Don't Carve Your Name in the Desk

I once worked with a DBA who carved his name into his desk.

Not metaphorically. Literally. He took something sharp and etched his name into the plastic folding table where he sat.

This was a 125-person project in one massive room. Folding tables everywhere, about six people to each one, power cords snaking across the floor. We were in the middle of a slog - tight deadlines, escalating dependencies, the usual chaos.

This particular DBA was excellent at his job. But he was also stubborn about his process, his schedule, his approach. And as the project evolved, we needed him to work more closely with different teams. Different tables. Different parts of the room.

 Each week, we’d ask him to move. Each week, he’d argue.

 Week seven. Monday morning. 9:00 AM. I walked up and asked him to sit with a team on the other side of the room. Twenty feet away. Same room. Same folding tables. No windows. No difference whatsoever.

 “I can’t,” he said.

Perplexed, I asked why.

He lifted his laptop. There it was - his name, carved into the plastic.

“This is my seat.” He smirked. Thought he’d won.

I stood there for a minute. Contemplated how important this really was to me. Then I smiled right back at him.

“Pack up your stuff.”

He thought he was fired.

“No, no. Relax.” I called over a couple of other people. Had them clear off the table with his name carved in it. And the table where I needed him to sit. Then I told them to swap the tables’ locations in the room.

“Now go sit at YOUR seat with the other team. Get back to work.”

Change is inevitable. The molecules are moving whether you want them to or not. And carving your name into something doesn’t make it yours forever - it just means you’re going to look ridiculous when that thing moves without you.

I’ve been thinking about this story a lot lately.  Right now, people are carving their names in desks all over corporate America. “This is MY expertise.” “This is how WE’VE always done it.” “I don’t need to learn that.” Pride masquerading as experience. Resistance disguised as wisdom.

The irony? The tools are free. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini - all available. Access isn’t the barrier. Some people are experimenting, building, learning. Others are waiting for… what? A manual? Permission? Certainty?

 Your desk is moving. AI capabilities are advancing daily. The industry is shifting underneath us. And if you’ve carved your name into your current spot, you’re not staying there by choice.

You’re just going to wake up one day in a room that doesn’t have your name anywhere.