Functional Fractional

There's a double meaning here, and both meanings are worth exploring

A couple of weeks ago Jory Des Jardins and I had a discussion about the term “fractional” and whether it really, at its heart, represented the kind of work we were doing, or even wanted to do. (Not just as Optionality, but as individuals doing other work with clients.) We talked about “fractional” vs. “functional,” and what that brought up for me was two totally different meanings, both of which remain top of my mind:

Meaning #1: “Fractional” evokes numbers, time, and, if we’re being quite literal, incompleteness…less than whole. As I observe the fractional work Jory and others do, the tension seems to ends up being around constraining vs. expanding time (and therefore compensation), not contribution. Meanwhile, “functional” evokes something that works, something that can be complete or completed. Something more holistic than partial.

Meaning #2: It’s hard to be functional as a fractional, especially if you find yourself with “fractions” of work that actually add up to greater than 1. Nothing about the traditional professional world is really designed to equalize fractional work. Not the way companies build their models or compensate and provide benefits to workers. Not the way taxes work. Not the way humans or AI assess capabilities, skills, and talent. (And, total side note: But have you ever noticed how we call people, in aggregate, “talent,” but don’t really talk much about talent, and how talent is different from skills or training?)

Do these assumptions ring true about fractional?

The time tension I’ve observed in fractional work situations typically comes in two flavors, particularly because currently it is companies in start-up mode that most lean toward fractional solutions:

1. You’re defined as fractional. Your pay is fractional. There is agreement that fractional work means fractional hours dedicated to the task at hand. But how to quantify and account for the time (and mental energy) spent defending those “agreed-upon” boundaries? It’s not exactly scope creep, it’s more often deadline compression. The scope is well understood, but the fact that achieving that scope may take longer in working days when fractional vs. full-time? Perhaps understood, but always pushed on.

2. The second time tension is reflected in something often completely outside the fractional worker’s control…the client really would have preferred full-time, but they know they can’t afford it. They are seeking funding, and their assumption (or, at least hope) is that once they get it, funding will convert the fractional to full-time. Of course.

Do these two tensions resonate with those of you doing this kind of work? Am I missing other common points of friction?

It’s completely true that some (maybe many?) doing fractional work would like to convert to full-time…it’s their goal, their expectation, their hope. But for people who have decided that an optionality-driven life is the one that fits their life responsibilities, stokes their inner fire, and mitigates risk and over-dependency better, the goal itself is to keep those multiple irons in the fire and focus their talents where they can make the biggest difference, not to roll right into another monogamous work relationship.

I continue to mull over whether “fractional” implies trying to do a whole job in a fraction of the time. And whether instead “functional” could be used to carve out a focused application of one’s unique talents and skill in a way that fulfills everyone’s needs and expectations and sets us all up for less jockeying over hours in the day. Pipe dream? The future of work? An edge case?

Whatever you call it, how can we be more functional fractionals?

Something we learned when leading our Q1 Sprint, Roadmap to Restoration, is that building an optionality-driven practice is about way more than time management. It’s about resource management. Sure, dollars. And yes, time is a resource. Your energy and attention is perhaps your most valuable resource. And future you is your customer as much as any of your current clients are.

I’m reminded of many years ago when I was hired by a hardware company to be the product manager for their next-generation product. I was also given responsibility for their legacy product. And oh by the way, we also decided to partner with an OEM company to be able to offer a transitional product…including the newer technology that customers were asking for, but not yet based on our own home-grown silicon. It was a delicate dance. The legacy line was the bulk of our current revenue, but we could see it becoming obsolete before our eyes, and we knew that the OEM product was temporary, and the next-gen product was the future of the company. There were countless resources to be allocated amongst these offerings, not the least of which was the time and talents of our teams…engineering, customer service, marketing, and more.

It’s easy to go all in on your current services and offerings, your “legacy” product shall we say? Having a more, more, more approach to such products (and the revenue they bring) is easy, perhaps typical. but if you raise your head and look five years down the road, is it sufficient to meet not only your tangible needs, but your need for fulfillment, inspiration, and a future-proofed portfolio too?

Since the Sprint ended, we have been thinking about this question and working on defining what kind of tools would help you operate in a way that meets your present needs but fulfills your future vision too. Call it the Optionality Operating System. We are :)

Something not too light, not too heavy. Not too prescriptive, but not too amorphous. Something that lets you remember all your responsibilities, needs, and dare we say dreams, when making decisions. We’re in that fun part of discovery and definition. Hopefully we’ll have some pudding to provide the proof soon.

In the meantime…I’m curious: What tools do you currently use to assess, pursue, and track your opportunities? Do you feel like you’re able to keep your long-term goals in mind when assessing short-term opportunities? Do you integrate your non-negotiable life responsibilities or your passions and interests into how you think of the resource pie you are carving up? Or are you always trying to squeeze those in outside the pie?

Tell me (and us) more!

Our Q1 Roadmap to Restoration Sprint is now a standalone package for purchase. Six “weeks” of exercises and supporting multimedia and video instructions, is available for you to do at your own pace. Add on no-cost community membership or don’t. Either way you can benefit from this compilation of great worksheets and templates that will support you as you reflect, turn reflection into ideas for the future, move ideas into actions and goals, and even get those actions and goals into a roadmap! Check it out here, and get on the road for just $99!