In freelancing your job is not to be a hero, but to attract blame and lose arguments swiftly and strategically.
Customer service, you know?
People problems >
technical problems. This is an axiom. Your
tools don’t resolve people problems, only technical problems.
Everything’s dandy when accolades go up and around. Compliments directed only at you? Bad news.
Style beats substance.
Attitude beats competence.
Foreign beats local credibility.
Scapegoats (blame deflection) and messengers/prophets (indirection) are the norm. Navigating this is a dark art, and yes, the human mind is magical and highly superstitious.