How did I get here? (Part 3)

(continued from Part 2, found here)

I did quite well as a programmer after all, despite the fact that in the real world of the late-90s technology boom, I was not outstanding by any measure. My technical skills were good, but not exceptional. The advantage that set me apart from many of my peers at the time was that I could talk to people. Most of the truly exceptional technical people were truly unexceptional at human communication.

Over the next several years I traversed a number of different industries (accounting, travel, collaboration software, more travel) as well as a variety technical skills. I was the one who could talk to clients, stakeholders, and other business units and actually understand what they needed. I could also talk to the technical teams and bridge that communication divide. When the technology bubble burst, a huge number of my former co-workers were out of a job for months or longer. I had two things going for me that kept me from the same fate: relentless adaptation, and my people side. But, as you might expect, circumstances change, like they do.

I'll keep this part brief, so as not to veer into the morose, but I experienced a bit of a shakabuku in the summer and fall of 2004. My father became very ill and passed away in August of that year. Some part of the technical side of me that he had inspired went with him. My heart wasn't in it anymore. My boss was a wonderful, understanding person who was flexible with me as I stepped back from my professional life for a few months. I threw myself deep into an artistic venture for a while, in a kind of whiplash of trying to make life into something beautiful and meaningful in a new way. When my head had cleared and I realized I needed to make a decision about my career, I told my boss I couldn't do programming anymore.

Rather than let me quit and walk away, she talked me into meeting with another woman at the company who was starting to build a User Experience department from the ground up. She talked to me about Information Architecture, and gave me a couple of books and articles to read. I was intrigued enough to give it a chance. Under her mentorship, I found my footing, and I found something that made me professionally fulfilled.

Now, I've found my way into marketing, up to my eyeballs in agency life. If you had asked me at any point in my career, it's the LAST place I would have predicted I would go. Ironically, though, looking at my training and my abilities, it makes absolute perfect sense. Technology plus people. Function plus feeling. It's the same counterpoint, again.

I love my job, my company, and the wonderful people I work with. I love the opportunities that I have, and I love the past experiences that give me some unique and very productive insights into my work. There are endless challenges as well as frustrations. Many things about work and business don't really change in any substantive way. But there are also successes, and most of all, there is relentless adaptation.

-End-