Comments on: I Too Want A Big Picture Job http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2007/08/i-too-want-a-bi.html Dispatches from a Small Business Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:39:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: littleblackduck http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2007/08/i-too-want-a-bi.html/comment-page-1#comment-6453 littleblackduck Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:41:55 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2007/08/i-too-want-a-bi.html#comment-6453 <p>Funny, I don't recall a Jeff Gordon in my former place of employment ;) I'd add to your comment, but you really nailed it.</p> <p>I do once recall one person who really did have such a 'big picture' job. A very, very senior position (though he was only about 34) and he spent most of the day sitting around on his ass schmoozing. He hired 'consultants' to do his actual job to the tune of £900 a week. Nice work if you can get it. Needless to say, this was not a genuinely private enterprise.</p> <p><br /> </p> Funny, I don’t recall a Jeff Gordon in my former place of employment ;) I’d add to your comment, but you really nailed it.

I do once recall one person who really did have such a ‘big picture’ job. A very, very senior position (though he was only about 34) and he spent most of the day sitting around on his ass schmoozing. He hired ‘consultants’ to do his actual job to the tune of £900 a week. Nice work if you can get it. Needless to say, this was not a genuinely private enterprise.

]]> By: Jeff Gordon http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2007/08/i-too-want-a-bi.html/comment-page-1#comment-6452 Jeff Gordon Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:05:55 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2007/08/i-too-want-a-bi.html#comment-6452 <p>I love anything that pokes holes in "big picture" people. With more than a decade in high level sales and yes "Business Development" I have met a ton of "big picture people". Here's what they really are: Credit seekers who are too stupid and too lazy to actually come up with a strategy and the tactical road map to see it to fruition.</p> <p>These personality types pursue constant validation and are credit seekers. They tend to inject ideas (even bad ones) into others tactics/strategies in order to be able to harvest credit later if those ideas pay dividends. Think of Johnny Appleseed...this personality wants to inject as many ideas as they can into as many strategies as they can to ensure a greater credit harvest later on. Never mind that the ideas are simply more variables that add complexity to any effort without necessarily improving anything. </p> <p>The credit seeker will claim they are a "big picture" person. What they mean is they are willing to put effort into tasks that are going to get people's attention and make them look good. Tedious, but necessary projects and tasks are always delegated to someone else. The person motivated by notoriety loves high visibility work and hates doing the unglamorous detail work--hence the "big picture". It's the high visibility stuff that gets accolades.</p> <p>Show me a "big picture guy" and I'll show you a former jock from a big school that used to have all the other kids do his homework for him so he could focus on winning the big game. Gosh...does this seem familiar to anyone else???</p> I love anything that pokes holes in “big picture” people. With more than a decade in high level sales and yes “Business Development” I have met a ton of “big picture people”. Here’s what they really are: Credit seekers who are too stupid and too lazy to actually come up with a strategy and the tactical road map to see it to fruition.

These personality types pursue constant validation and are credit seekers. They tend to inject ideas (even bad ones) into others tactics/strategies in order to be able to harvest credit later if those ideas pay dividends. Think of Johnny Appleseed…this personality wants to inject as many ideas as they can into as many strategies as they can to ensure a greater credit harvest later on. Never mind that the ideas are simply more variables that add complexity to any effort without necessarily improving anything.

The credit seeker will claim they are a “big picture” person. What they mean is they are willing to put effort into tasks that are going to get people’s attention and make them look good. Tedious, but necessary projects and tasks are always delegated to someone else. The person motivated by notoriety loves high visibility work and hates doing the unglamorous detail work–hence the “big picture”. It’s the high visibility stuff that gets accolades.

Show me a “big picture guy” and I’ll show you a former jock from a big school that used to have all the other kids do his homework for him so he could focus on winning the big game. Gosh…does this seem familiar to anyone else???

]]> By: TCO http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2007/08/i-too-want-a-bi.html/comment-page-1#comment-6451 TCO Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:12:27 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2007/08/i-too-want-a-bi.html#comment-6451 <p>McKinsey fed into a lot of that shit. Found them low on inquisitiveness.</p> McKinsey fed into a lot of that shit. Found them low on inquisitiveness.

]]> By: Xmas http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2007/08/i-too-want-a-bi.html/comment-page-1#comment-6450 Xmas Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:40:43 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2007/08/i-too-want-a-bi.html#comment-6450 <p>Well, there are some "Big Picture" jobs. Most of these are consulting gigs where you come in, try to realign a business area to be more "efficient" (not necessarily laying off people, but sometimes that's what's needed). </p> <p>Of course, to get a job as a business consultant, you either have to be very, very smart and a good salesman (selling yourself), or you have to have years and years of experience and contacts.</p> <p>But consulting itself isn't a big picture job. You either work for yourself and have to deal with all of the crap of being self-employed (paperwork, taxes, receipts, self-motivation, chasing after clients to pay) or work for someone else and deal with the small-picture crap they make you do (pretty much the same as being self-employed, but 30 to 60 percent of your billing goes into someone else's pocket.)</p> Well, there are some “Big Picture” jobs. Most of these are consulting gigs where you come in, try to realign a business area to be more “efficient” (not necessarily laying off people, but sometimes that’s what’s needed).

Of course, to get a job as a business consultant, you either have to be very, very smart and a good salesman (selling yourself), or you have to have years and years of experience and contacts.

But consulting itself isn’t a big picture job. You either work for yourself and have to deal with all of the crap of being self-employed (paperwork, taxes, receipts, self-motivation, chasing after clients to pay) or work for someone else and deal with the small-picture crap they make you do (pretty much the same as being self-employed, but 30 to 60 percent of your billing goes into someone else’s pocket.)

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