But here's something a little bit bizarre, and I feel okay sharing this on this forum. I'm likeable. My coworkers, and quite a few of my students, like me. I don't know that I ever thought I was particularly unlikeable, but there is a level of warmth that I wasn't expecting.
I am also (finally) learning this skill that other people seemed to learn a lot more quickly: networking. With people, with computers, basically any two things that can connect, I'm finally stringing up the lines. Just this past week I put together tutor and tutoring client, because I am a trusted resource, a thumbtack in the corkboard of my industry. I put people together who otherwise never would have found each other. I am also cognizant of the needs of my industry; I take care of my clients before I take care of my friends. I will not create a reputation for bad quality of service. For some reason I am more proud of this accomplishment than I am of many things that have recently been happening in my life; maybe the realization that I really was the best solution to the problem, that this could not have happened so well without me.
It's very possible that I was so successful in this arena because it was all by text and none of the parties involved saw my awful haircut.
There's a certain unwholesome sub-human in my life... not anymore, in my past I should say. People would call on it to provide services, make connections, and when it didn't come through, they would have to solve the problem themselves. And in the process, they would discover that they didn't need it at all. But if this thing had come through, had solved the problem, they would have come to rely on it. They would have called it back again and again; it would have become an invaluable resource, because they would never learn to do these things without it. That's what I'm setting myself up for; to become invaluable. To be the shortcut that my clients always know will get them to where they need to go faster than if they tried it themselves.
I will probably never charge finder's fees to my old clients. I've always said that owed favors are worth more than money. That philosophy is evolving a little bit. I don't think that they will ever owe me favors. But as I strengthen my connections with each of them, I increase my access to their networks. And solid networks are gold. This world runs on money, that's true, but money runs thorugh people; you have to know people, and get along with them, to succeed. They have to trust you. And trust is transferable. The friend of my friend is my friend. My old clients trust the person I refer to them because I say he is trustworthy; their trust in me is transferred to him. And frankly, I originally found him on craigslist; I didn't actually know if he was any good until I tried him out on another client. But they vouched for him, so now I vouch for him. Interestingly, I had first given that substitution to a friend from school; he screwed it up. I will never refer him to a client again.
And that is why I am so worried about screwing up at this job, even though I don't plan on coming back. These people can still vouch for me. Whether or not they do is based on a relatively short window of interaction. I have two months. But the last guy, the guy who screwed up, he only had a week. Maybe it was just a bad week. Doesn't matter. The consequences are there.
Moral of the story; there is never an excuse for low performance, especially when you only have a brief period to make or break your image with a group of people. I'm not a particularly high-influence person. But when a client needed help, and an industry-acquiantance needed a job, I was able to put them together. For those two people, I AM important. Making a good impression to me can be the difference between getting much-needed help and not, getting much-needed work and not. I am a thumbtack, holding together many bits of colored string. In my line of work, in my industry, people want to be connected to me. That gives me power. The more I use it to do a good job, the more power I will have, because the more people will rely on me.
This probably sounds bizarre, and I want to clarify that while I may be a bit power-hungry, I am using it to the utmost good. I have no interest in using my power to harm people. Insure my own security? Maybe. Forward my goals? Absolutely. But what are my goals? The betterment of the lot of all mankind. That goal can be dangerous, depending on who you ask, but I think, so far, I'm a pretty benevolent force in the universe. People want powerful benevolent forces on their side. Isn't that why we pray to God?
No comments:
Post a Comment