[NT] How strongly do you need to do things "your" way?

[highlander]

^
There's a reason why musicians record with producers, and writers have editors- because no matter how good you think something is, you will always benefit from the perspective of people who are more experienced than you, or simply have alternative views.

The large man who stands alone is dwarfed by he who stands on the shoulders of giants. If you honestly think your way is always the best way, you're missing out. It's arrogant, conceited and ignorant to honestly believe that there is no way that something can be better- if you think that there's nobody around you who is good enough, you're not looking hard enough.

+1

I have found that there are usually reasons for doing things "the right way". Often times, it is just easier and more efficient to conform. In other cases, it is possible to look at the approach, do it in order to make sure you understand it, then improve upon it. That way, you're leveraging the results of others hard work, adding the stamp of uniqueness and innovation that you strive for and making the approach better. However, sometimes, the "right way" is the wrong way. Break-out innovation can come from looking at things differently than others. The thing is, you have to invest energy to invent a new or different way of doing things and I think it is perhaps important to invest those energies in things that matter vs. things that don't.

What is it Steven Covey said - "Seek first to understand then to be understood".

 

[Halla74]

^
There's a reason why musicians record with producers, and writers have editors- because no matter how good you think something is, you will always benefit from the perspective of people who are more experienced than you, or simply have alternative views.

I'm aware of this.

The large man who stands alone is dwarfed by he who stands on the shoulders of giants. If you honestly think your way is always the best way, you're missing out.

I'm totally open to the input of others, but if I'm footing the bill, and I am responsible for the final outcome of a particular endeavor, then I reserve the right to make final decisions.

If it's somebody else's ticket, I'll contribute my best and influence the situation to the degree possible and to the extent it is worth my while.

It's arrogant, conceited and ignorant to honestly believe that there is no way that something can be better- if you think that there's nobody around you who is good enough, you're not looking hard enough.

That's the last thought I'd ever have. As a matter of fact, I prefer to have people smarter than me work for me. That makes my job easier, and frees me to do other things.

It's understandable that you took me literally and in a negative vein, I typed little in my response, and left alot open for inference, but I'm busy, and my clarification is above.

 

[Katsuni]

Yeu are a funny woman.

The point still stands; if yeu want something done right, do it yeurself.

As soon as yeu introduce delegation into the mix, yeu also introduce a potential for things not being done as yeu'd intended.

If yeu know something works if done a certain way, then yeu can do it that way and it will work. If yeu tell someone else to do it the same way, it's 50/50 at best, as they'll do one minor thing differently that doesn't seem important, but will mess the whole thing up.

Obviously I'm *NOT* always right. (Just really close) The thing is though, that if I do things my way, I know they will work out the way I thought they would, or if they don't, they'll be done in such a way that I have multiple backup paths out of the mess it causes. I build redundancy into whot little resemblance of a 'plan' I make, and know how to use those redundancies if the need arises.

If I do it someone else's way, either they did it wrong, they did it without backups, or did it with backups different from the ones I would've used, in which case I wouldn't react by doing it that way and it may go wrong.

Using someone else's plan is dangerous because there's so many new variables and unknowns added to the mix that yeu can't account nor properly prepare for.

As long as I do things my way, I know it'll very likely work right the first time, and if not, that it's almost guaranteed to still be salvageable with relative ease.

 

[Fluffywolf]

I don't need things my way, unless someone counts on my participation.

 

[visaisahero]

It's understandable that you took me literally and in a negative vein, I typed little in my response, and left alot open for inference, but I'm busy, and my clarification is above.

cheers!

 

[Metamorphosis]

I would say that I generally always do things "my way" because I'm constantly adapting my way to be whatever is the way that works the best. If I find that the way it's supposed to be done is effective, then I'll adopt that way. If it's not effective, then I'll create a more effective way and use that. Whether or not other people do it that way is almost completely irrelevant. I will say, though, that many times people don't realize that just because their way is better at the entry level of a field doesn't mean that it will even be usable at more advanced levels (like in math or physics etc.)

As a really simple example, I was teaching addition to some kids the other day, and they were coming up with some creative ways to do it that had almost nothing to do with what I was showing them. I was definitely amused and could appreciate the ingenuity, but I still had to make them understand the "correct" way so that they could do more advanced things in the future.

I tend to always think farther down the road, though. As another example, me and my dad hold handguns in completely different ways. He was a cop and holds it in a way that gives instant improvement to accuracy and I hold mine in a way that's more difficult to disarm. My thinking being that accuracy can be learned with different styles, but you can't just learn how to hold on to it tighter, or learn how to bend your wrist in a completely different way.

 

[SillySapienne]

When with people I care deeply about, I will happily oblige them and do things their way if it doesn't go against my ethics, or if it's not too much of a hassle/nuisance.

 

[Skyline]

Quite strongly, I'll say that.
Because I'm aware of the potentially negative effects it can have on others, I try to do it subtly or show some sort of compromise, but overall people (mostly referring to parents and teachers, however good friends realize this as well) do regard me as a stubborn or individualistic person, both for good (ingenious, inspiring, etc) and for bad (problematic or whimsical to handle).

 

[1104]

it depends on my investment in the project. when it comes to school i do the way they expect me to do.