I was accused of 'hiding behind my ivory tower' by a client in South Africa recently.
That's a first. Also, if I did have an Ivory Tower, it certainly wouldn't be big enough for me to hide behind, given my modest lifestyle.
I am by no means wealthy, only barely reaching the edges of middle class really. (And yes, I know how that sounds given the extreme poverty in my country of birth and other places around the world.)
Here's what I think of this Ivory Tower I am hiding behind.
I work 7 days a week; full days that start around 5 am and end anywhere between 7 and 9 pm. There is some flexbility around that, usually I average 12 hours a day at our busy times, and 9 or so if it's dead quiet.
Breakfast is made and brought to work in lunch boxes, eaten at my desk with coffee while I start the day. Lunch, if eaten at all, happens at my desk, and only maybe once in a while do I get to sit and eat lunch with my husband for 20-30 minutes. Usually it's at our boardroom table while we discuss work, or a client issue, or a particular problem that needs solving. I am of course an employee in the business, wholly and completely. I may be the CEO, but I am not a shareholder, so the choice is work and earn, or relax in my "Ivory Tower" without my own income stream. I choose to work.
Granted some of those working hours take place at home, or on the road, because our business is a connected business and we use some incredible online and VOIP tools that allow a certain degree of flexibility. And of course I do count my networking activites as work, because to be honest, if I was not seeking opportunities actively to grow the company, I likely would not go to evening networking events.
So that's myth number one busted, I would think. I couldn't possibly be in an Ivory Tower, when I don't really have oodles of money to cushion me should I not be able to work for some reason.
Then I thought, perhaps my incredible looking LinkedIn profile has something to do with it. I have gone to a lot of effort to ensure that my profile reflects the seriousness and professionalism and work ethic that I bring to everything I do. And looking from the outside, I can see how it may look like our business is an International Corporate, poised on the brink of global domination.
A more realistic description would be, a fantastic boutique company, utilising every available tool at our disposal to grow internationally on a lean budget with lean resources. We do exceptionally well, I like to think, at bootstrapping our growth, and punch well above our weight class in this regard very often. But again, there is no room for slackers in our company, and no room for resting on laurels. We move swiftly from our modest successes ( which we do celebrate ) onto each subsequent goal so that we don't lose momentum. Layering our growth, "boiled-frog" style.
And that would be myth number two busted. I couldn't possibly be in an Ivory Tower, when I have to work damn hard, every day, to keep the entire team happy, focussed, and working towards a common goal.
Occasionally, as an employee, I have to enact and follow through on decisions made by the actual owners of the business. As their CEO and the face of the company, it falls to me to define the process, manage the staff , and communicate to the clients. Sometimes clients are not happy with those decisions, and I am confident that is where the current "Ivory Tower" comment comes from.
Sadly, for this client, there is absolutely no wiggle room, and my hands are well and truly tied on this particular decision that they do not like. So I will take the insult on the chin, deflect it with my teflon armour, and move on to the next activity like the super-chick that I remind myself to be.
After all, as a very famous comedian and now convicted felon once said; "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody".
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| I imagine my ivory tower would look like this, although in my head it looks better. Clearly Graphic Design isn't for me |
I am by no means wealthy, only barely reaching the edges of middle class really. (And yes, I know how that sounds given the extreme poverty in my country of birth and other places around the world.)
Here's what I think of this Ivory Tower I am hiding behind.
I work 7 days a week; full days that start around 5 am and end anywhere between 7 and 9 pm. There is some flexbility around that, usually I average 12 hours a day at our busy times, and 9 or so if it's dead quiet.
Breakfast is made and brought to work in lunch boxes, eaten at my desk with coffee while I start the day. Lunch, if eaten at all, happens at my desk, and only maybe once in a while do I get to sit and eat lunch with my husband for 20-30 minutes. Usually it's at our boardroom table while we discuss work, or a client issue, or a particular problem that needs solving. I am of course an employee in the business, wholly and completely. I may be the CEO, but I am not a shareholder, so the choice is work and earn, or relax in my "Ivory Tower" without my own income stream. I choose to work.
Granted some of those working hours take place at home, or on the road, because our business is a connected business and we use some incredible online and VOIP tools that allow a certain degree of flexibility. And of course I do count my networking activites as work, because to be honest, if I was not seeking opportunities actively to grow the company, I likely would not go to evening networking events.
So that's myth number one busted, I would think. I couldn't possibly be in an Ivory Tower, when I don't really have oodles of money to cushion me should I not be able to work for some reason.
Then I thought, perhaps my incredible looking LinkedIn profile has something to do with it. I have gone to a lot of effort to ensure that my profile reflects the seriousness and professionalism and work ethic that I bring to everything I do. And looking from the outside, I can see how it may look like our business is an International Corporate, poised on the brink of global domination.
A more realistic description would be, a fantastic boutique company, utilising every available tool at our disposal to grow internationally on a lean budget with lean resources. We do exceptionally well, I like to think, at bootstrapping our growth, and punch well above our weight class in this regard very often. But again, there is no room for slackers in our company, and no room for resting on laurels. We move swiftly from our modest successes ( which we do celebrate ) onto each subsequent goal so that we don't lose momentum. Layering our growth, "boiled-frog" style.
And that would be myth number two busted. I couldn't possibly be in an Ivory Tower, when I have to work damn hard, every day, to keep the entire team happy, focussed, and working towards a common goal.
Occasionally, as an employee, I have to enact and follow through on decisions made by the actual owners of the business. As their CEO and the face of the company, it falls to me to define the process, manage the staff , and communicate to the clients. Sometimes clients are not happy with those decisions, and I am confident that is where the current "Ivory Tower" comment comes from.
Sadly, for this client, there is absolutely no wiggle room, and my hands are well and truly tied on this particular decision that they do not like. So I will take the insult on the chin, deflect it with my teflon armour, and move on to the next activity like the super-chick that I remind myself to be.
After all, as a very famous comedian and now convicted felon once said; "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody".
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