The Path Of Least Resistence

If you're like me, you want your job to be easy. Work smart not hard, right? and yet so many people (including myself at times) are hell bent on making their own jobs as well as others difficult. Let me give you some examples... When it comes to your own duties, how often do you decide to "take care of the problem" yourself instead of hiring a pro (or just someone else) to get it done. I know the thinking, I'll save some money. I'll fix my computer, repair my amp, paint the house, drywall the holes from the plumber, tile the bathroom. How about being the guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and drum programmer on your recordings or road manager, stage manager, booking agent, band manager, transportation driver and marketing and promotion person, etc. All because you're either a control freak or you think you are going to save money. Well, sometimes it works, but often it doesn't. If those skills are not in your wheel house, if they are not in your comfort zone, than you may be weakening rather than strengthening your situation and/or career. In the long run, you need to focus on those things you do best. You should absolutely know what to expect from certain jobs and I highly recommend doing all the jobs aforementioned at some point so as to appreciate the difficulties of any job. But sometimes it helps everyone involved to divide and conquer. In this case divide up tasks and responsibilities and hire out when it makes sense. I do also understand that in these tough economic times and in order to get certain things done, you may have to do things yourself. If that's the case, take the time, do your due diligence, do your homework, and learn as much as possible before tackling the tasks. Otherwise, you might wind up spending more correcting the problem than if had you not done it yourself in the first place.

BTW, when you do hire out or delegate a task, make that person's job as easy as possible. Give them all the tools that you can to allow them to do a great job. Give them the path of least resistance. I once asked a distributor rep who was faced with working hundreds of new releases each month, how he determined which releases he worked diligently on and devoted more time to. His answer...the labels and artists that were working diligently, making sacrifices and team players. A great line from manager Andy Gould (Guns and Roses, Rob Zombie) "Never work harder than your artist". In other words, when you hire others and bring others on you OWE it to them to keep it going yourself, do your job and don't sit back on your laurels. Don't confuse the path of least resistance with the easy way out. People will rock for you if they see you working it. But again, work smart not hard. maximize your efforts on those things that can move the big picture a long. Don't get caught up in over thinking and the minutia. Make each small step for you one giant step in your career and find your path of least resistance.

Steve Belkin is a music business consultant, author of the Ebook "The Six P's to Success" and owner of Open All Nite Entertainment and an artist manager and partner with Left Coast Music Group.