Ms Understanding

I read somewhere -- probably on a fridge magnet, source of all enlightenment -- "If you don't like someone, even the way they hold their fork can infuriate you. But if you like them, they can overturn a bowl of soup on your lap and all is forgiven."

One of our clients is going through some tough times.

Along with some pretty aggressive - maybe even unobtainable - goals, they've had some senior people leave or be summarily dismissed, and a virtual revolving door of staff turnover recently.

Like most corporate cultures, they haven't been that good at mitigating fear among the troops.

Silence isn't always golden when people are fearful in the face of change. They all have mortgages, children, spouses, aging parents and all the usual stressors we all face...and now they're worried about jobs, too.

The mood of the place has gone from a positive "we're all in this together" to "who can I blame for this?"

As their agency of record, we're on the firing line for some of the "who can I blame for this?"

I'll be honest, we're not always right. Not by a long shot.

But we're always trying to be. What I mean by that is that every single person who works on their particular piece of business is trying to do the right thing. We don't like to fail. Who does? We're all doing the best job we can within our own particular set of limitations.

But there's an overwhelming feeling of being scrutinized at the moment.

Every decision is questioned. Every estimate is gone over in meticulous and excruciating detail. Every piece of creative is done and re-done.

The claustrophobia of being continually judged is wearing on me. You can't possibly do a good job when you know that all eyes are on you waiting for you to fail.

See where I'm going with this? I get it because I've done it. I've been the one sitting in the judging chair with the accusatory finger wag at the ready. Now I'm being subjected to it. And boy does it feel crappy.

What a great, though difficult, life lesson to learn.