Get the Right Person For the Job

An alternate title for this piece could be "careful casting," because it's important to employ the most suitable persons to complete any given project, including movies, music, home fix-it folks, relationships--you name it.

I've watched a boatload of blu ray special features in my time and have heard several directors say that they carefully cast their actors. This means the director and staff carefully look into hundreds of photos, audition tapes and have several meetings to fill a role with the perfect actor, who embodies the specific skills to get the job done. Chemistry is important among the actors in film, too, to project authenticity on the screen. That way when the movie hits theaters, it has the greatest chance of being financially and critically successful.

To illustrate this in my world of music production, I have been putting together some song demos for a client. I arranged one of the songs in the style of one of my favorite country artists, Emmylou Harris. I am well aware that the "Emmylou sound" is very particular in that I was going to require a very specific singer to pull off the lead vocal. I knew who to call. And when I did, she wasn't immediately available to come in and record the part. I could have found someone else, who I would have ended up frustrating and who would have ended up frustrating me. The job would have barely been completed, if even done at all. I would have wasted time, money and energy trying to cram an otherwise wonderful singer into a roll that was unsuitable for them. In this way, nobody is happy when the day is done.

Long story short...Heather came over last night to sing and knocked the ball out of the park! We even had plenty of time to do some killer background vocals.

Like I stated earlier, to get the job done, we must be very careful to use the most suitable person for the job. Sometimes we bring in the wrong person and, when the result is negative, we blame them. Well, the blame should be put on us because we tried to force a proverbial right shoe on a left foot and expected them to dance like a ballerina!

We must take the time to find the right person for the job. It really is more of a reflection on we as team leaders, producers, directors, project managers,  business owners, etc., than on those we choose. "Careful casting" is also imperative when searching for a marriage partner. Sometimes, like actors, our prospective mate may say they can ride horses and shoot guns like John Wayne, only to find that they've never even been three feet from a horse in their lives. Poor decision making creates bad movies and bad marriages. Careful choosing helps avoid painful losing.