“At my last company…”

Ever been annoyed by someone who kept saying how things were done at their last job? It’s the worst, right?

But it’s such an easy trap to fall into. I’ve caught myself saying it a lot since I started a new job six months ago, and I’m even trying not to. It just comes out.

The worst part is that a sentence that starts with “at my last company…” often has great insight. But the second those words are said, the point is tainted. People think “oh here we go again” and tune out.

So I’m trying to build a habit of replacing “at my last company…” with “one thing I’ve seen work before is…”

That seems less annoying, I hope?