Thursday 3 November 2011

Comfort zones


It's been a long time since I lived or worked in my comfort zone. I still remember when I started my first job here in Stirling, my boss told me that he wasn't paying me to work within my comfort zone. I nearly laughed in his face. There was no part of the job that was familiar to me, and nothing that even remotely resembled a comfort zone. 

And it's something I've carried on with pretty much ever since.  Just when I seem to be getting to grips with a situation, it changes. Or I change it. Take the current job, for example. When I was appointed, what I really knew about my remit could be written on the back of a very small piece of paper, yet I was expected to lead on it for my organisation. Everything I do now, I have had to learn. And I have learned it, and to my credit I can now talk about it with a modicum of sense. Scarily people actually listen to me too. Idiots!

So, what have I done today? I've talked about broadband, city strategies, solar PV energy generation, Feed in Tariffs, economic theory, raising aspirations, charging policies and the elasticity of price, the value of open space and much much more. The down side is the volume and breadth of things I have to know about. The upside is...the volume and breadth of things I get to know about. 

So, do I have a comfort zone at work? Not really. Do I mind? Sometimes, but not often. Most of the time I just love the challenge. Would I change it? Not for something safer, that's for sure!

No comments: