[H-GEN] New HD in Sunblade 100

[Greg Black]

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"Sharon Dainty" wrote:

| > Ian Pulsford wrote:
| >
| > | Quick!  How does one go about forming a consultancy (I probably need
| > | more experience first).
| ......
| > greg wrote:
| > You also need at least two partners to work with.  Making all
| > the decisions all on your own is pretty daunting (and really
| > easy to get seriously wrong) when this is all new to you.
| 
| I work from home and in an office, the best advice I can give is 'network'.
| I dont know if I agree with the partner thing, but if you have people that
| you can bounce things off, it makes it so much easier.

Networking and having mentors and lists like this are all very
useful, I agree completely.

However, the reason I mentioned partners is that, when you're
trying to solve a real problem, somebody who is really tied in
to the outcome is going to give the question better attention
than somebody outside.  I frequently see people who really know
their stuff (and this includes me) giving quick answers to
problems in places like these lists without really taking the
time to appreciate all the nuances of the issue.  That doesn't
mean that they give wrong or bad answers, but it does mean that
they might have been able to give better answers if they had a
stake in the outcome.  Partners have that stake.

Of course, poorly chosen partners are worse than no partners, so
you need to take the time to get to know the people you're
thinking about going into partnership with in the following
areas:

  * technical skills, including:

    + ability to learn new stuff
    + ability to look hard at things without being derailed by
      preconceived notions
    + knowledge of their real skills and awareness of the areas
      where they are not skilled

  * personal qualities, including:

    + ability to give and take criticism without giving or
      taking offence
    + willingness to focus on the needs of the partnership
      enough to make it viable
    + general personal compatibility

There are more things than this little list, of course, but it's
a start.

Greg

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