Being The Cause Of Unemployment
You ain't Marty McFly, but you're still fired.
For the first time in my short freelancing life¹, I’ve run into a very particular, uncomfortable situation. I’ve just got someone fired. Even worse, it may be more than one person.
It’s happened with a new client, who calls me his Simon Cowell of editing. I never watch television, but from what I gather, this is a reference to one of the judges on The X Factor, American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent who is blunt, harsh and generally callous. Thankfully, the comparison was for my Vicious Editor personality’s habit of being outspoken, rather than the callousness.
Our business relationship has developed quickly since my first proofing and he now relies heavily on my comments. He’s also providing a lot of new jobs in different areas, for which I’m very grateful. But let’s get back to the situation.
The telephone conversation went along the lines of the client expressing his satisfaction with my work (good), then a short explanation of the fact that he has various writers producing content for him (interesting) and on into his decision to fire one or more of them (uh-oh) because he considers my writing better.
To coin a phrase, this weirds me out big-time, for two reasons.
Firstly, he’s not the only person to be grateful for my being blunt and harsh. This doesn’t surprise me, given Western society’s continued advance towards being ultra-nice to everybody all the time². A direct, honest approach is refreshing, simpler and saves a lot of time.
Secondly, I’ve never been responsible for someone losing a contract or a job. It goes against my principles as a Nice Guy™. I realise it’s just one of those things that happens in the capitalist world of business, but it’s given me a squirmy, unpleasant feeling down in my stomach.
Of course, there’s nothing I can do about it. I tell myself – correctly – that he’s paying me for my honest opinion and commentary on written content. It would be dishonest (both professionally and morally) not to tell him what I think. It’s not my place to make personnel decisions for a client. It’s not up to me who gets fired or hired. It’s not my fault.
But it still feels like I’ve done a terrible wrong to someone(s) I’ve never met.
¹ The first anniversary is this week!
² In itself, being nice is a good thing (in my humble opinion as someone who tries to be a gentleman), but it’s expensive having to keep thirty kilos of sugar in the cupboard to sprinkle on every word. And it’s bad for your teeth.
I know how you can make up for it. Push a few stories my way. That’s good karma to make up for the bad karma. You’ve never met me, so it would balance things out. But, there’s only one Simon Cowbell on the panel, isn’t there?
I am not a good chaser.
Don’t lose any sleep over this. It’s a dog eats the dog who ate the fish who ate the dog world out there these days.
If a duck could cook eggs it might have an omelette. No matter how nice the duck or the chosen dish, the decision renders the breaking of an eggshell.
On the other hand (or wing) it could make Eggs Benedict. Or, perhaps, scrambled. Hm. Would the latter truly reflect our duck’s personality though? We need to garner opinion from the paddle of duck followers first however (oh come ON, that was a good collective noun, no? Oh. I just found out it’s badelynge, ffs.) because as smart ducks know, it’s the opinion of those feathering the nest that really counts. Our survey shows (quack quack): you’re a benedict kind of duck, deal with it.
You wanna play the game some more? Maybe they owed you one. You remember? Spike The Benedictine Monk. Diligently scribing (I knew I could work the Benedict thing back in) under the watchful and baleful eyes of some Cadfael-esque delusional Abbot and sidekick (Costello?), eager to find fault sufficient or else contrive spurious charge to warrant punishment for breaches of the Order’s Grammatic Rule of the Master. Ah, how communities, freelance sketes or otherwise cenobitic, come around and go around.
I’d watch that tendency to lust though. All that repressed emotion stored in a hermitage situated across from the nunnery is starting to show up in your alluring blog imagery…
Fortunately, none of us can speak in absolutes.
Oscar Wilde: be yourself. Everyone else is taken.
Quinn Martin Production Epilog: water off the duck’s back….
Hey Spike,
Interesting what you say about honesty. In England I felt that people say This is lovely instead of No thank you! But now living 3000 km away but already in the other extreme It is painful sometimes how (even in business-client/customer cases) people can treat each other. I’m begging for some English politeness and respect sometimes. People really need it.
On the other hand I don’t understand why your client thinks it will make you happy if he tells you that a few people will get fired because they are not as good as you.
But after all if you stand in the middle of the circle you have to show your @ss to someone.
Hey Spikester
If there is one common thread/character throughout the tellings of stories across cultures and across times; it is the hard-shelled, tough talkin’, tough ridin’, sharp-shootin’ hero who’s seemingly impermeable exterior and unwavering intractability can only be permeated by either an innocent child, an injured horse or an underdog.
What does this commonality show me? The same thing my experience has taught me…that the planet can be grateful to have a handful of souls that actually care…and can actually feel it.
Arguably these same souls live somewhat anachronistically; perhaps because they see the possibility and that they may pave the way to a world that leans more toward virtue than ‘dry backed ducks’?
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html
Cheers
Stephen G
Steven: Hah, excellent. If I had any spare work I would, seriously: the frightening thing is the incredibly low output of some of the folks being replaced. Dogs eating dogs I can handle, but I don’t particularly like fish. Unless it’s battered, with chips.
Michael: Wouldn’t that make the duck a cannibal? (Whatever happened to Quinn Martin?!)
Szabi: It’s a difficult thing, to walk the line between “honest”, “outspoken” and “bluntly rude”. The English tend toward the more polite (though less so these days, it seems). Personally I aim for the middle of the three: say what you think and think what you say. Colleagues like it, managers usually appreciate it (though not the stupid ones) and directors hate it. Such is life. And I’m not showing my posterior to anyone, thank you very much!! (Love the analogy.)
Stevo: The injured horse and underdog I can understand, but the child? Bah. Afraid I have a weaker spot for animals. Despite my British stiff upper lip.
(Cool TED reference, will check that out, thank you.)
Oh yeah I totally loved the TED reference as well. Thank you Stephen for sharing that video. TED.com is a really cool website.