It's Not About the Coffee

It's about whether or not you give a shit.

I wanted to become an Executive Assistant because I watched The Devil Wears Prada (linking the synopsis in case you’ve never watched it), and I thought to myself, “Holy shit, I’d be freaking good at this job”.

There are a lot of deep lessons to be learned from this movie. Some of them are obvious. Like:

• You need to be a positive reflection of your executive

• Work hard and build your reputation because it will benefit you in the end

• Even extremely tough executives have a soft spot deep down

• Everyone is replaceable, but not everyone is valuable

• Entry level jobs are the best training grounds

• Perceived power is fleeting

• Put your friends and family first over work

• Etc.

All of these were things I believed in when watching the movie back in 2006 and still believe in now in 2024. Holy shit, it’s been 18 years???

However, there is ONE part of the movie that I had a perspective on back then that is very different today. And it’s about coffee.

In this movie, Miranda (Meryl Streep) wanted her coffee a specific way, delivered and on her desk at the same time everyday.

At the time, I thought, that’s pretty damn ridiculous to get mad over coffee not being delivered by a certain time. What’s the big deal?

Today though, I understand that it’s not about the coffee or when it’s delivered.

I’ve learned over time that it’s actually about whether or not you can follow directions, be consistent, and be relied upon. It’s also about whether you take the task at hand seriously, simple or not. It’s about whether you respect your executive’s time and requests enough to make sure they are delivered correctly. It’s about how much you understand your executive.

Do you care enough to fix the coffee order if it’s wrong? Do you care enough to make sure they get it on time? Do you care enough about their schedule? Do you care enough about your executive to ensure that they get what they’ve asked for?

Your executive is busy. If they are like Miranda and need coffee at 830am everyday, it’s because they have a routine and are on a strict schedule and this would be one less thing they’d have to worry about. And isn’t it your job to help make their work lives smoother?

If you can adapt to your executive’s schedule, needs, preferences, and requests about food or coffee, then you can probably adapt to everything else they need from you.

If you can do your very best to get it right as often as you can, you’re probably more likely to care equally as much about getting the details right for the upcoming board meeting or SKO or team offsite or their complicated business travel.

If they see that you consistently get the little details correct, they’ll learn to trust you quicker, rely on you, and know that you have their back.

If you care about details, you will probably also care about the way you talk to others on email and your executive’s calendar in general and representing your exec well.

Ultimately, it’s deeper than simply making sure that the coffee arrives on time the way your executive wanted it.

It’s about whether or not you give a shit.

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P.S. Think about all the things you’re super picky about. For me, it’s my coffee. When I get an iced latte with extra ice, and it doesn’t come with extra ice, which I can tell immediately by the color of the coffee, it annoys me… almost to the point where sometimes, it can put me in a really. bad. mood.

Is it stupid? Yes.

Can I control that feeling? Sure.

Am I going to drink it? Absolutely not. The texture and ratio of too much milk to coffee is weirdly gross to me.

If my husband is the one who goes in to pick up my coffee and he can also tell that the color is off, will he ask the barista to remake it? Yes… because he knows me haha. And he cares about me.

We’re all human. We’re all allowed to have our quirks and preferences and requests. And we’re all allowed to get annoyed if things don’t go our way.

So let your exec be... with whatever seemingly crazy request they might have. And remember, it’s not about the coffee. It’s deeper than that. It’s about who you are as an Executive Assistant.