My Big Fat Olympic Deadline
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Olympics is in town. Congratulations on the golds, by the way. That’s right, London has descended into a melee of sport – with lots of tears and sweat and singing and wishing you’d gone to the gym recently. Watching the men’s gymnastics was a stark reminder that I haven’t actually done any exercise since February.
What I have been doing during this festival of sport is eat my own bodyweight in crackers and cheese – and enter awards showcases.
For they are, after all, the currency amongst the major players in the creative industries. Much like the Olympics, these events are supposed to reward greatness – and encourage others to participate.
So imagine my irritation when yet another awards showcase that I entered extended its deadline. This seems to be an entirely normal occurrence. The average, in my experience, is three days.
At least they’re consistent; every awards showcase that I’ve entered has done it.
When was the last time a client of yours was happy that you extended a deadline? That doesn’t happen in the real world. What happens if you miss an actual deadline? Then you’re in the $%!@. If you forget an anniversary by three days you’ll never hear the end of it. I didn’t do the dishes for three days and won’t ever hear the end of that.
I’m not just having a rant because I’ve worked hard all week to hit the deadline that turns out not to be the actual deadline.
OK maybe I am – that bloody irritates me.
But it’s not just that.
I’m annoyed because it sets a bad example for young people like myself in the industry.
If some of the biggest creative organisations can’t hit the deadlines THAT THEY SET, then it hardly encourages young creative people to hit their own – professionally or otherwise.
I had a meeting last week with a client that really wasn’t interested in their own project.
And I turned it down – on the basis that if you can’t get enthusiastic about it, how am I going to do my best work on it?
That argument stands for you, too, bigwigs.
Dan Castro is a gold medal-winning believer in having stories to tell stories. He may currently be covered in crumbs, but that doesn’t stop him from taking umbrage with your lack of enthusiasm. Have a recent story akin to Dan’s? Vent to Mister Castro.
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- by AWSC
- posted at 12:28 pm
- August 6, 2012
