Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Living Life on the Edge
Business experts often say that a certain amount of risk is needed, when you work for yourself or run a company. In fact, I've interviewed a lot of those experts.
For a long time, I've sort of grumbled to myself that I should take more risks. After all, I don't really do investigative journalism, where one moment I'm making a phone call to a suspicious meat packing plant, and the next moment, I'm clinging to the side of a train, trying to fight off thugs and get a story in by deadline. Usually, as I'm often fond of saying, about the only danger I contend with is possibly dropping a stapler on my foot.
But I feel better now. It recently occurred to me that every day, I take a risk, a gamble that most entrepreneurs, executives and self-employed people never would dare. In fact, most mere mortals don't try it either. Maybe, if you're the nervous type, you should sit down.
I don't have Caller ID.
I do for my house, but not my home office. I guess I wanted to save money six years ago, when I set up the line and bought my residence, and ever since, I've just never bothered to do it, in part because so many people email me versus calls, that it almost seems silly. Almost.
But then earlier this week, my office phone rang, and as usual, I picked it up. I can't say who it was or what it was about--but it was a call I wasn't thrilled to get, from someone--not an editor or publicist, which are most of the people I work with--but someone who I speak to fairly regularly, and it led to a series of calls and emails throughout the day, in which I had to put out minor fires. It was a major distraction that day.
For not the first time, I found myself thinking, "Geez, I need to get Caller ID."
Then I thought about it and realized if I had Caller ID and had used it to avoid the caller, it would have meant that later, I'd have wasted time listening to the message, and then I'd still have ended up calling the person back and putting out those fires. While it is nice to know who you're about to talk to, there's something kind of exciting, knowing that the person on the other line could be an editor with a big story for me, or it could be a bill collector, or someone wanting me to trap me into taking a 19-minute survey or some long lost business contact wanting to chat for half an hour or so, when I have a deadline in the next two hours.
So, yeah, maybe the business experts mean something else when they tell us to take risks. Maybe they're thinking of something a little more edgy than not getting Caller ID, like networking in social settings that are out of your comfort zone or expanding your business. Or maybe my risky way of doing business is exactly what would make them applaud. I'll bet all of the business experts have Caller ID.
For a long time, I've sort of grumbled to myself that I should take more risks. After all, I don't really do investigative journalism, where one moment I'm making a phone call to a suspicious meat packing plant, and the next moment, I'm clinging to the side of a train, trying to fight off thugs and get a story in by deadline. Usually, as I'm often fond of saying, about the only danger I contend with is possibly dropping a stapler on my foot.
But I feel better now. It recently occurred to me that every day, I take a risk, a gamble that most entrepreneurs, executives and self-employed people never would dare. In fact, most mere mortals don't try it either. Maybe, if you're the nervous type, you should sit down.
I don't have Caller ID.
I do for my house, but not my home office. I guess I wanted to save money six years ago, when I set up the line and bought my residence, and ever since, I've just never bothered to do it, in part because so many people email me versus calls, that it almost seems silly. Almost.
But then earlier this week, my office phone rang, and as usual, I picked it up. I can't say who it was or what it was about--but it was a call I wasn't thrilled to get, from someone--not an editor or publicist, which are most of the people I work with--but someone who I speak to fairly regularly, and it led to a series of calls and emails throughout the day, in which I had to put out minor fires. It was a major distraction that day.
For not the first time, I found myself thinking, "Geez, I need to get Caller ID."
Then I thought about it and realized if I had Caller ID and had used it to avoid the caller, it would have meant that later, I'd have wasted time listening to the message, and then I'd still have ended up calling the person back and putting out those fires. While it is nice to know who you're about to talk to, there's something kind of exciting, knowing that the person on the other line could be an editor with a big story for me, or it could be a bill collector, or someone wanting me to trap me into taking a 19-minute survey or some long lost business contact wanting to chat for half an hour or so, when I have a deadline in the next two hours.
So, yeah, maybe the business experts mean something else when they tell us to take risks. Maybe they're thinking of something a little more edgy than not getting Caller ID, like networking in social settings that are out of your comfort zone or expanding your business. Or maybe my risky way of doing business is exactly what would make them applaud. I'll bet all of the business experts have Caller ID.
# posted by Geoff Williams : 10:33 PM
