When I started my design career in 2002, I thought success meant perfect pixels and flawless portfolios. Twenty years later, after surviving EA Sports' infamous crunch periods, navigating multiple layoffs, and eventually managing teams across government applications, I've learned that the most valuable lessons never appeared in any job description. My journey began creating technical drawings for Wall Street signage, where every measurement had to be precise to 1/16th of an inch. That obsessive attention to detail became my foundation, but it was just the beginning.