Presented at FITC Toronto 2017 More info at http://fitc.ca/event/to17/ Dave Benton, metajive Overview With a life mission of creating great experiences one of the best ways Dave can help others is by providing guidance on careers. We spend about 1/3 of our lives working so we better get everything we can out of it. Designers are a fortunate group of people who can gain personal satisfaction through craft, and affect greater change in their environments. This talk takes a broad look at creating a “successful” career ranging from happiness and job satisfaction, to charting career trajectory and communicating business goals while navigating client feedback. With design, business and client management advice taken from great design thinkers (Paula Scher, Simon Sinek, Scott Belsky, David Baker and Stefan Sagmeister) Dave will provide an overview of how to be the best at every aspect of crafting your design career. Target Audience Any designer who works for a living Five Things Audience Members Will Learn Achieving the right job fit Crafting your role in an organization Maximizing your long term paycheck How to control the design discussion to create great work Understand how clients perceive value

1. CREATING A
GREAT
CAREER
FITC ·APRIL 21, 2017

2. DO YOU
KNOW
YOURS?
YOUR WHY IS
THE
PURPOSE,
CAUSE,
OR BELIEF
THAT
INSPIRES YOU

3. WHAT YOU
ARE
WORKING
FOR

4. WHAT YOUR
WORKING ON

5. CREATING A GREAT CARRER
(power of 10 clip 3)
WHAT YOUR
WORKING ON
NOW

6. WHAT IS A
GREAT
CAREER?

7. GET THAT 🧀

8. PROVIDE
VALUE

9. TO BE EXCELLENT WE
CANNOT SIMPLY THINK OR
FEEL EXCELLENT WE MUST
ACT EXCELLENTLY.
ARISTOTLE
“SEEK
EXCELEN
CE

10. FIND JOY

11. FIND
JOY

12. WORK
SLEEP
EVERYTHING ELSE
🙃
#
🎉
😴
FIND JOY

13. #TGIM
FIND JOY

14. MONDAY IS NOT THE DAY
TO BE BACK AT THE
GRINDSTONE. MONDAY IS
THE DAY TO BE BACK AT
YOUR PASSION. IF YOU'RE
WORKING FOR THE
WEEKEND, YOU'RE DOING
IT WRONG. KICK ASS.
EVERY DAY.
NICK CAMPBELL, FOUNDER, GREYSCALE GORILLA
“

15. JOB, CAREER,
OR CALLING
DO YOU HAVE A
FIND JOY

16. PEOPLE WITH A CALLING
VIEW WORK AS AN END IN
ITSELF; THEIR WORK IS
FULFILLING… THESE ARE THE
PEOPLE WHO ARE
GENERALLY MORE LIKELY TO
GET AHEAD.SHAWN ACHOR, HARVARD POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
PROFESSOR
“

17. THERE ARE DOCTORS
WHO SEE THEIR WORK
ONLY AS A JOB, AND
JANITORS WHO SEE THEIR
WORK AS A CALLING.
NICK CAMPBELL, FOUNDER, GREYSCALE GORILLA
“

18. • FIND JOY
LOVE THE PROCESS
LAUNCH DAY
LAUNCH
DAY
FIND JOY

19. • FIND JOY
FIND JOY

20. FIND JOY

21. FIND JOY
FIND BALANCE

22. FIND JOY
FIND BALANCE

23. THIS SHOULD NOT BE LIMITED
TO YOUR WORK (AS IN BEING
HAPPY WITH YOUR JOB).
FINDING JOY IN LIFE MAKES
FOR MORE INTERESTING
PEOPLE AND MORE
INTERESTING PEOPLE MAKE
MORE INTERESTING WORK.TONY WEI, VICE PRESIDENT, SENIOR DIGITAL PRODUCER,
CRAMER-KRASSELT
“

24. FIND
JOY

25. • FIND JOY
ELLE
FIND
JOY

26. SHANE MIELKE,
ALL AROUND BAD ASS
“Love what you do.
If you love what you do you will
never work a day in your life. But be
careful not to let what you love rule
your life. It’s easy to overwork when
you’re having fun being creative to
the point that you don’t have a real
life outside of work.

27. SEEK
EXCELLENCE

28. HOW YOU DO
ANYTHING IS
HOW YOU DO
EVERYTHING

29. HOW YOU DO
ANYTHING IS
HOW YOU DO
EVERYTHING

30. SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE

31. SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE
#KANYEMODE

32. SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE
#WWKD
SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE

33. SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE
SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE

34. SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE
ALL THE
WAY UP

35. SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE

36. “WHY DON’T
WE TRY”
SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE

37. SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE

38. SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE
PRESENT
YOUR OWN
WORK

39. FAIL F
SEEK
EXCELLE
NCE

40. PROVIDE
VALUE

41. PROVIDE
VALUE
SET THE AGENDA
when you decide whats
being talked about you
control the conversation

42. PROVIDE
VALUE
SET THE
AGENDA

43. PROVIDE
VALUE
TAKE
NOTES

44. TAKE
NOTES
PROVIDE
VALUE
ACTION ITEMS

45. TAKE
NOTES
PROVIDE
VALUE
ACTION ITEMS
DECISION MADE

46. TAKE
NOTES
PROVIDE
VALUE
ACTION ITEMS
DECISION MADE
OUTSTANDING
QUESTIONS

47. TAKE
NOTES
PROVIDE
VALUE
ACTION ITEMS
DECISION MADE
OUTSTANDING
QUESTIONS
KEY INFORMATION
SHARED

48. PROVIDE
VALUE

49. IT’S
NOT
ABOUT
YOU

50. PROVIDE
VALUE
MAKE A
BUSINESS CASE
every project has a goal,
so as you speak about a
project every decision
should have
a reason relating to
that goal.

51. PROVIDE
VALUE
MAKE A
BUSINESS CASE
every project has a goal,
so as you speak about a
project every decision
should have
a reason relating to
that goal.
🔑

52. PROVIDE
VALUE
LEARN
TO PITCH

53. GET THAT 🧀

54. CASH IS OXYGEN FOR
YOUR ORGANIZATION
GARY VENERCHUCK, THAT BUSINESS PODCAST
GUY
“

55. • GET THAT 🧀
UNDERSTAND
YOUR BOSSES
BONUS
GET
THAT 🧀

56. GET
THAT 🧀
STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 GOAL

57. GET
THAT 🧀
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
GOAL

58. $
$$$$$
🤑
STAYING PUT
JUMPING AROUND
😐
GET
THAT 🧀

59. H E L P
GET
THAT 🧀

60. • PROVIDE VALUE
TIP NO. 1
Understand how the
company is making money
or missed opportunities
and how you can
contribute.

61. GET
THAT 🧀

62. LET’S RAP IT UP
RAP IT UP 🎤

63. FIND JOY
SEEK EXCELLENCE
PROVIDE VALUE
GET THAT 🧀

64. SEEK EXCELLENCE
PROVIDE VALUE
GET THAT 🧀
FIND JOY

65. 🧀
GET THAT
SEEK EXCELLENCE
PROVIDE VALUE
🧀
FIND JOY

66. SEEK EXCELLENCE
PROVIDE VALUE
GET THATGET THAT
FIND JOY
🧀

67. FIND JOY
SEEK EXCELLENCE
PROVIDE VALUE
GET THAT 🧀

68. JOE STEWART,
PARTNER, DESIGN,
WORK & CO
“Some advice I wish I had when I was getting started is the idea that
this is a slow burn. Design careers are long. There is no hurry. You
can be 40 or 50 or 60 and still producing great design work. All my
favorite designers didn't get really great until late into their career, so,
relax a bit and try to make decisions based on a longer timeline. If
you can slow down and not worry so much about that next promotion
or title change, or next job. Don't take that job that pays 20% more
but you like 50% less. You have time, and the way to get everything
you want: good work, good position, good pay, is to build up a
consistent track record of putting out great things – and doing it in a
way where people like working with you. Three things should be your
focus: are you working on the kind of thing you want to be working
on, is your output high quality, are you able to do your job in a
friendly & ethical way. If you do those three things, in 20 years you'll
be solid fucking gold. I know, nobody wants to hear about some long
ass timeline like that, but that's what design careers look like, if
you're any good – and thats a gift. Vignelli was designing until the
day he died – we should all be so lucky. So – slow the fuck down.
The current fashion of "sell out as fast as possible, get VC and burn
yourself to death, fuck over anyone who gets in the way" is not
sustainable, or good for design, or a good life. Take your time. It's
much, much, much more valuable to have good experience than a
fancy title or a bigger paycheck. You will get those things 10 fold if
you take your time and do it right and focus on your craft, and your
process.

69. THANK YOU
METAJIVE.COM

70. @METAJIVE
@LIFEASDAVE
DAVE@METAJIVE
.COM METAJIVE.COM