Advice is personal – Version 2

I forgot that I had already written about this, but I like this one better so I’m going to post it as well.

Recently a friend asked me to review his portfolio website.

As I clicked through the pages, I started to form an opinion of how he should update the site. Nothing major, just a complete revamp of the pages to give more content that would suit me.

Reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Homer designed a car and bankrupted the company.

The owner of the car company was his brother and he wanted the feedback of a normal American, what he got was The Homer. It was a highly specialized vehicle designed for Homer and a small niche of people like him.

His brother was upset because he got what he wanted. He got a car designed by Homer. He should have known that Homer was going to give an opinion because advice is personal.

When I looked at my friend’s website, I looked at it from my perspective. I don’t own a design studio. I’m not a manager of a design team. I’m a friend that can generate opinions on any number of topics.

So, the next time you ask for advice, remember, what you are going to get is personal. Make sure it fits your vision. You may find that it doesn’t, or you may find that it does. Just remember that it’s your job to figure out who to listen to and who to ignore.

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