Amy Swift Crosby

Do words really matter?

For me, they carry the weight of the world. They are both my compass and my currency. I hang my hat on them — professionally, of course, but in any meaningful relationship, they are an active agreement.

I write this from a place of imperfection. I’m not a model for it, but I strive to be. Anyone who knows me knows that breaking my word causes havoc inside me. When others break their word, it disorients me — plagues me — questions my investment in them.

When someone says, “I’ll see you at six o’clock” — I believe them. When they say, “We’ll pay your invoice tomorrow,” I believe them. When they say, “We want to make something with you / work with you / co-create with you,” I believe them.

But words don’t mean the same thing to all people. The only way to know if your employees / partners / teammates / clients share this value, is to listen to them, and watch them. Do they say one thing and do another? Are their feet in the same place as their sentences? Does their money / action follow their enthusiasm / said commitments?

This is why it is such a pleasure to work with clients, partners and collaborators who not only embrace this philosophically, but who live it actually. “Our work is our word” was the perfect tagline for this group of general contractors (voted Best Place to Work in SF). They represent a small legion of people who still care about the weight of words, and build great things because of it.

Thank goodness.

There’s a certain kind of answer that just makes anyone on the receiving end feel bad for asking the question, and keeps the question “in play” without actually moving the ball. It’s circular. It’s not useful. And, it’s quietly sort of mean.

It goes like this (and by the way, I’ve both done it and it has been done to me. Neither feels good.)

Q “Do you know where the blah-blah document / creative collateral / beach towels / printer ink is stored?”

A “Per my earlier note, they are stored in X / Y / Z” …OR… “See my previous email for the answer.”

This happens, obviously, because the askee feels that they have adequately provided information for the asker at an earlier time, but I think we all know what it really means. The askee wants to prove to the asker that she is lazy, stupid, annoying — or at best — forgetful.

I’m not saying it’s okay for people to be lazy and ask the same questions over and over. I would be the first to say that this is crutch of a habit by those who don’t want to do the work of looking for said missing item.

But no matter which way you spin this, even if you’re right, you’re wrong. It doesn’t move anything forward to react like this —  nothing changes except a neutral or benign feeling …turns sour.

This is particularly dangerous in small companies or teams. Let’s find a nicer way to say, “I already told you.”

The price of a little creative communication is paid back in gratitude.

Morning team.

I’m gonna skip the blog today. In its place is an interview I did recently for theInspired Conversations podcast with Amy Schuber. Here’s what I’ll say about it:

When a friend interviews you, you invariably share things that are more truthful than you would otherwise. That happened.

When a podcast is called “Inspired Conversations,” you hope you can…ahem, inspire. I made it my goal to impact one person listening. By aiming low, I’m hoping I landed somewhere higher (hopefully you can tell me either way.)

I usually ask the questions, not answer them. But I found that answering them is actually a way to dive deeper into what you really think about things. Kind of therapeutic, and evidence that you can still surprise and entertain yourself occasionally (phew.)

Thank you, Amy Schuber, for having me on the show!

This may sound familiar: “Can you help me with XYZ? It will just take a few minutes.”

The hilarious thing about anything “just taking a few minutes,” is that it only takes you a few minutes to review the creative, rewrite the copy, fix the logo, talk someone off a cliff, post the social, adjust the picture, modify the brief, call the vendor, dissect the invoice, take the call, design the invite…because you’ve spent years getting really familiar and good at that thing – and as a result, it only takes a few minutes. It’s actually WHY it just takes a few minutes!

Sometimes it can feel like people minimize this – they incorrectly calculate that because it’s 10 minutes of your time, it must cost ten minutes of their money or ten points of their appreciation.

This lesson was made really clear to me with a client in New York City, an older gentleman who’s pearls of wisdom come from stories of days gone by. I lamented sending him a sizable invoice for an ad concept (above) that had only taken me a few minutes to create, because similar types of work had taken me two days for the same price. This disparity bothered me – and I was transparent about it.

“How can I charge you the same fee for work that took less than half the time?”

He shared of a friend who had gotten himself into serious tax trouble, to such a degree that his lawyer called him and told him not to come back to the office, or go home, because the authorities were at his door. The lawyer reassured him that he would initiate resolving the issue immediately. The troubled client wondered how long he would have to flee the city in order for his lawyer to fix things with the government. Four hours later, the lawyer called and said, “I fixed it and you can go home now.” The client was thrilled at his efficiency and smarts, until he got the bill on Monday. He called the lawyer in disbelief at how four hours work could possibly cost this many thousands of dollars. The lawyer said, “Sir, you don’t pay me to read the book. You pay me to know which page to find the answer.”

This is why charging by the hour is problematic for certain types of work. Whether it took you 8 minutes or three days, some “services” need a flat fee. Others are time-intensive, no matter what, and your experience has to be calculated according to the efficiencies, expertise and insight you bring to the hours it really takes.

Know the difference on this for yourself. When I create ads, they have to be short, disarming messages that run in national or international publications, like the New York Times. That’s a big weight to carry, but I charge for that. Sometimes it comes easily. Sometimes it doesn’t. But it always costs the same.