I was tickled to see the Architect's Newspaper announcement of my move to Perkins Eastman last week. Apparently, while I wasn't paying attention, I became a guru. Which is a lot to live up to. I'm not quite sure what to do with that, or how it changes how I think of myself. I mean, it's nice to be thought of as an expert in something, but I'm not sure that the word guru sits well with me. The word guru comes to us from Sanskrit. It means "a personal religious teacher and spiritual guide in Hinduism" or "a teacher and especially intellectual guide in matters of fundamental concern." It's important, as always, to just take this sort of thing in stride, and not to let it affect how I present myself or what my internal dialogue is. In other words, it's important to maintain humility, no matter what happens.
Upon reflection, what's interesting about being a marketing guru is that it implies that acquiring marketing knowledge can be something like a spiritual journey, which is an interesting idea. One of the ideas that I've been tossing around for my next book is a career guide that comes at career development from the perspective of a journey toward enlightenment. I'll post more here as I continue to develop the idea.
Very impressive Dave. Good for you! So glad the new job is going well. You are the best!
Posted by: Mara Kurtz | May 08, 2007 at 11:57 PM