Gone Fishy

Picture this, Dear Reader: you’re a decent-sized fish. No not this kind. Rather this kind. Now consider that you do your fishy thing in a big body of water. Maybe one of the Great Lakes. Or the Mediterranean Sea. Or the Pacific Ocean.

There, you might have a lot of opportunities to explore, find tasty morsels to eat, and bed down. But you’re probably gonna have a lot of competition, and Mother Nature is not known for being the forgiving sort. So, you’ll have plenty of fellow travelers who, you know, would like to eat you.

Not good.

In for a penny, in for a pond

But now imagine that you instead can choose to live in a smaller body of water (You’re a flying fish, so you can jump from one body of water to another, no matter the distance . . . Oh, c’mon, Dear Reader! Cut me some slack and let me take some liberties here!). Like a pond. There’ll probably be less room to explore, fewer tasty morsels to chomp on at the 24/7 buffet, and not as many interesting and cozy spots on which to rest your weary fins. But there also likely won’t be as many (or maybe any) neighbors bigger than you. And odds are that you’ll be able to flush your gills at leisure. And find a decent meal, too. Maybe algae instead of herring, but you’re smart and resourceful, so you’ll be able to fill your little fishy belly. You’ll also likely face a smaller number of other creatures who might like to (or even could) make a midnight snack of you.

Do you sense it, Dear Reader? Do you?

“Sense what,” you say? Well, a metaphor, silly! That’s what this whole set up was all about!

Awwww. C’mon back, Dear Reader. I didn’t mean to make your eyes roll you feel bad.

A (smaller) firm grip

I work in the legal field. Specifically, in the law firm world. So, let’s overlay my metaphor on it, shall we?

There are several mega big firms out there in what’s called BigLaw. In them are lotsa overworked and unhappy people. A great many of whom are under constant and often intense pressure. Not everyone, by any means. But no small number either.

The benefits to working in these firms—especially the biggest and highest profile—include . . . well, for one thing, the employee benefits. They’re generally quite good in mega BigLaw. The compensation usually is stupid good, too. Also, the work often is “sexy” or “high-profile,” or “high-stakes.”

But there are a gazillion smaller law firms. Some are still technically considered BigLaw firms, but not at the “mega” size. The vast majority of the rest comprise a few dozen or fewer lawyers and staff. The work done by folks in those firms often won’t be as varied. And maybe not as (consistently) sexy, high-profile, or high-stakes. And because competition for talent in much of the field is fierce, the “best qualified” people seek out/are sought by the mega BigLaw firms paying the really big bucks. So, many of them won’t be working in a smaller firm. But because the people running most law firms are wanting in business acumen, the compensation, benefits, promotion opportunities, and working conditions in these smaller firms can often be very good, thank you very much.

Go big or go home?

I’ve found in my experience, Dear Reader, that it’s often more advantageous to be the big fish in a small(er) pond than the smaller fish in a big ocean. And while I’ve so far in this blog post discussed this within the law firm area, from what I hear from people in other fields, I have every reason to believe that it applies in those as well, even with differences in the specifics.

But I know first-hand that in the legal field a lot of people who can get a gig with a mega BigLaw firm will do so, without giving adequate—or sometimes any—consideration to smaller firms, or the trade-offs they have to make by going to the mega firm. Sort of a bigger must be better attitude.

A lot of people in other industries do just the same. Heck, a dear friend of mine has spent the last 20 or so years seeking out, and mostly only considering, jobs with massive companies. His work-life balance has been, ummmm . . . abysmal.

Now, before you start thinking that I’m recommending that it’s worth joining a smaller shop so that you can phone it in and collect a fat paycheck, let me say that that that’s not what I’m suggesting. Quite the opposite, in fact. I work hard and based on the feedback of those I’ve worked with and for, I do goodish work. I suggest everyone do the same.

Instead, what I mean is that in a smaller business, your hard work and good results are, in my experience, more likely to be noticed by those who matter. Maybe you’ll even personally know and interact with members of leadership. Or become part of the organization’s leadership yourself. Also, there’s a better chance that people in the smaller business will be more visibly happy to have you, whereas in the bigger shop it’s maybe more likely that if you’re not a total rock star, you’re just another fungible face body.”

And, if you pick the right employer or field, do good enough work, and play your cards right, you may be amply rewarded. To no small extent, that’s because it’s a numbers game; fewer people doing the work that you do (or for your higher-ups to have to manage, and with whom you’re competing, even if indirectly), and a more direct link to the person/people who make decisions regarding compensation, benefits, job promotions, and work conditions.

This idea of smaller often being better than bigger applies in other contexts, too. For example, cities. I loves me places like New York City, Chicago, and the Bay Area (not a city, I know, but I consider it one megalopolis). Tons of opportunity and money there, for sure. But also tons of fierce competition because so many of the best and brightest in and outside of the U.S. of A. flock there. Sure, cities like Pittsburgh, Denver, and Portland have their share of best and bright, too. But not to the same degree. So, if you can get your foot in the door there (a bigger challenge in smaller organizations/locations, to be sure), your opportunity to shine and be rewarded can be far greater. This is to say nothing of other benefits from being in a smaller place, like being able to get places much easier and faster.

And in the end . . .

Smaller places come with their own potential challenges, of course. As mentioned, getting your foot in the door can be one of them. Those can’t and shouldn’t be ignored. And yeah, maybe the mega big place will be the right place for you. But don’t dismiss out of hand the smaller place. There’s a lot to be said for being the big fish in the small(er) pond.

The massive waters that some fish—real and metaphorical—swim in are filled with natural dangers. One must appreciate those known knowns. Of course, there are always unknown unknowns. Best to be prepared to face unnatural dangers, too.