Finders, Minders, and Grinders

A recent conversation I had with a friend reintroduced me a favorite phrase I'd heard before: finders, minders, and grinders.  His context was in a law firm but it applies to my firm as well, in which there are folks who find the work (business development), mind the work (project management), and grind the work (research and analysis). 

The good news for me at my current station in life is that I do a little bit of finding, minding, and grinding.  The bad news for me at my current station in life is that I do a little bit of finding, minding, and grinding. In other words, I enjoy all three kinds of work, so it's good I'm not stuck doing just one or two of them, because I'd miss getting to do it all.  On the other hand, it can be hard to toggle between the three - they each take different skills and temperaments - and it's not hard to wish aloud that you could skip having to do one or more of the three.

At any rate, even if you do just one and like it, I hope you'll walk a mile in the shoes of the others.  Finders who don't get what Minders and Grinders do often become bad Finders, and so it is true for Minders and Grinders.

Regardless of our interests and predilections, many of us often are naturally promoted from being Grinders to Minders to Finders, even if it doesn't play to our preferences or skills.  Maybe this is good, maybe this is bad.  Regardless, I believe you can be good at and enjoy any of the three, if you understand all three and how they work together.  Most definitely that's important at an organization-wide level.  Something to think about.