The Swedish King and I

Back in 1995, during the World Championship in Athletics in Gothenburg, Sweden, I was tying my shoe on a stairwell. Suddenly, I got bumped into, turned around, and was apologized to by the King and Queen of Sweden. 14 years later, in Snowmass, Colorado, the past came back to haunt me.

After presenting my initial findings on transit-oriented development in America to the Founder and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Amory Lovins, he asked me to help summarize a document he had recently come across. I agreed. Next morning, I began summarizing an 18th-century document in Swedish and French on woodstoves and thermodynamics. Had my whole education been leading to this? And, as if that was not weird enough, he then told me he would be presenting the summary to the King. “Of Sweden?” I asked. But of course.

Later that day, I got back to working on an engineering project, and to my own enjoyment and bafflement, I found that part of the project required me to be creative. I am not sure if this counts as my first executive or creative experience at work, but it is certainly the first professional situation where part of the job involves leaning back in my chair, looking out the window at the Rockies, and thinking outside the box; the tropical garden and waterfall certainly help.

Adding a zeitgeist cherry on top of my day, I was asked by my Project Manager how things were going, only to get the astounding follow-up question, “OK, but are you enjoying the work? Is it stimulating?” Maybe my expectations for professional experiences are low, but if this counts as another day at work, especially a Monday, I’ll take it, and maybe this is something we should all strive for.

I’d say “demand,” but I don’t want to be all Generation Y.