🖋️ It’s time for me to take over the narrative
Ep. 26: Our slush fund runneth over, being manipulated, and the power of being a V-shaped worker
Well, we made it to March without much significant snowfall here, and Friday’s storm was a bit of a snoozer, too. It fell as mostly water, and it’s getting more likely that we’ll escape this season without the pleasure of cross-country skiing. Here’s a picture of the slush-fest in my backyard. These days generally seem cold, damp, and overcast. How are things where you are?
A Tip for the Modern Worker
Master the business of being social. How well do you know the other people you work with? When you interact only around work, you miss part of the picture. Schedule a recurring agenda-free time to meet as a group. Give yourself a space to be with others without a specific business problem to solve or status to update. You'll get to know each other so much better! This closer connection, in turn, will help ease business-oriented interactions.
This tip is one of 365 in my Handbook for the Modern Worker. During a recent call, we spent the first ten minutes talking about HBO’s The Last of Us. We talked about Joel and Ellie, the show’s fantastic storytelling, and then segued into other leisure topics. At one point, satisfied that we’d had enough water cooler talk, I redirected us, saying “Okay, it’s time for me to take over the narrative. Who wants to talk about [insert meeting topic]? It was a really fun part of the day, and I’m sure we would have enjoyed even more time to talk.
#365DayDraw
I drew this and wrote the accompanying annotation as part of my #365DayDraw project 7 years ago today.
Manipulative
Uh-oh. Was I feeling manipulated when I drew this? It’s pretty direct, so I’d have to say: signs point to yes. Marionettes can’t complain about being controlled, but humans sure can.
Commentary
I read Jeroen Kraaijenbrink’s post on the topic of knowledge. It’s a short read, so go ahead and click over, then come back here. I’ll cite the most critical part here, though:
Like the T-shaped employee, a V-shaped employee has deep knowledge in one area. And along the same line, they also have shallow knowledge about a broad range of other domains. The key difference is the part in between. What is needed to effectively work in organizations today, I believe, is “adjacent knowledge,” knowledge that is related to the employee’s core expertise. It is not deep, nor shallow, but in between—hence the V-shape. — Jeroen Kraaijenbrink
This really resonated with me, and I attribute much of my career success and longevity in a role to being more V-shaped than T-shaped. I have a deep wealth of knowledge and skill when it comes to user experience and design. Adjacent to that, though, is a skill set that comes from working in a variety of capacities on a broad spectrum of projects: information architecture, editorial, graphic design, QA, development, databases, design standards, mobile, public speaking, marketing, branding, business analysis, and client service. Taken together, this adjacent knowledge helps me be a better designer and team player. By no means am I a jack of all trades in my profession, but I like to say this: I know enough to be dangerous.
Miscellanea
📍 I love Substack’s network. It’s what led me to subscribe to Bryan Gentry’s
, and I’d like to highlight his recent article Always have a destination. It highlights the importance of meaning, engagement, and purpose, especially if you lack the structure of a 9-5 job. I have several activities that help me achieve this, including fitness, drawing, and music.🎷 Another network find: I learned about saxophone legend Wayne Shorter's death in
's Normal is what you can successfully ignore article. The Open Letter To The Next Generation Of Artists he penned with Herbie Hancock is filled with all kinds of good things.
Thanks for linking to my article!