When I first took a Director role at Adobe, I thought I knew what I was saying yes to. I didn't. On the two traps that catch honest people in a career transition - and what the identity question actually wants.
He sat down and told me he thought he was done climbing. He wasn't sure he was allowed to say that. What surfaced next changed how I think about every career decision - my own included.
Two weeks. That's what's left of my Adobe career. Ten days of handoffs, goodbyes, and the strange ritual of turning in equipment that's been part of my daily life for years
I'm writing this from Walt Disney World. Not a sentence I expected to include in a post about leadership transitions - but here we are.
I'm leaving Adobe. After eighteen years, I'm walking out the door at the start of next month. Not because something went wrong - but because something else is pulling me forward.
I spent two years praying for clarity. It didn't come in a flash. It came through the fog - slowly, then all at once.
There's a Latin phrase for what you're feeling right now. You're not behind. You're not broken. You're in fieri - in the becoming.
I turned 48 today. For most of my career, I didn't think much about birthdays. But this one feels different. I've been asking different questions - not "What's next?" but "Who am I becoming?"
I used to measure success by what I built. Now I measure it by how I showed up. Here's the question that changed my definition of success in the second half.
"What would I do if money wasn't a factor?" This question changed everything for me, because it revealed what I actually care about.
Your day job is what pays you. What you build on nights and weekends is what calls you. Pay attention to the difference - it's trying to tell you something.