I write some of my best articles, books, and coaching and consulting proposals in the wee hours of the morning, long before dawn. Officially, this is not during a 9-5, business day, is it? What if I wanted to sell these precious hours to an employer, with the assertion that this is when I perform best? Do you think I could line-up a job, say with a publisher, to come into headquarters between 1-5 in the morning? Probably, not, right? After all, who is going to supervise me? Will the lights and air conditioning even function at that time? No, most employers implicitly say to creative people, create when we want you to, when we're here, or else. Isn't this just a little unrealistic, if not counterproductive? But it's just one way in which the working world structures work, based on artificial criteria. Let's delve even deeper into the mysteries of the way work is defined, offered, and managed. For instance, I don't know anybody who is paid by the idea, yet ideas are supremely important, right? Similarly, good judgment is crucial to the success of an enterprise, but do you know people who are paid by the judgment? I was called by a former client who was asked me whether a certain electronic device could be sold over the phone, profitably. I replied that I needed to meet with him for a day to become familiar with the device, the pricing, and so forth. "Nah," he rebutted, "You're a pro; just give me your gut reaction!" He didn't want to pay me for a day; in fact, he didn't want to pay at all. By the way, my gut said "Don't do it; it can't be sold over the phone at a profit." But I bit my tongue, and he went off and lost millions trying to sell it that way. I couldn't get away with billing say, $3,500 for my reply, though it was clearly worth that, because business people aren't used to paying by the opinion, by the judgment. In fact, if they think you're so sharp that you can easily disgorge the answer, they think that you should do so, as a favor. Why? Because it didn't take substantial clock time to generate. I saw a film about the famous artist, Pablo Picasso. He worked so fast it was amazing; finishing drawings and cool paintings in mere minutes. Should he have charged by the minute or by the hour for his art? Could he have paid the rent that way? Here's my point: we need to encourage people to charge and to be paid differently for their contributions, in recognition of the value they bestow, not based on the time or place in which the work was performed. |
