There was an old acronym, WYSIWYG, it meant what you see is what you get. The computer industry, actually that small industry that crouches between the PC and the printer, knew very well that that was just not true. Whole businesses have grown up in that niche. But in the business world WYSIWYG really means what I think you see is not what I am going to give you.
A really painful example of this type of double talk occurred when I, acting as an independent sales contractor with a nice contract paying a 6% commission and nothing else, found out that the company considered me to be an employee with a "special compensation" package.As an employee, management expected me to be in the office at their beck and call, that all my work was supposed to be their property. That meant that all my contacts were automatically theirs to parse out to a sales team that was both inept and lazy.
I asked BizKat what I was supposed to do and he told me simply WYSIWYG, the usual useless data from a feline slacker. But on reflection he was right, it cuts both ways. What the client saw (What You See) was an employee with an attitude problem who, just because they were not paying him, did owe them absolute loyalty. And for the most part, that is what they got (What You Get). On my side what I saw was an irrational and demanding client that provided me with no tools or incentives to do my job except the potential of one day landing a fat commission check. What the cat pointed out was simply that I was open to have my contacts taken and exploited for the client's benefit and taking over my eventual commission. And, surprisingly enough, that is what I got.
The best advice I got from that damn cat was simply to change what they saw and start my own business, include the client's contract into my business plan, add a number of complementary products and services and bill the client from a company location on brand new letterhead.
It was amazing how quickly their attitude changed. Sadly they went out of business because they were still irrational and immature and spent millions on avoidable lawsuits, high priced but useless executives, perks and offices.
Only cats have nine lives, not small companies.
