They Tore Down Hollywood and Put Up a Parking Lot
- Sharkey HR Consulting
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
Workplace Sabotage, Emotional Real Estate, and the Price of Originality
Not all sabotage is loud.
Some of it shows up in pearls, smiles, and “just trying to help.” Some of it takes your ideas, your voice, your rhythm—and quietly moves in.
We don’t talk enough about this kind of sabotage: the slow occupation of emotional and mental real estate at work.
It's the death of originality in a system that repackages dreams and sells them for parts. They tore down Hollywood—not just the sign, but what it represented. And in its place? A parking lot. Empty. Profitable. Forgettable.
What’s Emotional Real Estate, Anyway?
It’s everything you build that’s not on your resume:
Your voice in a meeting
Your go-to client ideas
That quirky but brilliant spreadsheet system
Your favorite lunch spot
The way people look to you when there’s a mess to clean up
And when someone walks in and lays claim to what you built—without acknowledgment, collaboration, or even the decency of originality?
That’s not teamwork. That’s trespassing.
Eminent Domain, But Make It Corporate
A friend of mine once designed a wildly creative adult toy—fun, smart, and original. He was proud of it. Didn’t think to protect it.The company loved it. Trademarked it. Fired him.
Now they own his brilliance, and he works at a nonprofit.
That’s not just sabotage. That’s corporate eminent domain—the entitlement to someone’s ideas, identity, and joy, as if they were just undeveloped land waiting for a company logo.
The Hollywood Sign and the Illusion of Permanence
The Hollywood Sign: A Death of Creative Dreams
This is what happens when originality gets co-opted by people who don’t know how to build, only brand. They take your work, your voice, your presence—and sell it for flash.
There was even a recent April Fools’ joke about auctioning off the Hollywood Sign to Las Vegas. It wasn’t real—but it stung because it could have been. For a second, we all believed it. Because we’ve seen it happen in real life: icons sold, legacies erased, creators pushed aside.
You think they won’t do that to your idea, your role, your worth? They will. They already have. They’ll slap your name on a slot machine and call it synergy.
Ozymandias at the All-Hands Meeting
“Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"Nothing beside remains…”
Saboteurs always think their power is permanent. But eventually, all that’s left is a hollow title and the dusty bones of someone else’s work.
You know who survives?
The ones who keep creating. The ones who hold their vibe even when everyone else is faking it. The ones who know that identity isn’t owned—it’s earned.
They copied the tone, borrowed the moves, rehearsed the part—but the vibe? The vibe slipped through their fingers.
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?** (Sound of Music - reference.)
How to Handle the Quiet Saboteur
Gray Rock Them. Stop giving them access to your creative fuel. Let them feed off their own static.
Draw the Line.“I noticed a lot of overlap in our work—I want to make sure we’re clear on roles and contributions.” Calm. Firm. Dead-eyed.
Document Everything. Even if it feels petty. Trust me—future-you will thank you.
Outcreate. They may copy your old tricks. But they can’t keep up with your new ones.
Final Thought: Vibe Can’t Be Stolen—Just Shadowed for a While
They can take the playlist, the template, the vocabulary.
But they can’t take the why.They can’t take the fire that built it.
So keep your vibe. Keep your vision.And if they try to sell your legacy to Sin City?
Smile. They’ll be the ones pulling the lever.You’re the one who made the machine.
Have you ever been erased by someone who smiled while doing it?Tell me about your Ozymandias moment. Let’s reclaim the vibe together.
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