A Recipe for Success

I am what is sometimes called a “bi-vocational pastor.” I’m a minister at a small church, but I make the larger portion of my living with other jobs. Over the years I’ve supported myself with writing and by designing websites. I’ve always worked on a contract basis and at my own pace, which is nice. I’m a creative, artsy sort of person, and I do not multi-task well. I immerse myself in whatever it is that I’m doing, and I don’t like to be bothered or distracted while I’m working. I would say that it almost hurts when someone tries to pull me out of my deep focus. I am also somewhat disorganized. Okay, VERY disorganized. I’m famous for it among my friends, as a matter of fact. I’m not lazy. I’ve just always worked in my own messy, scatterbrained way. Many writers are like that. I should also mention that sometimes, particularly if I am immersed in writing, I forget what day it is. Sometimes what month it is. I have even on occasion forgotten whether it was Spring or Fall. But since I’ve mostly worked alone, my lack of organization hasn’t been much of a problem. And if I occasionally have to look at a calendar to remember what day it is, no one has to know.

In May I was looking for some work, having lost one of my part-time jobs, and I was offered the part-time position of Web Services Manager for Jethro Management, an Australian company that creates Drupal websites for organizations that must manage a lot of information online. Tim Miller, who hired me, is a great guy and a good friend. He had been reading my blog for a few years. That’s how we met. Tim is also the exact opposite of me in temperament and ability. Tim is very organized. He keeps a complex time schedule with spreadsheets, calendars, and various kinds of software reminders. Tim has six computer screens at his workstation. He is a brilliant multi-tasker who can build a computer while compiling computer code, answering email, replying to Instant Messages, and delegating other tasks to 5 or 6 people. Honestly. That is no exaggeration. The man is an amazing whirlwind of work. He gets an astonishing amount done by utilizing every spare moment. If there is a pause in one job, Tim will find a way to use that pause to get something else done. And of course, as you might expect, he documents everything meticulously so that productivity reports can be run and analyzed.

Tim was looking for a manager for his web services. And I do have some experience in designing and managing Drupal websites. So Tim thought I would be a good person to hire. Unfortunately, Tim did not fully realize just how unorganized, single-minded, and introverted I am. I think he suspected that I wasn’t going to be as adept at multi-tasking and organizing as he is, but he didn’t know how difficult this job was going to be for me. And I, not having any corporate experience, had no idea how difficult the organizational demands of this job would be for me either. The first few months were very hard indeed. Tim threw gobs of information at me, not only about Drupal design, but also how work is documented, organized, and maintained in his company system. We deal with a very complicated piece of software and must handle hundreds of emails from clients. You have to learn to triage and manage a lot of incoming information. I was completely unprepared mentally and emotionally. I made mistake after mistake.

Tim and I spent hours video conferencing via Skype as he meticulously walked me through numerous processes, sub-processes, policies, documentation requirements, etc. In my life I have always been able to do what I needed to do. Suddenly, I found myself unable to do what a job required. I just couldn’t do it. My mind couldn’t hold information moving in and out so quickly. I began to panic and get confused. My brain would lock up with information overload. And my natural ability to focus deeply on one task, an ability which has served me well as a writer, was suddenly a liability. I simply cannot manage very many things at the same time. It is a very humbling thing to admit that something might be beyond your abilities. At least it is for me. The more time Tim put into walking me through things, the worse I felt. After 3 months he had put an enormous amount of his time and resources into me. What if I couldn’t do the job? What a colossal waste of everyone’s time that would be. I didn’t confess this out loud, but I was very worried about it. I needed the job and Tim needed someone to do the job. After a few months we had both put a lot of ourselves into this. Neither of us was inclined to start over, but we both knew that things weren’t working out as well as we had hoped. And yet, here we are 5 months later, and I’m still working at Jethro. And I’m doing better. I’m still learning things and still making some mistakes, but I’ve made progress. I think this job is going to work out for me.

So how did we get through the hard adjustment time? First, Tim and I are honest with each other. We communicate well. I wrote Tim an email and tried to explain how hard I was trying and how hard it was for me to keep up with all the information. I was honest with him. And Tim was honest with me. We talked about our different personalities and how we would have to work to overcome these differences. This honesty comes, I believe, because we know and respect each other. Second, we didn’t give up. Even though this job cuts against my natural abilities, I’m stretching and trying to grow and gain new abilities. And Tim has not given up on me. He knows I’m honest and hard-working. So he has made adjustments and given me time to learn. Third, we’ve both been flexible. At some point it became clear that I would never be able to manage the web services of Jethro alone. That’s when we found out that my wife Jeanene, who has corporate experience, could manage things. The job shifted a bit with most of the organizational tasks moving to Jeanene, leaving me to oversee the creative and technical design of websites. Jeanene and I have said many times that between the two of us we make a pretty good person. Things are working out. And Tim and I have remained good friends. We’re even planning a Skype dinner with our wives. Jeanene and I will set at the table with the computer monitor in front of us while we eat. Tim and Judith will do the same in Brisbane, 15 hours ahead of us. We’ll see each other’s faces just as if we were sitting across the table. Isn’t technology amazing!

Honest communication combined with an understanding that not everyone is wired the same way. And a willingness to be flexible. It’s not a very complex recipe for success, but it’s something that is often lacking between employers and employees. That is sad to me. There is one other thing that I must say. And I say this humbly and with full recognition that many of my non-Christian friends possess all of the qualities I’ve described in this essay. And many Christians I know do not. But Tim and I are both committed Christians. And we are bound by our faith to treat each other with honesty and integrity. We’ve known that about each other since the first day we worked together. That common foundation we share in Christ made our work relationship possible. And I’m grateful for that. And for Tim, who is a great boss!