I've obviously been a little reticent of late (I'm sure you've all noticed). My productivity levels have certainly been 'low' when it comes to output on this here Blog. I've not been sitting in a darkened room rocking gently backwards and forwards though... OK... so maybe I have done a little bit of that, but mainly after attempting to do things like wallpapering and other DIY tasks. Have any one you ever attempted to lay massively uneven natural stone tiles on a floor that resembles the Himalayas? Well I have, and let me tell you, I have a new found respect for tilers. Quite often we look at the stuff other people do from the outside looking in and we think 'I could do that'. Sometimes we're right, we almost certainly could do that, but I think we all too often like to underestimate the difficulties associated with other peoples work.
As a researcher / consultant I often here all the jokes about giving consultants watches so they can tell you the time. They bring a wry smile from me, and I understand some of the hostility towards 'outsiders' coming in to tell people either A) what they already know or B) how to do things. It's a difficult line to tread and get right. Quite often if you are asked to do something for somebody else the reasons are very similar. The most common reason I get asked to do something is because there is a lack of resources at an organisation to get a short term piece of work over the line. This can be the most challenging environment, mainly because the organisation will almost certainly have people who are capable of doing the task themselves... it's just their day job is getting in the way. In these situations I find it is best to acknowledge that fact, and work with those people, keep them informed and pick their brains.
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