Birgitte Rasine — Tue, 29 May 2007 21:51:46 GMT

Erin,

Thanks for a well thought-out and supportive article. I’m a writer but in my business I’m responsible primarily for running it, which means a LOT of delegating, not just to other writers but designers and other creatives. Curiously, I project manage as well as produce, although now I am really trying hard to delegate the project management role to someone else on our team, b/c the workload has simply become overwhelming. So a lot of what you say rings very true, and I appreciate your having taken the time to write this piece.

I thought I would add a little from my own experience… it’s not just about the right attitude and people management, it’s also about having the right tools. In our company, for example, we do print design, web design, photography and communications. So on a daily basis we handle very disparate and diverse projects. About a year and a half ago we were desperately looking for some kind of online project management system that would enable us to track time and our work properly. After several failed trials with a number of application we found it—Intervals (www.myintervals.com)—and have never looked back since. I have to admit one of the main reasons we love it is b/c it’s designed so well! But in all seriousness… it’s helped us pull our team together and pull out a fair amount of billable hours we would have otherwise lost (as in, not even known they’re billable).

But the trick there is not to let the tool take over your life, either… you still have to keep the person front and center and not treat him or her like a mere resource. That’s where the human element comes in, and you’ve captured that quite well.

So, again, thanks so much for taking the time to write this—I’ll keep an eye out for your other pieces!

All the best,
Birgitte (writer turned producer)

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Birgitte Rasine