Occasionally, you might find yourself working for idiots. (Definition of idiot: Anyone who doesn’t see the world your way.) In fact, the odds are pretty good that won’t see eye-to-eye with management many times in your career, so you might as well turn things around to benefit you. In this, the fourth installment of our Make The Most Of It series, we’ll delve a little deeper into how young designers can still make a little hay even when the sun isn’t shining.

Managing Upper Management

Though you are the one who is supposed to be learning, you may have occasion to turn the tables and educate your employers. An important tip: do it subtly (so you don’t lose your job), and do it in terms that they understand. In other words, figure out what motivates them and spin the situation in that direction.

Christine Eustice, ASID, is an interior designer who had to do just that. Though she now owns her own firm, Benchmark Interiors, Christine smartly started her career by working for others. In one instance, when her agenda was quite different from her employer’s, she fell compelled to do what she knew was right:

“My experience as a kitchen / multi-room designer for a well-known do-it-yourself retailer was tough, but I learned soooo much. One of the difficulties was upper management. As experienced as they were with the retail aspect of the business (selling flooring, appliances, paint, etc.), they were clueless about true high-end design where all of those elements would be used. Their MAIN concern was cranking out a design and making the sale no matter how poor the concept was, which, of course, went against everything that I stood for.

“For example: One of my best clients took about a month and a half longer than expected to purchase their project because of the addition of rooms. This put me on the proverbial ‘black list’ because of the extended time frame, and I was told to sell the project or management was going to close out the project.

“Instead, I silently persevered and took my time, knowing any mistake or oversight would actually cost the company thousands of dollars. The result: The client purchased the project in full. Their original budget was $30,000 for the kitchen, but they ended up investing over $100,000 on just the kitchen. All of a sudden, I was the star designer!

“As I look back, I know that it was not the price tag associated with the project, but the fact that my clients trusted me with their design experience that won management over. So much so, that they were willing to give me almost free reign in every aspect of their project. Even over budget, I knew what they truly desired and was able to convey that to them. Despite a misunderstanding from the unsupportive management team, I was still able to provide a high level of design to my trusting clients. And that’s what it’s all about.”


Don’t Let A Bad Conductor Derail You

As my mother once told me: “When you get out into the world, you’re not going to like everybody, and not everybody is going to like you. And that’s OK.” Never were truer words said, and, as simple as they were, they have stuck with me and helped a great deal over the years. The same can be said for interior designer, Sharon Egger, ASID:

“My example is not job related but a college experience. I had a professor who did not appreciate my ‘out of the box’ thinking. What he really wanted was for me to follow his lead in designing a bank project. Tension developed and one day he called me into his office to say that he didn't want me to go on a semester long exchange program in London, England.

“I was crushed! In his opinion I did not possess office organizational skills to be in an unstructured environment. I drove straight home from Norman, Oklahoma to Dallas to tell my parents that I was dropping out of the interior design program, because of my professor.

“I still remember my conversation with my parents. My father said one person's opinion should not derail my dream career. If this was what I really wanted I should persevere. Well, I did and have now enjoyed a 21-year career in interior design.

“At 20-years-old this was the first time I was aware that someone outwardly disliked me, and it was painful. I have since come to learn the complexities of personalities especially in working relationships. Had I not worked through this uncomfortable situation, I would not have the arts and cultural experiences that enhance my life today!”


The Nanny Knows

Dear Mary Poppins had it right when she sweetly sang:

     In ev'ry job that must be done
     There is an element of fun
     You find the fun and snap!
     The job's a game

     Nad ev'ry task you undertake
     Becomes a piece of cake
     A lark! Aspree!
     It's very clear to me

     That a...
     Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
     The medicine go down-wown
     The medicine go down
     Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
     In a most delightful way

This is all sooooo true, and it’s a perspective shared by graphic designer (and Dick Van Dyke fan) Rob Wilson, who is frequently in charge of hiring and firing new employees in his firm:

“If you find yourself working at a job you despise – or simply hate – having a positive attitude can help you survive the situation. Given the chance, you may even thrive and get to see what you're really made of. Visualize the good in bad situations. As a new hire, no one will expect you to know everything, but they will expect to see you try. This means you should see tasks that you're given as opportunities to prove yourself, whether you're making a few copies or making the big presentation. WHATEVER you do, consider that it's a learning experience.

“Even if you fail a few times, a positive outlook that shows you care about your work will keep you in good graces with your co-workers. Being resourceful and responsible signals that you're dependable and valuable. However, if you choose to be negative at your job, you may get a reputation for being petulant and irritating, making your potentially bad work environment even worse. Nobody likes a whiner. Plus, even if you have a crummy job, you may need a good recommendation from your employer in order to find a better one.

“No boss may ever be as perfect as you would like and no job may ever be as creative as you would want. But the decision to have a positive attitude can influence what you get out of your work experience and determine the path the rest of your career will take.”


More To Come

Can you tell that you have to go through the bad jobs and managers to really truly appreciate the good ones? It’s just a fact of life. So learn from these examples and join us again next time when we go a little further down the rabbit hole because you never know where a job will lead…