- Good People
- Comfortable Pay
- Creative Challenge
You deserve these things, no less. All other jobs are for tools.
Monthly Archives: March 2011
If I Don’t Understand What You’re Saying, It’s Your Fault
When peers or collaborators do not understand you, do not blame it on them (it’s counterproductive). Either you have not communicated clearly enough or they have insufficient background to understand. Take credit for the miscommunication and try a different approach. Be prepared to educate.
First, identify points of comprehension. What parts did he or she understand? Use comprehension as an anchor for the rest of your revised approach. From there, tackle the incongruities. Teach concepts, use metaphors, whatever it takes to spread the butter across the bread. Repeat yourself if you need to. Repeat yourself if you need to.
Some people simply refuse to listen. It is still your fault – for not claiming attention and for choosing to speak in the first place. Know your audience. Only then will you be able to connect.
Be patient. Take responsibility. What is the point of communicating if you are not understood?
Why I Journal And You Should Too
Journaling is not exclusive to gossipy, hormonal teenage girls. Leonardo da Vinci journaled, why can’t you? By putting thoughts on paper, you see them differently – you develop pseudo third-person perspective to the inner-workings of your own mind. If you document life’s ideas, experiences and feelings to review later, you gain unparalleled insight into your own life. Journaling can be a qualitative method for tracking personal progress. With notes frozen in time, change is extremely easy to identify. A journal reminds you that you are always growing – and that you will continue to grow despite how stagnant life may feel now.
Journaling does not have to be complicated. I email myself often so that I can search it later. You should not waste time checking spelling or grammar (especially when you journal drunk, the entertainment can be priceless). Get out of your head, preserve this moment in time. You will thank yourself later.
The 90-Minute Rule
90 minutes is the optimal duration for achieving certain types of immersion: social, narrative, health, entertainment, and more. Any shorter than 90 minutes, you cannot cover all the bases. Any longer, the brain may lose focus.
Generally, I set aside 90 minutes for coffee or meal get-togethers and tend to hit that mark without keeping track of time. All of the bases have been covered and the situation has turned cognitively stale.
While being a conceptual and social theory, the 90-minute rule may be naturally linked to the circadian rhythm of our bodies (a sleep cycle lasts roughly 90 minutes, for example).
I have found the following to be most effective when conformed to a 90-minute window of time:
- Revisiting with an old friend
- Business meetings
- Brainstorming sessions
- Feature films
- Home dining experiences
- Concerts
- Board games
With enough arcs and nuances to an activity, the 90-minute rule can be broken and expanded to achieve longer sustained immersion. Hikes, conventions, recreational sports, and several forms of entertainment can all present enough twists and turns to keep you invested longer than 90 minutes. The average duration of my ten favorite films, for example, is 131 minutes. Rich and fulfilling content or activities can transcend time (and your day calendar).
Can you think of any other activities that fit a 90-minute profile?
My Ten Favorite Films
I find the following films well-crafted, recommendable, consistently impactful, personally timeless, and definitively influential to my own life. In no particular order:
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
United 93 (2006)
American Beauty (1999)
Se7en (1995)
Minority Report (2002)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Road to Perdition (2002)
Heat (1995)
Blade Runner (1982)
My list will no doubt evolve as my tastes evolve. But for now, these films have lingered in my heart as favorites for a better part of the decade.
Three Steps to Earning Trust
Step 1: Invite Trust by listening. For someone to trust you, he or she must first be comfortable enough to share with you. You can make them feel comfortable by listening well, patiently and without judgement. Let them know you truly care.
Step 2: Affirm Trust by making a promise. When you identify an actionable promise you can make (keeping a secret, reaching out, delivering results), acknowledge it with a nod, hug or “you can trust me.” Be sure it is a promise you can keep.
Step 3: Validate Trust by keeping that promise. Without question, deliver on your word. The negative effect of breaking a promise can produce far more noticeable results than the positive effect of fulfilling one. You may never be praised for keeping a secret, but you can certainly cripple your reputation by sharing it. Remind the person that trust does not have to end here.
Repeat these steps enough and you can earn everyone’s trust effortlessly.
Film Friday: The Project Triangle
The Project Triangle concept was first conceived in the engineering world and has helped me navigate countless managerial decisions in Hollywood. For those not familiar, the Project Triangle rules that you can only pick two of the three: Good, Fast or Cheap.
The logic makes sense and can help you rapidly prioritize through difficult, urgent decisions. In film, there are many – especially as a studio executive, producer, or coordinator.
If you want quality work done quickly, you cannot expect things to be cheap. Talented artists who can move fast without missing a beat are extremely rare and therefore extremely expensive. Want a Director of Photography who can make 45 setups a day look like Leibovitz? Start at $3,000 per day. 3D conversion of a feature film in 45 days? $12-15 Million base.
If you want the project resolved promptly and to cut costs, do not expect top-notch work. Running and gunning a show with cheap labor opens the door for creative and technical mistakes. Many independent films do not gain traction because they simply lack the resources and time to reach distributable or marketable quality. Entire companies like The Asylum have embraced mediocre output to sustain business and cut substantial costs.
If you want to win awards and save money, be prepared to wait a very long time. If you are lucky, the material is strong enough to inspire great talent for scale cost – but you have to work around their schedules. Everyone needs to pay the bills – and my pro bono contribution to your breakout short will take the back seat to my full-time job. Sorry.
I think you can accomplish all three triangle points in one project, but most likely as a weekend passion project or a random conceptual twist of genius. Very rarely, great work is created in little time with no money. As an administrator or producer, you cannot bank on that roll of the dice.
Be prepared for only two of the three; hope for the third.
Jack of All Trades, Master of None
Justin Hamilton alerted me to this figure of speech over dinner last night. The ordeal with general education, I think. One can learn a little bit of everything or learn one thing really well. Which direction should you choose?
In the business world, niche is king. It is much smoother to specialize, carve your name, and turn a profit. Expert a trade skill and you will never have a problem finding a job in your field again. A specialist is far more straightforward than a generalist – more simple to rationalize and far easier to market.
The risk? You can get boxed in, branded, stuck. Known as a great musician, it will be difficult making your name in other art. Known as a great assistant, you will have trouble being seen as anything but a great assistant. Known as a talented comedy writer, you will never be taken seriously. The list goes on. Think you might want to change gears later in life? Be weary of specializing. Mastering a skill is great for those who prefer simple lives, terrible for others who live to explore.
Being a “jack of all trades” heightens your exposure to a wider variety of crafts, trades, fields and skill-sets. You have more options and therefore a broader opportunity to discover your true passion and talent. You may never be the best at anything specific, but you know a lot about the world and can be a broad resource. You can be the center of it all, a leader. Great leaders can speak the language of their collaborators and must understand the all of the trades involved. I would argue “jack of all trades” status is a prerequisite to leading strong teams.
Master of none? How about mastering the jack of all?
The Curse of a Twenty-Something
You graduated college. Time for the real world. The bills, the loans, the career, and perhaps even children. Life gets difficult, responsibility escalates. You need help now more than ever. But wait – where did all my friends go?
Being twenty-something can be a very lonely experience. Why? All of your peers are preoccupied with the real world, too. They are all busy reconciling jobs, covering the bases, relocating, soul-searching, starting families, and planning for futures yet unseen. You are not alone. But you are alone.
Some adults never recover. They never find a social life again. The burdens of adulthood consume and defeat an otherwise fruitful, interpersonal existence.
That does not have to be your fate. All twenty-somethings suffer relatable woes. Why not help each other? Revisit an old relationship once every day. Rebuild your support group. Make a habit of staying in touch weekly. Get out of the house at least two weeknights every week. Get out of your own head as often as possible. If it is too difficult to meet new friends, re-meeting old friends can be much easier. You do not have to be alone. But only you can take action; do not wait to be called.
Pick up the damn phone.
5 Fundamentals for the Effective Listener
- Always make eye contact. Know the other person’s eye color.
- Face the subject directly. Not at an angle, not side-by-side. Square your shoulders.
- Pay attention. Be present in the conversation. No cheating. Staring into space is not listening.
- Respond. Listening is not always silent. Repeat core thoughts, ask questions, laugh. It can save you from boredom.
- Lean forward. Into the conversation. But be careful not to invade personal space. Intimacy is key. Do not be afraid to connect.
Listen to someone well and they will be more inclined to listen to you.
Craig Ormiston 