Worry-Free New Year

I came across this graphic on Pinterest earlier today, and it really struck me as a great resolution for the New Year - Stop Worrying!  Perhaps, I'm drawn to it because I come from a long line of worriers, or perhaps, it's the many years I've spent on the supplier-side of the research industry.  Regardless, it's a good resolution for all of us because research can be unpredictable and worry-inducing. We all have horror stories of unmanageable respondents, broken timelines, unreasonable clients, impossible recruits, and budget-busting errors.  And, that's usually just in one project!  Not really...or at least  I hope no one has faced all of that on one project!

Actually, I think I've spent the most time worrying about just getting all of the projects done with the staff available to do it.  That's the trick with this industry - it can be feast or famine.

While I was managing all of the quant research for one supplier, my greatest worry was always staffing.  We could not staff for peaks because the slow times would put us in a hole.  We could not understaff, or we would abuse our loyal employees with absurd hours and unnecessary stress.  It's a conundrum.

Since I started Harvest Insights, I have found this same worry coming from others on both the client- and supplier-side.  For me, being an outlet for overflow work is a niche that I'm happy to fill because I've played just about every role on every type of project, but I'm not going to worry anymore.  Instead, my mission will be to eliminate worry for those struggling to get the work done.  That is my resolution for 2014.