Meetings

When I was younger, it was hard to relate to some of the things my parents said. A particular thing that was hard to believe was how terrible meetings were for my father. That may sound incredible, but I had a hard time believing that meetings would be as consistently unpleasant and useless as he often made them out to me. A day spent in meetings was a day wasted, as he would tell it. They were just objectively bad things.

Somehow I had a hard time believing that. I could imagine the meetings not being fun. After all, they were a workplace duty, and I understood that work was something that was often not fun. If the meeting was part of something recreational, then surely it held the potential of being fun. You could have a meeting to decide what ice cream flavors to stock the home refrigerator with, for example. That's a bad example.

Money, Money, Money!

Kickstarter has become more successful than I would have guessed it would. If you're unfamiliar, the idea is to allow a variety of endeavors to solicit the money they need in order to reach fruition. Commonly, a certain sum is named, and thus commences a fundraising drive to reach that number. If I understand correctly, the money is only released to the campaigner if they secured commitments sufficient to reach it, or else the money returns to donors.

That's the thing that bothers me, is the whole charitable slant of the thing. If we were talking about a purely charitable venture, I'd appreciate the value of the thing. If it was a childrens' hospital we were trying to get off the ground, I'd be supportive. That's not something that I would see ultimately generating profits for the solicitor, and so the offer of a tote bag would be a good enough enticement to loosen my purse strings, more than likely.

Business Brunch

Occasionally, I get asked to lunch for business purposes. Frankly, I don't find it to be a really ideal situation for that. You see in movies how people do a lot of serious talking, and somehow at the end of it their whole entrees are gone. You don't see them eating too much, so there is that mystery of how the food gets eaten. Perhaps they slip it into a napkin and feed it to the dog later. I don't do that myself, so the experience is neither a fully adequate meal or meeting.

That aside, I always do value a free meal and the prospect of work. Recently I was asked to have coffee to discuss a project. That makes sense. You don't have to constantly be drinking the coffee in order to be done with it in a reasonable amount of time. Well, a half-hour delay turned coffee into a meal, and I directed us to a place in my neighborhood that I had been past a thousand times but never had gone into. A situation like this is ideal for crossing a place off my list.

What Makes A Professional

I have often repeated an assertion made by a friend of my father: Once you are paid to do something- no matter how little the payment- you become a professional in that discipline. I say that to people in jest, true though it is in a very narrow and limited way. In truth, it takes a lot more to make one a professional than receiving a check for one's labor. This very blog makes me think about that every day, and makes plain how unrelated professionalism can be to the earning of any money. It's partly about showing respect for what you're doing and who you're doing it with. That means fully committing, and doing it right. It means making the most of what others contribute and not wasting it or undermining it.

Business Meals

I met someone for lunch last week to discuss business, and had a late breakfast today with someone for the same purpose. You have to be careful. It's a little like an interview, but with certain distinctions and complications. You have to show good manners and all. There's the matter of choosing where and when to eat. You do have to sell yourself and your ideas, but it's not quite as unfamiliar as an interview with someone you've never met, so your first impression may have already been made. These two business meals have been fairly productive. Hopefully they'll yield fruit soon. I'll be able to give more info and a better indication of a positive or negative outcome later.