Things we should do But often Pass on.

I have always been very happy with the fact that I do not place blame on others, or pass the buck. I do not pass my responsibility or my mistakes on to others. If I do something and do not do it correctly, I take the blame and then figure out how to fix it. Most people throw others under the bus. I do not think this way. I never have. I am an action person. Not a wait and see kind of dude. When I make a mistake, this also has fingers, right, so I hire someone to help me with something, an assistant, a second shooter, if they mess up I mess up. They are a reflection of ME, I use them because I feel they are competent enough to do the job they are assigned. If they mess up, they mess up, but ultimately I messed up.  It was their issue there failure, but as the “team leader” I am ultimately responsible. This goes from not on task, not getting shots, not speaking properly. It is my issue to deal with. Weather I ever hire them again, or just speak to them about the situation. They usually know if they messed up, and this gives them the opportunity to take ownership of their actions. I already have with the client, but I want to hear the reason, I want to hear them own their actions. If they are excuse people I do not need to keep them around. I want my team to be doers, problem solvers, and “coachable”. I want them to see every job as one they booked themselves. I want my team to be a team of Mes.  Success then is based on my communication and my handling the failures. It will not always be easy for those I work with. I expect a lot, and I expect problem solving. But more importantly I Expect to lead by example. I will never ask someone to do something I am not willing to do myself. I will never ask anyone to do something I am unwilling to do.   Above all I am honest in my work and dealings with others, and that in itself should be respectable.   I have a love for photography that I want to be infectious, I want every shoot to be fun and fast, and client driven. Now there will be a lot of planning behind every shoot, but the client does not need to know that. We will plan for things to change, and fail. What are our plans? What is the lighting? What is the goal? What can go wrong?  these are the common whats, but then there are the questions like How can we fix it? What are we going to do to make this pic awesome? How can we push this to give it the most pop, bang, and impact? We do this with everything. There is research in every photo. EVERY PHOTO. But this philosophy goes beyond my field of bis. This is how I think, and I think this will help most people in there bis dealings. Water trickles from the top down. IF you have poor leadership, the followers will only be as strong as the dude in charge. A lot of the time I am a team of one, but I am always working for a someone or something.  

1. Always pay attention. Situational awareness can save your life and your sanity. Learn from others for both the good they do, and also their mistakes.
2. Be quick to take responsibility. It’s easier to take blame than it is to get the silent treatment from your teammates for blaming them or some sinister cabal that’s been sapping your precious bodily fluids.
3. Act as if you believe you’re an asset to the team, you will often behave as an asset. If you start to worry that you’re a liability, well… the same rule applies.
4. Always be building rapport and making allies. This works even better if you are genuine and sincere. You never know who may come to your aid in times of trouble. But you also never know if that person you pissed off last week may just let you hang yourself because you acted like a prick.
5. If you’re worried, talk to a brother. You may be pleasantly surprised by their honest assessment of your performance. Likewise, you may be disheartened by that same honesty. Regardless, your desire to see the truth in yourself tells your teammates you want to improve.
6. Lastly, and probably most importantly: be quick to forgive the mistakes of others. I’m pretty sure Jesus had some good reasons for this maxim, all of which apply in this situation as well.
7. take with it what you will, but I am sure if you work like this you are an asset.   Keep on Livin’ Trevor