2. Accept available resources and excel anyway. It is tempting when working with insufficient budgets to allow yourself to fail, so that you can blame lack of budget and get more next time. This is a mistake. If you can't accomplish with the budget you have, accomplish anyway. Show that you can make the most of available resources, stretch pennies so thin they scream, and then you may be entrusted with additional budget when it becomes available. I'm proud to say I started my program with no budget whatsoever. While I don't recommend that (and I don't do it now), I learned how to operate on the cheap, and still conserve resources wherever I can, particularly since I am a steward of the public's money. Before I spend a dime, I make sure that the expenditure is necessary to accomplish my goals - the people's goals.

3. Forgiveness vs. Permission: You Decide. This one can depend on your risk tolerance and your management structure. But often if you have not been told "no," you can go ahead and take your own risks, and ask forgiveness later - if necessary. For this one, you need to be pretty sure of yourself and your idea. With any luck, you'll have won over detractors before they even realize it.

4. Don't accept "no" as an answer. Figure out "how" you can accomplish what you need to get done. This is slightly different from persistence, in that sometimes you just need a shift in strategy. Sometimes it's figuring out how to do more for less. Sometimes it's figuring out a new way to present or a new plan for accomplishment. Sometimes it takes ingenuity to accomplish your goals.

5. Reject the stereotype. Just because you work in a bureaucracy or large organization doesn't mean you have to act like you do. It's kind of like not having to act your age. Act like the kind of person you need to be to accomplish your goals. Then accomplish them. Simple as that. Don't get caught up in what others think of you or your organization, or how you "should" behave. Ignore the jokes. Be the best you can, and just prove the stereotype wrong.

6. LISTEN. No, really. Listen. Be willing to hear the hard truths and opinions. Be willing to take criticism, even if it's not delivered nicely. Don't wait for comments to come your way, actively seek them out. It's a little scary, but in the end it's better to know if you're not meeting expectations and it's very useful to find new ways to be more effective. The community can tell you what it needs. If you listen.

7. Make friends of detractors. There's no easier way to win someone over than by befriending them and showing them the real you. It's true that not everyone will like you or approve of what you do. Even so, by being honest, upfront, and educational (rather than confrontational) you can at least get both sides on the table. I've found detractors most often by LISTENING. Then, without defensiveness, I invite them to learn more about my program or a particular effort, or whatever they are upset about. In most cases, simply learning more about the issue is enough to at least reduce the negative chatter. In the best case, an educated former detractor can become one of your biggest cheerleaders.

 

Door64 will be hosting a Tech Fair on June 15 from 10-5pm.  The fair will be held at the AT&T Conference Center on the campus of the University of Texas. We'll be there with our booth, joining all of the great companies that will be showcasing at the event. We hope to see you there!