I washed dishes in an industrial kitchen for my first job after school. We served lunch for thousands of people every day. They had great menacing dishwashers that reminded me of the scene in Dr. No when they put Sean Connery and Ursula Andress through an anti-radiation process on a conveyer belt. What a great scene.
Anyway. There was a guy named Ernie there, and he had three things he used to say, repeatedly:
- “It’s a bit quiet for my liking”,
- “It’ll get busy in a minute,” and,
- “Just do the best you can, mate.”
Ernie wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box. I mean, these were the only things he’d say. I sometimes tried to reflect aloud on the weather or talk about sports, but Ernie would revert to his scripted lines like a character in a play by Samuel Beckett.
Moving from washing dishes through journalism into communications consulting, I’ve worked with a career coach for the last ten years. I had the temerity to believe in a job that paid what I felt I was worth and was also rewarding. And it’s worked out pretty well.
But more and more often, as I reflect on Ernie’s advice, I realize how smart he was. So I’m sharing his advice here today for its universal utility.
- “It’s a bit quiet for my liking”
- “It’ll get busy in a minute”
The last ten days have been a period of slowing down and speeding up for many of us. Many of my clients are closing their books on the election and looking to the future. I’m having conversations about goals for next year and where people are looking to position themselves as what we all call “thought leaders” these days. Likewise, I’ve concluded a couple of fascinating short-term projects based on the election. And in some ways? It’s suddenly a bit quiet for my liking. But. It’ll get busy in a minute. Right you are, Ernie.
- “Just do the best you can, mate.”
This is the bit I’m reflecting on most. Imagine piles of dishes and commercial cookware winding around the corner out of sight, and it’s your job to just keep hacking away at them for hours at a stretch. You just slipped on the wet floor and cut yourself. Now a chef is screaming from the kitchen that he needs more plates.
It helps to have a mantra like Ernie’s to handle the stress. And the same is definitely true when you’re working in communications!
As I’ve worked my butt off consulting in 2020, I’ve begun to realize that when people hire me, they do so for my experience and my ability to deliver. But I think most often, people count on a communications consultant to be positive, constructive, creative, and dare I say, relentless?
Especially when things get difficult. Just as they count on anyone they’re working with. But perhaps even a little more. I’m there to provide the dose of positivity they need to keep returning to the coal face. Even when they’re exhausted.
It’s what Rudyard Kipling called “the will to say, ‘hold on!’”
The clients that call me back for more work tend to do so because when it got difficult, I dug in and was prepared to wrestle in the mud with them to get them where they needed to go. I didn’t blame the pile of dishes for being overwhelming. I didn’t crack under the pressure. I just did the best I could, mate. And I’m proud of our accomplishments and my efforts, this year, especially when they’ve been undertaken in challenging circumstances.
I’d like to think Ernie would be proud of me, too. Meanwhile, here’s to your continued success! Although just do the best you can, mate. It’s a bit quiet for my liking. It’ll get busy in a minute.
And…so on.
