Professional Blogification

I am a contractor, and am quite familiar with the site dice.com. It's a great resource for contractors, always has informative articles and a great wealth of knowledge concerning the contracting and consulting arenas.

Recently this article caught my attention, and I think the reason it caught my attention was because it brings to light a very real situation concerning the relationship between contractor and company. Of course, the article highlights and emphasizes the responsibility of the contractor, and is written in a light that serves to guide the contractor in dealing with clients. But I would like to expand the article to include a little more reality on the subject.

For example, the article focuses on and is written toward the contractor, but a successful project first involves the relationship between client and contractor. This is the first area that must be nurtured and failure to do so leads to "gig jumping" each and every time. Think about it: the last time you left a job, why did you leave? Did you lose your passion for the company's direction? Politics bog you down and squash your morale? Lose belief in the company's core mission? Got bored? Felt like you were being under utilized? The life of a contractor is much the same as that of an employee - except that a contractor is generally pretty good at what they do, and want to focus on their strengths and see the greatest impact of their work. This can tend to conflict with the clients objectives in a deceptive way. The client wants the best thing for their company, too....but they want it on time, in budget, and very seldom step in to ensure "business" doesn't get in the way of business. The contractor can take steps toward a mutually beneficial relationship by clearly outlining factors that may be detrimental to their commitment - such as those factors stated above. The client must work to remain in constant harmony with the objectives of the project the contractor is to deliver - regardless of the level of "ownership" the contractor has over the project.

Another interesting thing the article points out is that contractors are reporting that very few projects are being finished on time and within budget. This is an area where I like to get my soap box out and yell to the world. While it seems simple, I would just like to point out that if a project is over budget and out of time, maybe some thought should be given to the budget and the schedule. Just a thought. Far too often, projects are handled or directed by individuals who have little idea how to properly approach a project at all, or who may not be personally vested in the cause. I can't imagine a worse way to approach a project that doing so without the express involvement of the PM or the contractor responsible for execution. This happens far too often, and afterwards, you end up with a scramble to the finish line, complete with sloppy end work, finger pointing, and compromised quality standards. The end game is the game that suffers, yet is most impacting to the overall success of the project. It is estimated that roughly 10% of all projects have contractors who leave before the end of the project. Sounds to me to be more of a crunch time dilemma. And, in my experience that's what it almost always is.