There were two years while working at Intel 88,89, that I would have gladly done the job for no money. Unfortunately they spoiled me for the rest of the my career.
Essentially I was one of 1/2 dozen folks plus a remarkable boss that was told to go figure how to transform Intel from a company only known by computer manufactures and computer geeks into a household name.
We were given a lot money, very few strings, and lots of encouragement from the boss to try new things. My official job was to fly around North America giving talks to PC User groups about the future of computing,and educating them why the should buy the fastest Intel microprocessors. One of the trips involved going to the Soviet Union for the 1st USSR computer user conference where I schmoozed with some of Silicon Valley's elite and met the inventor of Tetris. I had guided tour of the Kremlin, with John Warnock, Adobe's founder and his family, by some mucky muck KGB guy was pretty surreal.
But the real fun was the special projects. I helped design exhibits for the Boston Computer Museum, New York's Museum of Modern Art, and the Oregon Science Museum. Brainstormed Disney imagineers on making an Epcot exhibit.
I was the executive producer of interactive movie demonstrating early video on a PC, staring comedian
Kevin Pollack. I even got to be a in scene with the guy. I also helped out a bit with my colleague who was making an IMAX movie.
The most impressive week was Monday schmoozing with Fortune 100 IT Managers at Windows of the World restaurant, Tuesday attending at party at Penthouse found Bob Guccione gorgeous Central park apartment, sadly only one Penthouse Pet was around . Thursday back in the office, I had Marlon Brandon call me and we spent and hour discussing how computers could be used to make digital extra for western he was looking at making. Friday, I went to an early rave in San Francisco, with Timothy Leary. WE demonstrated Virtual Reality to an already high crowd. Leary said the if VR had been around he wouldn't have tried LSD. As an aside Timothy Leary look awful and was not at all surprised when we died several years later.
All pretty heady stuff for a guy who wasn't 30.