Taking Initiative

Taking initiative is tough, isn’t it?  You know the changes you want to see, but actually doing it is another thing.  I’m talking about initiative across the board: weight loss, gardening, cleaning house, getting new clients.  It’s a challenge because it means we have to step outside of our comfort zone to do it.  I’ll admit that I’d rather be cuddled up on the couch with my dog than outside trimming the hedges.  But there’s a certain level of joy one experiences after causing that initial change.  That is the thing we should hang on to when we hesitate before taking the iniative again.

Remember the pebble and ripples cliche?  It only takes one small pebble to create ripples seen across the whole lake, right?  They even make posters about it.  It’s meant to make us feel like we can make a difference, even if we’re just one person.  What those posters and quotes leave out, though, is what happens before the pebble hits the water: we have to get up, walk to find a pebble, bend down to pick up a pebble, and then throw it into the lake.  That’s four whole steps left out before those little ripples are ever seen.

No doubt, taking initiative is tough.  It takes committment to eat less, exercise more.  It takes hustling to create free time to delight in gardening.  Some times it takes a planned dinner party before the house gets cleaned up.  So, if taking initiative on those things is a challenge, then how in the world do we expect to find (much less keep) new clients in need of creative work?

When I freelanced, I found that I was much better at getting the work than actually sitting down to do it.  New projects came to me so easily; it was quite magical.  I ended up being good at sales because I was selling something I believed in: design that works.  So, if I proclaim to have been so good at getting new jobs, then why did I stop freelancing?  Well, it’s pretty simple.  I wasn’t able to provide the level of customer service I would have expected as a client.  I wasn’t able to give people what I would have expected to get, so I stopped doing it.

Now I’m on the client side.  And I expect my creatives to take the initiative to keep my business.

That initiative translates into: returning phone calls or emails in a timely manner, communicating that you need or have enough information to do your job, exceeding my expectations at every turn, helping make the client look good because they hired you (and their reputation is on the line if you fail), bringing them your best ideas, making sure they don’t take advantage of you (and vice versa), and helping protect their company’s integrity by using your integrity and morals (not copying things from the web, designing visuals that look like the competitors, etc.).

There’s no doubt that taking the initiative is a challenge.  I think that’s why so few of us do it, but those that do get rewarded handsomely.  It’s an act of leadership, taking intiative.  I genuinely believe that taking the initiative will be rewarded.  So, cheers to you, creatives.  Go forth, and take that first step in finding the pebble to throw into the lake.

Lessons for Creatives
Take the initiative today.  Call someone, introduce yourself, and start networking.  Make a promise, and keep it.  Do superb work, and more will come your way.