Avoiding difficulties is natural, and sometimes even the most efficient strategy. But these difficulties are also opportunities; the opportunity to learn, innovate and possibly uncover something magical.
Courage to speak up
It takes courage to speak up about something we believe is wrong and goes against our values. Especially when our interlocutor is a director, the CEO, or a client.
But there are things that maybe only you would notice in any given situation, and it is the responsibility of every member of the team to make sure that we don't leave wrong things unattended.
When should we speak up?
When we believe that decisions have been made with the wrong motivations, motivations that goes against our values
Short-sighted
Problem avoidance
Does wrong to players
When we see unjustified and non-constructive criticism, or inappropriate communication
When we feel that the quality of our work is not on par with our standard
Right over easy
Our values, be true, be brave, be kind, be wise, form a moral compass that guides us when choosing a direction. It helps us determining what is right from what is wrong.
The right path is usually not the path of least friction. Sometimes, we may be tempted to take the easy route, not because we want to avoid difficulties, but because we may think that the goal is more important than how we achieve it. And very often, that's what our clients will make us believe, because there's an economic reason behind.
But we should be wary to take these shortcuts, because sometimes lead to mediocrity. And by delivering mediocre work "on-time", we are just like any other studio, and will make our clients indifferent.
I'd rather be told by a client that we are sometimes "a pain in the neck" to work with, but that we never compromise, and that the quality speaks for itself.