Staying sharp

I’ve worked with a number of people who’ve spent many years in the same or similar role in an organisation. Many are incredibly talented, but they often draw upon a “static” base of experience - they reference the same projects, same stories and same principles when making sense of situations and work.

Some things never change - and that means that falling back on the same principles can be a reliable path to success. But sticking to these principles doesn’t have to mean standing still. Especially as a consultant or freelancer, your value compounds if you can “stay sharp”.

What does it mean to stay sharp? To me, it’s about seeking growth, and moving on when the learning and challenge stops. It means seeking the discomfort that comes from a new challenge, a new industry, or simply a new company and colleagues. It means having a clear “pulse” on the latest trends in your market - what’s working, what’s not, what’s a fad and what’s legit.

If I don’t stay sharp, my advice and craft will lose relevance. My experience, as compared to someone in-house, won’t mean so much. I won’t be a position to credibly challenge the status quo of whatever organization brings me in.

“Staying sharp” is also applicable in the agency world. Agencies and small consultancies can get stuck in their ways and fall back on success stories that are rapidly losing relevance. Two easy tests (admittedly imprecise) tests of how “sharp” an agency is:

1. How many of their employees have recent experience client-side? If it’s very few/none, then they might not be in a strong position to have that “pulse” of the market.
2. Did they have a big logo (ex. Google) on their case studies/clients section? If so, when did they work with Google? Was it in the last 5 years? I’ve seen a number of agencies call up the same big-name case studies that are actually a decade-old project, run by employees who are long gone.

How to stay sharp? I try and stay sharp by balancing my time spent on a given project. I want to spend enough time to get stuck in and make a meaningful impact, but not too long that my own development stalls. If I stop learning, I stop growing the perspective that made me valuable for this project in the first place. In that situation, it’d be better to go off and try something else for a while. While there are always exceptions, this mindset means my projects typically last months, not weeks, and not years.

Staying sharp can also mean growth within a project or organisation - this could mean taking on a new role, learning a new skill, or working in a different area in an organisation. While it can be easier to gain a new perspective by switching organisations, it’s definitely possible to do so within your company with sufficient discipline and self-awareness.

No matter your approach, whether you’re an individual or a company, it pays to stay sharp.

Have any particularly tactics to stay sharp you’d recommend? I’d love to hear them - feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or email