Ilise Benum has a discussion going on over at The Marketing Mix on how to say “No” to work that isn’t right.
But, what interested me was a comment from one of her readers, David Bresler, VP of The Breakfast Network who wrote:
I would add this: An offer of a lucrative project that is different from anything you have done in the past or a mismatch for your skill set. Even if you believe that you can do it, you are bound to make mistakes this first time around and thus both damage your reputation and not make the kind of return you are used to (or even lose money). It is tempting to go to school on somebody else’s nickel, but, in the end it is usually a bad policy.
I get what David is saying- if you get pulled by the money of a very lucrative project, you can end up on thin ice, ruining the project, your reputation, and worst of all, hurting the client.
But, I don’t think it’s good to take an absolute stance on this one. If you have a project that comes up that is in an area you’ve been wanting to learn about and stretch into, but don’t know a lot about, then I say go for it!
I think it’s perfectly acceptable to learn on someone else’s dime as long as:
- You’re not making extravagant promises you can’t deliver on.
- You’re prepared to take a financial loss as part of the learning process (meaning you might not get paid your usual rate, given the extra hours of learning or fixing mistakes.)
- You’re willing to be honest and call in other resources or people for help, even to hand the project off, if your learning curve is putting the client at risk.
In effect, that’s how the Sistine Chapel got painted. Michelangelo had no previous experience with painting frescoes, and very little with painting at all- he was known as a sculptor. And yet, the Pope hired him. Although it took him four years to do it while he got up to speed with fresco painting, it seems like he handled the job okay, eh?
What do you think? Is it okay to learn on someone else’s dime?
