I spent nearly 10 years writing about embedded engineering technology and architecture. Working with electrical, software, firmware, and compliance engineers daily. Marketing products to electrical, software, firmware, and compliance engineers daily. I was always in the right room: meaning, I was never the smartest person in the room. For the first two years, I made flashcards with abbreviations (more on that later), drilled myself on obscure (sometimes irrelevant) technologies, and… beat myself up for not being an engineer. Finally, I had my epiphany moment and believed what I knew to be true: the organization didn’t hire me to be an engineer. They didn’t need me to be an engineer. What they needed was a clear, compelling communication strategy – and execution. While that required being informed, it also required a different skill set than the tiny box I kept trying to pigeonhole myself into daily. So I started focusing less on my don’t-knows and more on my doing. And relied on the people on my team who were engineers to help me take my work from informed to expert.

Lessons Learned:

• The old adage is true: no matter how much force of will and determination a fish has, it cannot climb a tree. But it is a heck of a swimmer!
• Look for rooms where you aren’t the “smartest person” but remember you are the “smartest” at something in every room you enter.
• Rely on the smarts of others. More than rely, take advantage. Folks jump at the opportunity to share their smarts.