Too Clever By Half

Sometimes being right isn’t enough. Sometimes people make a point of being right and thinking they are right about everything. I’d say “We’ve all met the type of person before…” but then I’d be reading your mind so I’ll get started witht he article.

‘Winning the battle, but loosing the war’, ‘Pyrrhic Victory’, and ‘Being a Know it All’ all fall into the same category of unlikability.

I’ve recently worked with one such individual, who has made a point of making himself appear to know more than anyone else. He’d argue with me and those around him not because he was right, but because he demanded everyone acknowledge he was right and superior in knowledge than him — Despite having a complete lack of knowledge or experience in the areas in question.

I would cite exact incidents, but as it relates to current projects, I find myself bound by ethics to hold back.

Needless to say, the person in question made a great show of grandstanding his ability to sell and generate revenue. He spent a significant amount of time doing this for prospective clients and spent even more time pursuing leads in a method that many, many people would consider ‘out-moded’. While I give him this, he is courteous, kind, and polite with people, once you stray into technical details or personal experience, his one-up-you ability kicks on and starts to annoy.

To this day, he is yet to close a sale on his own.

Twice now, he has managed to get himself cut from easy sales because of his inability to stop trying to out-do the customer and talk himself right out of an easy sale.

Lesson Learned

Don’t be too smart for your own good. You could end up cutting off your own nose.

Tags

2009, Amount Of Time, Bound, Current Projects, Ethics, june, Lack Of Knowledge, Personal Experience, Prospective Clients, Smart, Technical Details, Victory

No Comments to “Too Clever By Half”

Feed for this Entry Trackback Address

No Comments

About

DTSL Williams
Web Designer & Graphic Artist
Orlando, Florida

To Whom it May Concern

My old friends, and others, are no doubt aware of the terrible time I have had in my projects recently, and will be glad to know that I will be back to resuming them ... ready to swap wit, dispense commentary, make jokes, split hairs and perform other matters of interest.

XboxLive

My Writings

Topics of Interest

Tag, you're it.

.htaccess 2007 2008 2009 Amount Of Time April Atheist August Comedy Central computers cutting costs december DREDNOOTS! eco-friendly computer election Entertainment evolution fail february Games going green january John Stewart july june march may morality New Business Next Crisis November October orlando orlando searchr orlando web directory People Rampancy religion september Settling Accounts Technology The Reconstruction Tilting the Balance URLs web design

“I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say that one is an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn't have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or agnostic. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect that he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time.”
by Issac Asmiov