The article explores the idea that there are 3 types of workers in our working world. First, the grinders. They are the ones who take orders and slug it own, like the peons in Warcraft. At their best, grinders are proficient in their work, solve problems and are excellent at taking orders. At their worst, grinders grumble all day and suck at their work. Some clever folks are happy to remain grinders in their career and choose to focus on other aspects of lives.
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| "More work for me, my lord?" - The Peon-y Grinder |
Next, we have the minders. They are one level above the grinders. They mind the grinders, manage them, lead them. Most grinders have to demonstrate some level of proficiency at their work before they can get to become a minder. However, not all technically proficient grinders make good minders. Some grinders who suck at grinding actually have the potential to become great minders, but may never get there if they do not impress the powers-that-be whilst they are grinders. A good minder can inspire and lead his grinders to achieve great things. A poor minder is detested by his subordinates and cannot get things done. For every minder, there are many more grinders and sometimes, a minder has his own minder and is hence partly a grinder at the same time.
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| Some minders can be very special. |
Beyond the minders, we have a far rarer breed. The elusive finders. Who are the finders? Finders evolve from grinders to minders who make the step to become folks who bring in business. Finders are magnetic people who can draw people towards them. To some extent they still do some management work but their core business is people: the clients. Finders love their clients and get their clients to love them. Finders get the deals for the company and keep the clients happy. The grinders do the work and act as the core revenue generators. The minders manage the grinders. The finders manage the minders but spend their energies mainly on deal sourcing and networking. It is common for the technical proficiency of finders to lapse somewhat as they focus less on doing the day-to-day grunt work. Such is the trade-off in being a finder.
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| Finders - a rare breed |
So far the idea of transitioning from grinder to minder seems fairly straightforward. As Christopher also points out (interspersing his thoughts with my own):
- society generally does not value grinders. Perhaps this is because there are too many grinders to go around. Unless you have a special skill, e.g. surgeon, or if you are exceptional at what you do e.g. sportsman, actor, you will get crowded out by the sheer numbers. How many engineers do we have out there?
- some EQ and communication skills are required to become a minder. Minders were once grinders and have to undergo some form of competition and "natural selection" at the grinder level to make it as minders.
- All things being equal, a minder would generally earn more than a grinder in the same industry and enjoy more prestige. Hence for most working people, they would usually consider becoming a minder in their industry as a sign that they have made it.
But of course, Christopher goes further to look at how a minder can take a further leap to become a finder. That's what it's all about isn't it, as the finders are the folks who make the really big bucks. This is where things get golden and we will look into this in Part 2.
Hi RT,
ReplyDeleteNot sure which one I'll fall into, since my job requires me to be all 3 at different times. What do you think? :)
Hi LP
DeleteHaha, that's an interesting one. Entrepreneurs and self-employed folks are a bit of a different breed; they would largely have to focus on being good Finders but I want to be more specific on your job.
To simplify things in the model quickly, I would say you currently don't have to worry too much about Minder duties, given that you are a one-man show (correct me if I am wrong though). So we are left with Grinder and Finder roles. As you are flying solo, you unfortunately have to do the grinding (i.e. the revenue churning work) and unlike bosses of big businesses your business still depends quite a lot on your grinding skills (e.g. your knowledge of the syllabus, ability to teach well, diligence and drive etc.). But assuming your grinding skills are accomplished (and it sounds to me like they are), what you need to focus on is being a good Finder so you can grow your clientele further. And that will segue in nicely to part 2. One other point I wanted to make is that by flying solo, your business is somewhat lighter in that you don't have to worry about managing people (some Finders can be weighed down by Minder duties). So in order to achieve success it's just a matter of working on yourself and your potential clients - but of course expanding your setup to hire more people could also be an option.
Hi RT,
ReplyDeleteGood analysis!
I think a little differently though. I take it that to grind means you have to work on individual skills. To be a great grinder is to be good technically. In my line, that would mean that I've to know my syllabus and content very well so that I can do at least 95% of the questions I encountered.
To mind, I take it that I have to manage others. In my line, I take it that I have to motivate and inspire students to do well. It's a little bit different from being technically sound, but unable to teach or inspire students. This forms the biggest part of my job scope now actually. It's how I can impart what I know to them and make them want to excel. I'm focusing most of my efforts on this part, unless I'm teaching a new module (which I am currently now), then I'll have to grind and brush up my own knowledge.
To find, it's like what you said - to find more business. I spend effort on this seasonally, esp during my off peak period. I guess that if I do my minding well, the finding shouldn't be that problematic. All these are based on solo though, so if I manage a tuition centre, that'll be a totally different definitions again.
Hi LP
DeleteI agree, in the context of your situation, we can treat the concept of Minding more broadly. After all, the core essence of Minding is how you manage and lead people, which certainly applies between you and your students.
It's fun to test these ideas on different jobs/contexts and perspectives, and see if they can still hold, or if they need to be adapted or improved on!