There’s a principle attributed to Eero Saarinen, the Finnish-American architect responsible for the Gateway Arch and the TWA Flight Center, that most people have never heard, even though it describes a failure mode they’ve encountered dozens of times.
I'm shaking my head. In my many, many skeptical years, I've never been a fanboy of anyone. But this is the second time Nicole Williams has written something that really clicked for me. It's both concrete and wise. And, since it's using architecture as the analogue, it's quite usable with many folks who don't spend time in a conceptual world.
This particular post is directly relevant to at least three challenges I'm working on right now.
Keep it up, and I'll be hawking Nicole Williams t-shirts
This is how my brain likes to work! I can be very detail-oriented, but I also need to understand the bigger picture. I'm jobhunting at the moment and struggling to find good terminology to express this in a resume or cover letter. Do you have any ideas?
You don’t have to present it as a finished trait. Cover letters can carry a development arc such as, “I bring strong analytical precision and I’m actively developing my strategic perspective through [X experience, role, course].” The honesty actually signals maturity.
Fantastic post @Nicole! I love how you found this quote and framing to help explain such a critical aspect of systems that hold beyond their immediate usec ase. Thinking in scaffolding sounds both clumsy and inelegant, but thinking about the next level up feels intuitive and right. They are the same thing but one immediately resonates and the other feels like unnecessary cognitive load.
I'm shaking my head. In my many, many skeptical years, I've never been a fanboy of anyone. But this is the second time Nicole Williams has written something that really clicked for me. It's both concrete and wise. And, since it's using architecture as the analogue, it's quite usable with many folks who don't spend time in a conceptual world.
This particular post is directly relevant to at least three challenges I'm working on right now.
Keep it up, and I'll be hawking Nicole Williams t-shirts
Thank you!!😊
This is how my brain likes to work! I can be very detail-oriented, but I also need to understand the bigger picture. I'm jobhunting at the moment and struggling to find good terminology to express this in a resume or cover letter. Do you have any ideas?
You don’t have to present it as a finished trait. Cover letters can carry a development arc such as, “I bring strong analytical precision and I’m actively developing my strategic perspective through [X experience, role, course].” The honesty actually signals maturity.
Fantastic post @Nicole! I love how you found this quote and framing to help explain such a critical aspect of systems that hold beyond their immediate usec ase. Thinking in scaffolding sounds both clumsy and inelegant, but thinking about the next level up feels intuitive and right. They are the same thing but one immediately resonates and the other feels like unnecessary cognitive load.
Thank you!🙏🏽
This was a delight to read. It also throws some light on where I have succeeded and failed in some system deliveries.
Thank you and me too!