The Engineering Interpreter and the Hockey Coach: Why Your Business Needs a Translator
Have you ever listened to an absolute expert try to explain their passion to a beginner?
An aquatic engineer might dive deep into the function of a hydrostatic relief valve. A lifelong hockey player might tell a seven-year-old to “just feel the edge of the blade” when turning on the ice.
They aren’t wrong. In fact, they are brilliant. But there is a massive gap between knowing what to do and knowing how to communicate it to someone else.
Early in my career within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) world, I was given a nickname that stuck with me: the Engineering Interpreter. My job wasn’t to understand the calculus behind the design; my job was to understand the human impact of that design and translate it so city councils, clients, and the public fell in love with the project.
Years later, I learned to play hockey as an adult. When I eventually stepped behind the bench to coach youth hockey, I realized something fascinating. The coaches who grew up playing the game since they were toddlers often struggled to teach basic skills. They relied on muscle memory—they just knew how to do it. But because I had to learn the mechanics explicitly as an adult, I knew exactly how to break down the language of a skate stride or a stick-handle for a frustrated kid. I had to become a hockey translator.
The Common Thread
Whether you are leading a technical firm or running an owner-operated sports organization, you face the exact same challenge: You are too close to your own genius.
You speak in industry jargon, technical metrics, or internal shorthand. Your clients and your community don’t speak that language. They speak the language of results, connection, and trust.
That’s why I founded CommonThread Marketing.
We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all marketing formulas. We believe in digging into your complex world, finding the human story hidden beneath the data or the playbook, and pulling that thread through everything you do—from your website and social media to your strategic client relations.
You do the incredible work. Let us help you tell the world about it.
Want to find the common thread in your business’s marketing? Let’s connect at commonthreadmk.com.