The office with a door thing was how Microsoft was back in the day, if I remember correct. From the stories I heard, some of the offices were ridiculously small/narrow but they still had a door.
Joel was a Program Manager for Excel at MS so my guess is he brought that mindset over.
Really, I wish more places would go back to that. Being able to work with minimal interruptions is great.
I was a reference for a friend in college that applied to intern at the CIA. I had someone in my dorm room asking me questions and there questions related to drug use.
My friend barely drank alcohol and never used illegal drugs, but the interviewer pressed a few times even saying things like “come on, not even once? everyone does in college”
As for why I agreed to talk? He wanted the position, so I was glad to help if I could.
Huh, I lived in a suburb of Cleveland a few years back where everyone still was walking. Thought it would be more common in densely populated areas. Guess not.