Hey Bloggees...
What is the key to being an expert? Academic facts? Years spent in a specific field? If you are relying on acquired knowledge and expertise, you may find yourself in trouble. New technology is developing everyday. Techniques that work in one situation may not work in another. These factors alone can hamper your effectiveness to your clients, profession, and career. So how do you stop that from happening? What is this key to being an expert. It is…to keep learning.
Huh?
The Truth of the matter is we should all be learning. Despite our Academic or Experiencial background we should always be learning. We should be attentive to other experts in the field, our fellow artisans, and our clients…
Wait a sec. Our Clients?
That's right.
But they don't know our profession and heaven knows if they'll want some gaudy design element.
Learning from the client can be a shocker for some people (especially for those of us who are <ahem> experts). The fact is, our clients know their area of work. We don't. As opposed to shooting down their ideas, why not use it as a springboard. This past week, I was working with a client on a flyer design. I thought the design was coming along rather nicely. Then, the representative for the client suggested placing the logo for the company (which I had created) at an angle in the top left corner. I wasn't thrilled with the idea, to be honest. However, I took her suggestion into account, went back in, and discovered a way to present the logo even better then the way both of us had originally thought. The client loved the flyer and I was pleased with the result. The morale to the story? Use your client's suggestions as a springboard, not as a source of frustration.
So, how do we keep learning? Well, to start off, take notes. Write down everything that you want to learn from lectures, blogs, videos, you name it. Second, and this is tough… Stay humble. Realize that you still have a lot to learn and that you can always learn from others. Lastly, don't debunk what you know, just add to it. Find ways of doing what you know better.
Now if you will excuse me, this expert has some studying to do… 'Till next time.
