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Yes, and

Yes, and is an improv principle but and for me, in this current journey, it has a lesson that has held up well.

As a consultant, a variety of work gets thrown at you. While there are the obvious not-my-skill or not-my-competency or not-my-interest work that comes your way and you anyway have to say no to it, the intriguing part is that the work that does indeed come to you is not packaged like a dream - not always.

The work in its initial description comes fuzzily, appears different, sometimes impossible, sometimes tricky, sometimes with rocks embedded before the seashore. And this is what I have realised, as a consultant, work will rarely come in neatly packaged boxes. It will come as a bunch of pieces  - some interesting, some not, some disjointed, some sharp, some edges, some centres and it is your job as a consultant to embrace all that is thrown at you with a yes, and.

So to give you a few examples, my very first assignment was a one-of-its-kind workshop (Yes, we have never repeated that ever anywhere) because of the combination of needs it had (and one unique need- no chairs).

And the second one, which was vapourware had a crazy delivery time - 2 weeks - from scratch to end product. Though I met the deadline, the need vanished and it led me to a something new - something I would have never conceptualised had I not said Yes, and to it.

Such examples abound and continue to come my way, but I have learnt that Yes, and-ing work opportunities is a great the only way for you to grow as a consultant. 

(and perhaps for those who are not consultants as well)
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