I learned two key things growing up that I’ve decided most people have never learned. The most important is that my father instilled in me a work ethic that has served me well throughout my life. Work hard at whatever I do, and while I could do anything I want, no job is beneath me. Several times I’ve accepted jobs others thought were beneath them and ended up with the job everyone wanted. The second key I learned on my first paying job, working cattle. I grew up around cowboys, not people who wore boots to the office, but people who literally made their living working with cattle. There is a tradition among them that I have always tried to live by. Ride for the brand.

I’ve found that starting at the bottom in a profession gives you a viewpoint that few others share. In twelve years of graphic design, six years as department head I rarely met a designer who had worked with anything but computers. Young designers have no idea of the history of their art. They know the latest software, but not what was behind it. How many people adjust leading (space between lines of text), but don’t know why it’s called that. (Blocks of lead were used to space lines of type in a printing press.) This lack of history causes several problems:

• Without the history, they have nothing to fall back on when there is a problem.
• Without the history, they have trouble predicting were problems will arise.
• Without the history, they can have trouble with things like improving workflow, changing procedures, or even upgrading software or hardware. (What they do, is all they know.)

The idea of riding for the brand is something I rarely see in practice. Our society is constantly reinforcing the idea of “lookout for number one”, so the idea of loyalty to an employer is out of fashion. The “lookout for number one” concept doesn’t work for me, not so much in theory as in practice. My biggest problem with the practice is that is the identity of “number one”. I’ve always believed God was Number One. The other big problem I see is people sabotaging themselves in their efforts to put themselves above others. Despite what a lot of employees think, their bosses are often not idiots. Blatant self-promotion isn’t always the best course of action for an employee. When it is at the expense of the company, the employer often doesn’t take it well. Sure, most little things you do will slip by, but so will that next promotion you wanted. It’s often in your best interest to be a loyal employee, especially since it is so rare that it often gets noticed.

I’m tired of ordering a cheeseburger, and getting a chicken sandwich because the waiter wants to be an actor, or a plumber, or anything other than a waiter. Why can’t people do the job they have. It always amazes me how obvious some employees dislike for their jobs can be. If you dislike your job that much… Quit! Do something else, anything else. Don’t hang around just so you can screw up my order. Get a job you like, get a job you love and give it everything you have. Don’t be afraid to start at the bottom, and work your way up. (The key there is work.) Here’s what I want people to take away from this… Whatever you want to do, learn your profession from the ground up, you can build on that. You’d be amazed at what you’ll learn. You might even learn to like your job, and how to ride for the brand.