Being The New Guy

Yesterday while picking up materials for my project, I noticed something; the new guy at the shop. As the veteran material loader buzzed around, the new guy hung around striking up joyful conversations with the waiting customers. His boots were clean, his hat was right out of the bag, and he wore a carefree smile. As I waited for my materials to arrive, I watched the young man. He released a laugh after some small talk and then I saw similarities to myself. I realized I’m the new guy.

I’m new to the real estate development industry although I have a healthy amount of experience in architecture and construction. I’m new to the terminology and the culture of the craft. Then, I dig down to the nest layer of thought. In my career I’ve always been the new guy. Even when I was three or four years into my job I was the new guy. Even when they hired a newer guy, I was STILL the new guy.

During my rocky career path I have been bumped and bounced around from project to project. On one side of the coin you feel like you’re being moved because there is an awaiting crisis that requires some serious intelligence and grit. On the flip side, it is not difficult to imagine that your various movements might just be because of you, or in this case, me.

When you Journey from project to project you are like a not-so-lost wanderer roving from town to town. When you arrive you are always the new guy. If you stay you are simply the new guy that decided to stick around. That can be challenging to thrive under those circumstances. You will always be tested and the skeptics will surround you like the paparazzi. Then I realized that all of this is normal for everyone, especially for those with ambition that are making grand attempts to rise above the herd.

I had another great insight (These are the thought trains that I truly love). I remember the last days on the old project and the first days on the new project. The final days are a mix of emotions as you clean up the last messes and pack up. You can sometimes feel like you weren’t able to bring things to closure or achieve finality. In some ways you are delighted to leave behind all the aggravations and nonsense that is associated with any project.

When you leave to the new project, there are the initial moments of discomfort followed by the thrill of something new. You have to be a quick study and find out who’s who and what’s what. You might as well whistle while you walk. Sure, the guys entrenched at the project see you as the new victim to get over or to fix the stuff no one else wants to deal with, but who cares, it’s all just work anyways.

I realized that with the right attitude, carefree and full of life’s energies, being the new guy might even be better than being the veteran. Obviously, if you are the new guy on the battlefield, this writing does not apply and you must be in Rome with the Romans. Even though business is tough it is not a war where we are volleying real bullets around.

If it seems that you always end up being the new guy and people ignore you and you say dumb things and you don’t understand perceived protocol, I say embrace that. Be the new guy. Be the new guy in all its glory. When you’re the new guy, you can bend and break boundaries and turn thing upside down to get results. You’re just the stupid new guy. One day you will find that inverting the rules momentarily solves tricky problems. “Oops, didn’t know I couldn’t do that.”

I thought about it more: why would I not want to be jovial and happy and excited about the drudgeries of a job? I don’t want to be the guy that is stressed or appears agitated. What kind of life is that? I would rather be the happy go lucky guy who everyone perceives as weak than a burn-out.

Now I’m getting to the critical thoughts: how can I be always be the new guy? Excuse my language, but being the old veteran that goes through the same routine and motions every day seems fucking boring. Is that a way to live?

It seems like you have to find a way to be the new company that has been around for a long time. I remember a conversation I had with an old friend. He said: “man, every time I see you, you’re like a different person. I’ve never met anyone that has reinvented themself as much as you.”

My thoughts continued to the next layers as I pondered this subject for quite some time. If anyone can address this riddle it is me. It seems that I am somewhat of an expert at that. Could it be that I am an expert at being the new guy? Can I thrive in that position? In sports they call it the “Rookie of the Year.” So if were ok with bending rules, I’m just going to be Rookie of the Year multiple years in a row.

”Hey! Wait a minute, you can’t do that!” One might say. My reply: “oh wow, I am just the new guy and I honestly have absolutely no clue how this here works, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” Wink wink smile smile.