12.18.2009

Day 279

Today one of my old bosses passed away. He was a machine. Intense. The man came to work on the Saturday his sister passed away to work on a new business pitch. I don’t know too much about his life besides that he was a former attorney/litigator and he ran marathons almost every year. I do know he was warmer than he appeared and kinder than most people realized. And I’m thankful to have gotten to see that side of him.

When I first started working at that agency, my first real job after school, I was a bit intimidated by all creative directors and generally anyone with a super long job title. The beauty of entry level and being the bottom of the bottom at a company is you have full access to e v e r y o n e. I had to order their food, collate their photocopies, dial the phone numbers for their calls, wait for them to sign things, bubble wrap their boards for meetings. I did my share of whining about leaving at 3am and 4am and 5am but it was always those nights that I stayed late that I learned the most and had the most fun. At 2 in the morning, people’s true colors start to show. They tell you stories, they talk smack, they complain, they joke, they yell, they laugh. They seem human. And not so scary after all. Three companies later, the intimidation is long gone. My filter---nonexistent. I couldn’t kiss an ass if I tried. I learned you don’t need to to get respect or get ahead. And if I ever do, I’m in the wrong place.



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