Greetings!

This week marks the end of an era for me, I am graduating from Parsons The New School of Design with a Masters Degree in Strategic Design and Management! I am very excited about how much I have learned and the great people I have met through my time here at Parsons. I plan on keeping active in the alumni community and staying connected with all my classmates as much as possible, but the need to move on to a new business setting is my goal as of now.

With that being said, I have my final class in New Design Firms coming up and we were asked to do a Personal Audit of ourselves, to reflect on what we have learned, what skills we have developed, and what style of innovation and creative endeavors we would most likely fall into. I thought this was a really interesting assignment and thought that it would be nice to share as a post!

In New Design Firms, we study an Industry called Futurism. Futurism is the act of forecasting the future market of goods and services, as well as whole industries based on technology, consumer trends, and market forecasting using tools and skills designed to address these subjects. In our class, we were asked to use these tools to audit ourselves in future businesses we may develop or business leaders, using the format by Andy Hines in his article: An audit for organizational futurists: ten questions every organizational futurist should be able to answer

The following information is in response to his 10 questions:

What is your POSITIONING?

I find myself leaning toward the “stealth” position for this question. I find that most terms used in future-works are hard to understand and grasp unless it is related to a certain field or companies work. I think that if the combination of stealth and planning could be looked at through the lens of the business, but also from the outside, a holistic approach could create a good environment for the future. I don't know exactly what that will be but I think of that is a plan in and of itself. Its the unknown that is the most known thing to me, I like large scale planning and small risks and exploration. I think that its the best way for me to not get caught up in the goals of a specific agency, and to remain outside of myself in a way that doesn't cloud my vision. I am also unsure of the lay of the land in certain industries and how they would like to structure or plan how their business creates future worth, so the idea of creating an incubator or “special project” is a great way to allow ideation that could eventually lead to worth.

What is your LEADERSHIP STYLE?

My leadership style is a halved between half Decisive and Affiliative. I think these fit the best because Decisive uses motivation and mobilization to get groups moving in a direction that they can come back to a pivot from, but some movement needs to be made to start the process. I find that if you don’t start to create a process or plan and timeline, its hard to get to the a stage to find what needs to change or reorganize. I think you learn the most by trying. I also think that half my style is Affiliative which I find is more of the “why” behind the problem. Starting with why and giving context to the goal of the project creates meaning and that can be motivating for members of the group. If you find a common need and a purpose or humanistic reason for the problem to be solved, I find it easier to motivate a process in solving it.

What is your FRAMEWORK?

My framework is strategic as of right now where I am in my life. I have had to find opportunity in strategy but as it is naturally to me, I am more creative. What I did before moving here to attend this degree program was mostly around creative framework and creative movement. I developed a more strategy based framework to support my academic career, and its taught me a lot about how to structure my life. I find organization to be a big part of how I function now. I never enjoyed having a set schedule before, I thought it bogged down my creativity and didn't allow me to happen upon the things I use to, but to be honest, I think a lot of what gives me time to "happen upon" anything now, is because I have the schedule to allow it!

Who is your AUDIENCE?

Know thy audience, is how the article describes the necessity of knowing who you are talking to, and that is very important, but your audience might be very different than who you think it is! My audience is limited by my ability to create new opportunities for myself, and can change as soon as I reach out to a new target. So I kind of dictate my audience as it applies to what I do next! A great way to develop your next move is to get involved in the things that you enjoy most, whether it be film or comedy, knitting or hiking. The more you are around the things you enjoy, the easier it is to find some connection for opportunity or improvement! For the purposes of a self audit, I have developed this chart below to show my current audience.

My audience is shown in the following 4x4 chart:

Who is your NETWORK?

Your network can span from the closets friends and family, your favorite deli guy who only works on Wednesday nights, to an old classmate from High School. Keeping all these people around you and reaching out when possible is a great way to expand and contract your network. Networking is something I believe to be the most important part of any endeavor especially in New York City. Its all about who you know, and who you get to know. That doesn't mean that you need to have all the "connections" to make something happen, but that if you do get something happening, to know that it will be easier to do with the help of others, and others. There are some people who like to go about things alone, and I think that takes a lot of focus and courage, but as for me, I know that I need a strong network. Asking for help can be hard at times, it means you have to admit that you don't have all the answers, but trust me, no one does. Even the biggest companies started off with a lot of small failures, and many if not all had to stop and ask for help at some point. I am lucky to be expanding my network and I find mine to be as follows:

What is in your TOOLKIT?

You have to have all the shoots AND the ladders to win the toolkit game. Know how to transition from one to the other to make your project ebb and flow with the audience. Personally, I developed an Innovator's Toolkit for innovators on the go! It includes things needed for a good innovation session to have with clients or team members, like post-its, a white board and dry erase markers, as well as a manual describing instruction on each tool, how they can work together or be split up, and suggestions on which to use at which stage (though the process is no linear or limited to any kind of schedule, so you can use tools at the beginning and then double back at the end when needed. Innovation has needs, but does not necessarily need a defined structure. Interesting, eh?) A toolkit could also be your tips and tricks on how you get by on the day to day, or your set of soft skills that help you communicate with others on your team, your roles in leadership and team-building, or your set of characteristics.

What is your GUIDING ORIENTATION?

To be good at understanding market trends and innovative concepts, you have to be up to dealing with change. A LOT of change, but that doesn't mean that you can't have a guiding light or orientation helping you along the way. It helps tell you when you need to gut check to stay on target in projects, and to make sure that you don't end up taking on jobs that go against your values or code of ethics. This can be challenging when you start to grow and develop, or when you start working with big clients who might have their hands in many different pockets.

My guiding light is usually around functionality and sustainability. I try to make what I do reflect those things, because I believe in them, and want to make sure what I develop takes advantage of them as much as possible.

What are your purposes?

My purpose. Well, thats a really big question and also a really small question at the same time. In context of my career I would make the statement that I would like my purpose to be: "Creating function-focused services and products that help users get the most out of what they need." or "Helping to develop systems and processes that allow for the most human centered approach to design." Something to really wow em, but in actuality my purpose might be to oversee designers as they create these processes, or to develop branding in a strategic way.

Most of these questions can be taken in and out of context to get to a larger purpose or a smaller day to day purpose. I think that Hines wants to think of a statement that allows for the most open ended future.

What are your intended uses?

My intended uses are that of design, strategy, communication and time management. These are the four areas that I strive to be better in and to develop in. I am always regarding new forms of design and media to be inspired as well as doing what I need to to remain open minded and allow myself some time to process things. Sometimes your intended uses are not what you thought they would be. Sometimes you find yourself through time and experience, in a totally different place than you thought you would be. I have always known myself to be creative, or naturally good at things that were artistic, I was told that that runs in my family, though only a few members of my family are artists. I think after time you realize the things you are good at to create an income are sometimes different than the things you are good at that you are passionate about. I would love for my future to hold the value of making an income and also something I enjoy doing, but if you make a good income and have time to do the things you love on the side, sometimes that is just as good.

How are you going to spend your time?

My time is spent in ways that allow me the best most practical design and career development, but also ( so I don't lost my mind at age 31) the best and most practical sanity, relaxation & fun! I enjoy getting out of town and visiting with my family, it usual reboots my creativity when I go for a walk or spend some time in nature. I also like to dabble in other means of creationism, like painting, sculpting, and photography! Im a pretty active person, I like to go to the gym and spend time with my dog in the park, but I also am a pretty avid gamer, and love films and movies. I knit and sew, so I like to create things in that way when I have some time.

How are you going to support other designers?

I love supporting other designers, sometimes to a fault. I love thinking of what could help them or what could lead to connections that could better their strengths. I know that sometimes people don't like help, and they don't see support as something positive, especially in a learning environment. Group projects can sometimes lead to understanding more about yourself than the group, or realizing what your leak suit is instead of your strong suit, but either way, this is growth and understanding.

I think I just love helping people? It's something that gives me a lot of gratification, even if its really small things. My mom said when I was 3 years old, I would help her fold the laundry ( what I thought was folding was just moving things around) but she said she thought it was so funny that I loved to do it. I think it just got worst from there. How I like support is kind of how I like to lead, by listening and understanding what the needs are, helping those around me feel like their thoughts are valid and heard, and by creating a comfortable environment where people can thrive. I like to set a standard of finding out how people do when they have freedom, if they don't show up or don't put in the effort, than I know that they are not very interested in the work, or that this type of work is not for them.

How are other designers going to support you?

I think that its a symbiotic relationship. Designers support me while I support them, we co-habitat in that way. I think that if I need anything I can ask my network or form partnerships to get what I need. I find that just being honest about your strong suits and allowing yourself to get help in the things that might not be your top skills, is the best way to give and get help. I think if you listen, you hear the things that you need help in, its just letting yourself be open to them. Sometimes you don't even notice your getting advice because your so ready to defend yourself, you don't realize that someone is just trying to help you.

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A Personal Audit