term or technology you’re unfamiliar with, and profess your ignorance. Ask the techie to explain further, and see what happens. Hopefully, they’ll accommodate your request happily, rather than sighing in exasperation. The key thing you’re looking for here is how they react to a lack of understanding from you – what happens to how they interact with you.
When something is said to you by the master, whether it is for your good or bad
fortune, to withdraw in silence shows perplexity. You should have some appropriate
response. It is important to have resolution beforehand.
Moreover, if at the time that you are asked to perform some function you have deep
happiness or great pride, it will show exactly as that on your face. This has been
seen in many people and is rather unbecoming. But another type of person knows his
own defects and thinks, “I’m a clumsy person but I’ve been asked to do this thing
anyway. Now how am I going to go about it? I can see that this is going to be much
trouble and cause for concern.” Though these words are never said, they will appear
on the surface. This shows modesty.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Over-promising: Do They Know How To Say No?

On the other side of the fence, one character trait that a lot of techies seem to have is an almost pathological need to please. We like to solve difficult problems for people, and make them happy.

One of the problems that can come with this is a tendency to over-promise – to be rather optimistic about underlying challenges and deadlines, and not want to say no. To be fair as well, deadlines for technical tasks can also end up being unrealistic because of unexpected complexity – kind of like that follow-up phone call from the mechanic where they explain that things are actually going to cost a LOT more, and you really should think about canceling that trip around Europe by the way. Or paying for food for the next month.

Ideally, you want your techie to have the battle scars that give them the instincts to push back on unrealistic deadlines and say no. Because you can’t plan with deadlines that won’t be met. Whatever crucial part of your site they’re putting together for you won’t be ready in time for key tasks, and everything will fall apart.

What To Do: When discussing estimates for a particular task, see what happens if you suggest compressing the time taken by 30%. This is a guesstimate figure because it’s small enough to seem reasonable, but still a big enough chunk of time that it’s unlikely to not have an effect on the work. Ideally, your techie should gently but firmly explain that the task will take a fixed amount of time. Or, they might be willing to compress timelines a little in exchange for other considerations (eg. more money for more stress, or extending other deadlines)

What you don’t want to see is them nodding and saying ‘sure’ with a daredevil adrenaline-junkie glint in their eye, or sighing, slumping in resignation and agreeing to the new timeframe. If you’re given timeframes that match with reality, you can plan around that even if they’re longer than you’d really like.

What you can’t plan around is a constant state of “Just a few more days”.

(Note: tread lightly with this one, as pushing too hard on timelines will give the impression that you either don’t understand the reality of the situation, or you’re unreasonable)

I’ll be back Monday with Part Two. In the meantime, let me know what you think.

Tips on managing troublesome techies, or books/articles you’ve read that have given you great advice? Hit us up in the comments!