What Is the True Meaning of Success?

In any job, there is a fine balance between pursuing success and finding something you are passionate about. I’ve done both, but I strongly prefer the latter.

In the summer of 2001, I was living the high life.

As a corporate manager in the IT department of a large consumer electronics retailer, I was basking in the glow of my own shining success. It had been a long journey. I started out after college working for a small company that made a sign-making machine. It was my first real job, and one that involved a lot of detailed technical writing.

I ended up having several “careers” at the same company: first as a technical writer, then as a graphics manager, then as a quality assurance manager. One of the best moments in my career was when my boss pulled me aside and said I knew more about technology and the product we made than anyone else at the company. I felt the heady wisp of accomplishment. Eventually, I found out about another position across town writing technical manuals for a large IT department. I thought it was worth a shot.’

When I started in the mid-90s, there were only four of us. Taking a few lessons from my own father in salesmanship, I started championing our cause for communicating with users and making software more usable. I met with every IT manager and just about every department head, ran “sales” presentations to describe our services, and landed a bunch of projects. Eventually, I became the leader of our small team, then the manager of a larger team, them a director of three large teams doing writing, design, and usability testing. We built a usability lab and hired a bunch of contractors.

Through some shifts in management, I started sliding a bit and felt my momentum stall. I could see a dark shadow looming. I was good at building up a team from almost nothing, but maybe not that good at keeping an entire department running. Conflicts arose, salaries changed. Then, a week after September 11, on September 18, I was asked to step into a dark conference room. I noticed a lawyer and someone from HR. My boss showed me to a chair. I’ll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say, the meeting did not go well and I was forced to decide if I wanted to keep my current position.

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