How IMHO Describes My 2 Years in Silicon Valley
Urban dictionary describes IMHO as “In my humble opinion.” I will ignore the fact that said definition was posted by “latinlover.”
This acronym was introduced to me by my boss Mia when I moved to Silicon Valley from Washington, D.C. nearly two years ago and most accurately describes my experience out West.
I left my job as a political and White House producer at CNN to take a job as the News Editor at Flipboard, a content and news app based in Palo Alto, California. I traded in my pencil skirts, last minute trips to (insert swing state) and beloved blackberries for flat boots (that’s as close as I’d get to TOMS at work), company-wide motivational events and a slew of shiny new Apple products.
I expected the cosmetic adaptations. What I didn’t expect was to find my voice, IMHO. My awareness of the acronym went hand-in-hand with culture shock and a gradual shift in myself.
To me, IMHO means possessing the self confidence to voice your opinion and the sensitivity to do so with the utmost respect. The word “humble” mirrored the culture of my new company. The players voiced their opinions humbly, listened from a place of openness and acted with respect. Therefore, I was and am imbued with the confidence to speak up, armed with the surprisingly powerful IMHO caveat.
Perhaps true confidence needs no precursor. But perhaps this precursor was the armor I needed to march into tech battle.
Golda Meir said “trust yourself.” My boss Mia told me to “trust my gut.” And the ultimate fictional sage Olivia Pope, yes that Olivia Pope, said “My gut tells me everything I need to know.”
My time in the Valley and under my wise leader taught me the confidence I didn’t even know I didn’t have. IMHO, I learned to trust my gut.
With that, I begin this Medium account.
###
Flipboard: @gabyschwarz
Twitter: @gabyaschwarz
