When I started working
for a small-volume homebuilder/
remodeler some
eight years ago, I didn't
have any specific expectations
of the job. I only knew that I
wanted to work in design, and I enjoyed
working with people. In retrospect, my
lack of expectations was a good thing,
because the job I was assigned hadn't
yet been invented. My mission, loosely
defined, was to handle the clients and
keep them happy. My boss was pretty
vague about what he expected, but was
also amazingly flexible. I was allowed to
do as I saw fit, but it felt like I had been
thrown into a lake without a life preserver.
I was determined to make the job
work, however,