Curtis Cunningham on technology, music, dogs, and life.

Huge learning experience. No, really. Spun myself off into the big wide world of contracting recently to see what it’s like. It’s got TONS of good points, and TONS of pitfalls. You MUST be on your toes. Some things I learned include ..

• You cannot trust folks to do due diligence, so always go over the statement of work you’re hired to implement. If you’re lucky there will be some overlap with reality.
• It’s fine to be in the weeds, but keep your eye on the bigger project picture, who the main players are and what their concerns are.
• If things aren’t going to plan, keep your ear to the ground for folks making you a scapegoat. Speak up if you suspect blame is being wrongly placed at your feet.
• Own up immediately if there are problems and you’re the cause, or the bottleneck to the problems getting resolved. Be able to say why, and provide one or more ways to resolve the problem and move forward.
• If they keep you working beyond the agreed time, and you don’t mind .. at least make sure the checks keep coming.
• Some people have the turning circle of an oil tanker when it comes to responding to new input. This is especially true for unpleasant budget affecting stuff folks don’t want to have to tell their bosses about. Refer to the point about scapegoat.
• Make sure you recognize the decision makers. You’ll minimize delays due that previous point.
• It’s ok to be the hostage if the checks keep coming
• Did I mention keep an eye on the checks?
• Ultimately, it’s nothing personal, it’s just business .

And a whole lot more.

I’ll blog about it properly at some point.