The Buck Stops Where?
Had an interesting situation a while back with a client in which I was told that because I wasn’t around to answer questions, this person missed his deadline. The scenario briefly – an article I wrote and handed a week before this particular request came in. Since we’d pushed back on the deadline a few times, I had no idea when the copy deadline was. Given that this was a piece that the editor said was finished in his book, I went about my other business. I also went out of town for a few days. Imagine my surprise when I returned to an accusation – because of my absence, the publication missed deadline.

Does anyone else think that the blame for that doesn’t quite rest with me? It’s true I didn’t communicate my absence. However, it’s also true I was told the article was finished. Nowhere was the deadline even brought up. I did drop that client after a while because there seemed to be a pattern of mildly blaming behavior developing. Yet it does occur that those higher up the food chain can occasionally pass along blame for their own miscommunication or lack thereof.

I bring this up because a current client situation is strikingly similar. However in this case, I’m taking a less passive stance. Instead of expecting the communication to start flowing like honey from a hive, I’m initiating it. I see it as a need – I need to know deadlines. I need to know when this particular client is really signing off a piece. I’m making sure now that the communication is clear and that both of us understand the process. I don’t like doing the job of someone else, but lacking that person’s communicating what’s expected, I’m doing so. It’s for the good of future projects, and it may just help someone who could use a better system of dealing with writers do just that. Am I wrong to assert myself in this way? Frankly, I don’t see it as wrong, and I don’t care. It’s not about feelings and politics and pecking order. It’s about doing the job.