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Managing projects is one thing, but managing people takes an additional set of skills. Passing on what you’ve learned to others through teaching, mentoring, and leadership may be a vital part of your evolution as a designer or developer.
The more you learn during your career, the more valuable you'll be.
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And the easier it will be for you to explore new opportunities.
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Some of these opportunities may involve leadership and management.
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Managing projects is one thing. Managing people takes an additional set of skills.
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Passing on what you've learned to others through teaching, mentoring, and leadership
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may be a vital part of your evolution as a designer or developer.
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But that works on the bigger scale as well. Right?
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Like, I helped a client who lost his job find a new job.
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Well, a year later he showed up and he had work.
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It gets to hippy juice. Right?
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And that's what I call it when you start thinking about certain things,
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but I really think karma is real.
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I think there's no debt in the universe that doesn't get repaid.
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And so when you do good things for people intending to do good things,
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not thinking about the outcome, I think it comes back.
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I've been really fortunate to be surrounded by some very smart people
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who are active in the Open Source Community
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and specifically in the development community.
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I've seen a lot of what they've done as far as how that's helped progress
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where the web is currently.
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And so for me, I see that development has made such great strides
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by opening up and making their secrets transparent to the world and sharing.
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So I really feel very passionately about having that same kind of
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community feel within the design area.
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There has been for so long this idea of like, oh, keep it secret,
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like this is my secret sauce and this is what you're paying for.
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But at the end of the day, we all want great-looking websites.
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How many times do you go to a website and you're like, oh, that's just so terrible?
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I mean, it would be wonderful if the web was all beautiful.
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So let's help each other to share what works for you.
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I'm not saying (inaudible) works for everyone at all.
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I just happened to have a situation that happened over and over and over.
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And I thought to myself, there has to be a way that I can do this better
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and maybe I can save time for other people to help them get farther faster.
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Acquiring knowledge doesn't mean hoarding that knowledge.
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The experience you gain working in the industry is invaluable.
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And sharing it with others not only improves their work, but your reputation as a leader.
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Once again, let's hear from author C.C. Chapman as he shares some of his experience
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becoming a leader online.
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C.C., why is it so important to share what you know with others?
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Well, plain and simple. I mean, there's no need to hoard it.
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There's no need to make it only for you.
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I have this philosophy that a good friend of mine taught—
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learn as much as you can and share all that you know.
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And I think that makes you a better person. It's my nature.
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Maybe it's the humble New Englander in me,
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but I think everybody should act that way. And let's face it—
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the more knowledge you share, the more wisdom you can pass on to others,
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the more people are going to respect you, they're going to want to work with you,
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they're going to want to hear more from you because they know that you're a good person.
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I think it's easy to kind of figure out ways that you can do this in person,
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personally with people that you work with or people that you know,
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friends and family. >> Sure. >>But how can you be a mentor online?
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Sure. I mean, social media allows us to connect with people around the world.
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And the great thing is that whether it's through the content you're creating,
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your blog posts, you can put that knowledge out there and share what you know.
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On the flip side too, a big part of that is the mentoring ship is to help people and guide them.
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And it could be something as simple as people you connect with on Twitter
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and seeing them ask a question and you're like, oh, I know the answer to that.
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Let me share what I know.
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And there are some people—I mean, I've connected with people online
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and have definitely mentored them and worked with them, and I've never met them face-to-face.
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I mean, granted it's much easier in person,
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but sharing what you know online is easier than ever.
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I mean, we all walk around with a complete publishing industry in our pocket.
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So we can create videos, FaceTime with people, I mean, we can Tweet, all that stuff.
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Technology allows us to do it for anybody.
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Now, one of the risks of sharing what you know online has to be that you are
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giving up some kind of edge, some kind of competitive advantage. Right?
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Now, I think that a lot of our designers and developers who are watching
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got to be thinking, well, if I know this, why would I be sharing it?
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Why would I want other people to know what I know? >>Right.
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Is that a real risk or is that— >>No. —really a fallacy right there?
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No. I'm laughing at you and shaking my head a little bit because I hear this all the time. Right?
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And the analogy I always say is, okay, listen.
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If you got a recipe from a great chef, right? You go out to dinner.
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You go to a restaurant. You have a great meal and you ask the chef for the recipe.
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Do you really think it's going to taste as good when you get home? No.
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If you're a designer, if you're a developer, the thing you do—
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anybody can write html. Anybody can. Anybody can write any programming language. >>Right.
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Anybody can put together a web design.
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The trick though is how you do it, how you deliver it, what skills you bring to the table,
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what knowledge you have in your head.
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Because we all know just because everybody can write html,
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or anybody can learn to program a language, it doesn't mean they can do it really well.
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The secret sauce, the secret things, the advantage that you have is what you've got up here.
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You can share as much as possible.
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They still can't do it the way you do it.
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The way you say it, the way you design it, the way you develop it is always going to be unique.
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So never hold back and think you're hurting yourself by sharing information,
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because that's not the truth at all.
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So I think one of the things that a lot of our members out there might think
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is that once they start publishing content out there,
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if they can become sources of information online, then it really adds value for them
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from a personal branding point of view.
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It makes them more attractive as someone to hire, someone to do business with.
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Then being able to share that knowledge with others, I think then it becomes—
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there's a perception of them. They do become a source.
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Now, you've become a source too because you've published— >>Yeah.
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—a couple of books, you've been blogging for years, you've been podcasting for years,
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you've been going to events and speaking for years.
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What is it like to be a source—to be known as a source of information
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and constantly having people come to you with questions—
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Yeah. >>—needing advice, needing information?
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It's difficult. I mean, don't get me wrong—I love it. >>Yeah.
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I mean, I'd be a jerk to say I don't.
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But it's difficult because it's one of those things that once you set an expectation level,
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as far as the kind of help you can give, the kind of content you're going to deliver,
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people come to expect it. And so you have to live up to that. You have to keep delivering.
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And one of the things it is—it's a good problem to have. Don't get me wrong.
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Having people come to me for help and advice is flattering, it's exciting.
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I love helping them. Mentoring and teaching is something I love to do.
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But sometime it is difficult. It does take time away.
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And for me personally, I've found I have to set aside some time where I try to every morning
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answer the e-mails that are those sort of things. >>Yeah.
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Because I do have time where I have to give time to my paying clients first, of course.
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They're paying— >>Right. >>There's a certain level of commitment there.
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But I still want to help and give back. >>Yeah. >>So you figure out that balance.
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And it's something that you constantly figure out as you go further.
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You go along and—some days I do better at it than I do others. I'm a human.
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Well, I think it's a responsibility that we have.
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As we become more experienced, as we become more successful along our career path,
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individually, professionally, personally, we have a responsibility to give back— >>Most certainly.
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—to pay it forward. Some parting thoughts.
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What are some ways that professionals in the industry can truly pay it forward
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and follow their passions at the same time?
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Well, I think—I'm a big, big advocate for giving back in whatever way possible.
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And one of the things that I think not enough people do is realize
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that they do have skills and they do have knowledge that they can give back.
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And I wish more people would take their skill set and go out there and find—
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whether it's a nonprofit or a school or a community group or a church group—
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whatever is appropriate for you—and give back in that way.
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Everybody thinks giving back and social good is about writing a check
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at Christmas or the holidays. And that's great. But you know what?
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If you've got some skill set and you can build a website or design a brochure
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or do an app for your local Boys and Girls Club or a charity you believe in,
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that's a great way to give back. And it pays it forward.
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And you want to talk about something that's going to look—
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you get more reward out of giving back than you could ever imagine.
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If you've never volunteered, you're missing out on it.
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Plus, I mean, being very practical, it looks killer on your resume.
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When you say, oh, yeah, I built this website for The One Campaign
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or I'm working with the UN Foundation on a campaign, that looks really good.
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But it also feels really good, so take the time and energy to give back to the world.
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I beg you. Please Trust me, trust me.
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And it's a great way to get exposed to a whole new level of people.
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So take that knowledge and share it.
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Share it with the world, but then use your skills to make the world a better place.
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Consider the potential impact you can have as you move forward in your career.
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The more knowledge you gain, the more opportunities you may find
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to share what you've learned within your online network or your community.
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The connections we build in our journey may be re-established some time down the road.
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So always remember that those we help now may be able to return the favor in the future.
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