making the most of working in downturn
TRANSCRIPT
Making the most of working in the economic downturn
Marta StelmaszakDecember 2014
About the speaker
• Polish – English translator and interpreter• Based in London• BA, PgCert in language-related disciplines• MSc in Management, Information Systems and Innovation• Training in marketing, e-business, economics• Certificate in business mentoring• Publications, presentations, articles• www.wantwords.co.uk/school• @mstelmaszak• Book!
Main theme today
• The Chinese word for “crisis” is believed to be made up of two characters, one that represents danger, and one signifying opportunity.
Main theme today
The history of the crisis
• J. F. Kennedy in 1959• Richard M. Nixon• Condoleezza Rice• Al Gore (even in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance lecture!)• Consultants, coaches, motivational speakers• More than 1,000,000 references online• Courses and seminars• They are surely right!
They surely have to be right!
… if you ignore the fact that it’s a mistranslation.
The history of a mistranslation
• Like most Mandarin words, that for “crisis” (wēijī) consists of two syllables that are written with two separate characters, wēi (危 ) and jī (機 /机 ). While it is true that wēijī does indeed mean “crisis” and that the wēi syllable of wēijī does convey the notion of “danger,” the jī syllable of wēijī most definitely does not signify “opportunity.” The jī of wēijī, in fact, means something like “incipient moment; crucial point (when something begins or changes).” Thus, a wēijī is indeed a genuine crisis, a dangerous moment, a time when things start to go awry. A wēijī indicates a perilous situation when one should be especially wary. (Professor Victor M. Hair)
The history of a mistranslation
• But in fact it’s not that simple. Ji is a polysemous word. • Interpreting it as “opportunity” sends a positive,
motivational message.• Resources
– http://pinyin.info/chinese/crisis.html– http://www.husdal.com/2010/11/26/a-crisis-is-not-an-opportuni
ty/
• Moral of the story?
The history of a mistranslation
• Moral of the story?• Hire professional translators.
• Words, the same as concepts or situations, have different meanings and their interpretation depends on who’s talking.
Ok, what does that have to do with a freelance translation business?
Good ice breaker, intro, chit chat, small talk, pitch.
The danger
What do you see as a danger for your business? Write it down in the notepad.
The danger
• My danger list– Bad economic performance of my SL and TL countries– My clients doing poorly– Agencies taking over– Machine translation (#$@%$#%!!!!)– Prices falling– Carpal tunnel syndrome– More competitors– Unfair practices– Translator’s block– Burnout– Somebody better will come
Remember what the Chinese say?
The jī of wēijī, in fact, means something like “incipient moment; crucial point (when something begins or changes).”
The danger
Every danger requires some change.
The danger
• My danger list– Bad economic performance of my SL and TL countries -> reach out to clients
in another country, learn a new language– My clients doing poorly -> look for clients in growing industries– Agencies taking over -> deliver benefits as a freelancer– Machine translation (#$@%$#%!!!!) -> move towards areas where I can’t be
replaced– Prices falling -> stop working for these people– Carpal tunnel syndrome -> exercise to prevent or start dictation– More competitors -> make sure you stand out– Unfair practices -> whose? Don’t work for these people.– Translator’s block -> create a healthy lifestyle– Burnout -> don’t work too much; how can I earn more in less time; diversify?– Somebody better will come -> work on becoming better yourself.
Prepare your own danger and change list.
The opportunity
How do we turn the change to opportunity?
The opportunity
The opportunity
• My danger list– Bad economic performance of my SL and TL countries -> reach out
to clients in another country, learn a new language– How can I benefit from it?– Finish the sentence:
• It is a good opportunity to… find clients in richer countries and increase my rates.
• It is a good opportunity to… start working on more interesting projects.• It is a good opportunity to… make my business less dependent on economic
performance of two countries.• And so on…
The opportunity
• My danger list– Agencies taking over -> deliver benefits as a freelancer– How can I benefit from it?– Finish the sentence:
• It is a good opportunity to… stop treating colleagues as competitors.• It is a good opportunity to… form a team with other freelancers.• It is a good opportunity to… raise my profile to deliver what an agency can’t.• And so on…
The opportunity
• My danger list– Machine translation (#$@%$#%!!!!) -> move towards areas where
I can’t be replaced– How can I benefit from it?– Finish the sentence:
• It is a good opportunity to… understand how I’m contributing to the work.• It is a good opportunity to… refocus my business to move away from areas of
threat.• It is a good opportunity to… raise my profile to deliver what MT can’t.• And so on…
The opportunity
• My danger list– Burnout -> don’t work too much; how can I earn more in less time;
diversify?– How can I benefit from it?– Finish the sentence:
• It is a good opportunity to… find passive streams of income.• It is a good opportunity to… find projects that will pay more.• It is a good opportunity to… start diversifying and doing other things that
interest me and bring money.• And so on…
The opportunity
• Some things we all can do when in danger or approaching a crisis– Form teams– Diversify or focus– Concentrate on new (developing) economies– Use free resources– Engage in shareconomy– Engage in freeconomy– Create expert profiles– Conduct an audit of your business– Start budgeting– Apply for funding
