When I started in the A/E/C industry, I had a content marketing background, 3-year-old InDesign experience (from my college newspaper!), and only a scant understanding of what the actual work of an architect entailed. There was a lot of humility in the first few years. There was a lot I didn’t know. And even though … Continue reading On the elevator joke
Category: Working Life
On being the one getting hit by the truck
When my company’s former president retired last year, there was a lot of talk about the “Mack truck problem.“ Known also as the “bus problem,” the idea is that some people are so organizationally important that it would be a real issue if they stepped out into the street and got mowed down by a … Continue reading On being the one getting hit by the truck
On leaving a job for good reasons
So sue me: I’ve been thinking a lot about leaving my job. It’s hard not to—and thus hard not to blog about it at the end of the day. It’s lovely, though—to leave for a good reason. “Good reason” requires some elaboration. There are always reasons for leaving a job, but some are…well, they’re a … Continue reading On leaving a job for good reasons
On withholding knowledge
There was a period last week—a full 36 hours—when I knew I was going to quit my job, but no one I worked with did. I was not a fan. I’m sure that some out there enjoy the subterfuge, the game you have to play. But I don’t much like saying things I don’t mean. … Continue reading On withholding knowledge
On leaving things better than I found them
A few years ago, I decided that I needed an intro to my LinkedIn profile. You know what I mean—the little snippet of introductory text at the top of your profile page. For whatever reason, I felt compelled to add this bit—and struggled mightily with it. How should I frame my career in three sentences? … Continue reading On leaving things better than I found them
On quitting
I quit my job today. But there was no drama to it—it wasn’t the typical story you see online, where a mistreated employee, full of piss and vinegar, says their righteous piece to The Man. It was pretty quiet, actually. Threaded with moments of pained silence, an inability to maintain eye contact. And the sense—which … Continue reading On quitting
On being indispensable
It's the best job security advice there is: Be indispensable. Well, sure—but what does that look like in practice? In my 10 years of work, I've seen the advice enacted in many ways. There was the business administrator who held company finances so close that they couldn't take more than a week off without serious … Continue reading On being indispensable
On your personal “toolkit”
I've been leafing through Richard Feynman's amusing Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!—a pseudo-memoir that's amusing, if a little slight, for the author being one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century. But there are plenty of tasty nuggets sandwiched between silly, self-aggrandizing anecdotes. (There's a very brash, American 'tude to much of the … Continue reading On your personal “toolkit”
On the awfulness of “meatspace”
I jumped onto a Teams meeting earlier today only to find my boxed profile virtually shoulder-to-shoulder with two colleagues who were...also in the office with me. We shook our heads sadly at the presumption and then agreed to meet out in the real world. In that moment, an alternate term occurred to me, though thankfully … Continue reading On the awfulness of “meatspace”
On the thrill of not knowing
Look, I don’t like to admit this: It’s sort of fun to not know. It’s at the heart of pursuit marketing—not knowing. Will we make the shortlist? Will the team interview well? Did we win? I love that mystery, the distance between what we know and what we don’t. Or, to put it more directly, … Continue reading On the thrill of not knowing
Taylor Coe 