Everyone’s house had a final inspection.
Before that, while it was being built, there were inspections along the way to make sure things were done the way they should have been…and once those are passed…then comes the final inspection…the one where once it’s passed, the house becomes a house that people can live in. The house is released into the world.
It takes a lot of guts to be the final inspector. Everyone involved thinks the projects is complete and is ready to be done and then the final inspector has the power to declare, ‘nope, there is more work to be done’…a very unpopular thing to say when all the energy was going in the other direction.
But the good thing about the inspector is that although it can be a real buzz kill to have to go back to work…the inspector doesn’t leave you to figure out what needs to be changed in order to be done. Quite the opposite…There’s a written report with exactly what it’s going to take to get the project across the finish line. Do these things and THEN it’s done.
The metaphor here is fairly obvious.
Who in the group has the guts and authority to be the final inspector?
If the inspector exercises that authority, will it be done in a clear and beneficial way?
Are there clear check points before the final inspection that tell you you’re on the right track?
»» On a similar note…
I was in a rock n roll band called The Kicks. We had released our first album and we were riding that momentum into writing and recording our follow up. Any spare time in Nashville we would hit the studio and get to work…hard work, real work, the creative rollercoaster…and before too long we had the second album.
We had spent a bunch of time and money on these songs. We had spent our energy, other people’s energy, other people’s time and reputation. We were in deep.
But there was an unsettled haze starting to build up around the whole thing.
Songs were already being mixed and album titles were being discussed…but one night when it was just the four of us someone spoke up, ‘guys, I think these songs might not be good enough. I know how hard we’ve worked but it just isn’t there.’
Thank goodness for the final inspector. We’d hit some good check points but the final product wasn’t what it needed to be…and once it was said out loud we all breathed a sigh of relief because we were all thinking the same thing too.
So that’s how a second album gets scratched in favor of a better second album.
