Pay It Forward

The more you learn during your career, the more valuable you'll be. 0:00 And the easier it will be for you to explore new opportunities. 0:04 Some of these opportunities may involve leadership and management. 0:09 Managing projects is one thing. Managing people takes an additional set of skills. 0:12 Passing on what you've learned to others through teaching, mentoring, and leadership 0:18 may be a vital part of your evolution as a designer or developer. 0:23 But that works on the bigger scale as well. Right? 0:28 Like, I helped a client who lost his job find a new job. 0:32 Well, a year later he showed up and he had work. 0:36 It gets to hippy juice. Right? 0:40 And that's what I call it when you start thinking about certain things, 0:42 but I really think karma is real. 0:44 I think there's no debt in the universe that doesn't get repaid. 0:46 And so when you do good things for people intending to do good things, 0:49 not thinking about the outcome, I think it comes back. 0:54 I've been really fortunate to be surrounded by some very smart people 0:57 who are active in the Open Source Community 1:01 and specifically in the development community. 1:03 I've seen a lot of what they've done as far as how that's helped progress 1:06 where the web is currently. 1:10 And so for me, I see that development has made such great strides 1:12 by opening up and making their secrets transparent to the world and sharing. 1:16 So I really feel very passionately about having that same kind of 1:22 community feel within the design area. 1:27 There has been for so long this idea of like, oh, keep it secret, 1:29 like this is my secret sauce and this is what you're paying for. 1:32 But at the end of the day, we all want great-looking websites. 1:34 How many times do you go to a website and you're like, oh, that's just so terrible? 1:39 I mean, it would be wonderful if the web was all beautiful. 1:42 So let's help each other to share what works for you. 1:46 I'm not saying (inaudible) works for everyone at all. 1:49 I just happened to have a situation that happened over and over and over. 1:51 And I thought to myself, there has to be a way that I can do this better 1:55 and maybe I can save time for other people to help them get farther faster. 1:59 Acquiring knowledge doesn't mean hoarding that knowledge. 2:03 The experience you gain working in the industry is invaluable. 2:06 And sharing it with others not only improves their work, but your reputation as a leader. 2:10 Once again, let's hear from author C.C. Chapman as he shares some of his experience 2:15 becoming a leader online. 2:20 C.C., why is it so important to share what you know with others? 2:23 Well, plain and simple. I mean, there's no need to hoard it. 2:28 There's no need to make it only for you. 2:30 I have this philosophy that a good friend of mine taught— 2:34 learn as much as you can and share all that you know. 2:37 And I think that makes you a better person. It's my nature. 2:39 Maybe it's the humble New Englander in me, 2:43 but I think everybody should act that way. And let's face it— 2:45 the more knowledge you share, the more wisdom you can pass on to others, 2:47 the more people are going to respect you, they're going to want to work with you, 2:50 they're going to want to hear more from you because they know that you're a good person. 2:53 I think it's easy to kind of figure out ways that you can do this in person, 2:56 personally with people that you work with or people that you know, 3:00 friends and family. >> Sure. >>But how can you be a mentor online? 3:03 Sure. I mean, social media allows us to connect with people around the world. 3:07 And the great thing is that whether it's through the content you're creating, 3:11 your blog posts, you can put that knowledge out there and share what you know. 3:15 On the flip side too, a big part of that is the mentoring ship is to help people and guide them. 3:20 And it could be something as simple as people you connect with on Twitter 3:26 and seeing them ask a question and you're like, oh, I know the answer to that. 3:29 Let me share what I know. 3:33 And there are some people—I mean, I've connected with people online 3:35 and have definitely mentored them and worked with them, and I've never met them face-to-face. 3:38 I mean, granted it's much easier in person, 3:42 but sharing what you know online is easier than ever. 3:44 I mean, we all walk around with a complete publishing industry in our pocket. 3:46 So we can create videos, FaceTime with people, I mean, we can Tweet, all that stuff. 3:50 Technology allows us to do it for anybody. 3:56 Now, one of the risks of sharing what you know online has to be that you are 3:58 giving up some kind of edge, some kind of competitive advantage. Right? 4:06 Now, I think that a lot of our designers and developers who are watching 4:11 got to be thinking, well, if I know this, why would I be sharing it? 4:14 Why would I want other people to know what I know? >>Right. 4:18 Is that a real risk or is that— >>No. —really a fallacy right there? 4:22 No. I'm laughing at you and shaking my head a little bit because I hear this all the time. Right? 4:25 And the analogy I always say is, okay, listen. 4:29 If you got a recipe from a great chef, right? You go out to dinner. 4:31 You go to a restaurant. You have a great meal and you ask the chef for the recipe. 4:35 Do you really think it's going to taste as good when you get home? No. 4:39 If you're a designer, if you're a developer, the thing you do— 4:43 anybody can write html. Anybody can. Anybody can write any programming language. >>Right. 4:47 Anybody can put together a web design. 4:50 The trick though is how you do it, how you deliver it, what skills you bring to the table, 4:53 what knowledge you have in your head. 4:59 Because we all know just because everybody can write html, 5:01 or anybody can learn to program a language, it doesn't mean they can do it really well. 5:05 The secret sauce, the secret things, the advantage that you have is what you've got up here. 5:09 You can share as much as possible. 5:15 They still can't do it the way you do it. 5:17 The way you say it, the way you design it, the way you develop it is always going to be unique. 5:19 So never hold back and think you're hurting yourself by sharing information, 5:24 because that's not the truth at all. 5:28 So I think one of the things that a lot of our members out there might think 5:31 is that once they start publishing content out there, 5:36 if they can become sources of information online, then it really adds value for them 5:41 from a personal branding point of view. 5:49 It makes them more attractive as someone to hire, someone to do business with. 5:51 Then being able to share that knowledge with others, I think then it becomes— 5:55 there's a perception of them. They do become a source. 6:00 Now, you've become a source too because you've published— >>Yeah. 6:03 —a couple of books, you've been blogging for years, you've been podcasting for years, 6:06 you've been going to events and speaking for years. 6:10 What is it like to be a source—to be known as a source of information 6:12 and constantly having people come to you with questions— 6:17 Yeah. >>—needing advice, needing information? 6:21 It's difficult. I mean, don't get me wrong—I love it. >>Yeah. 6:23 I mean, I'd be a jerk to say I don't. 6:26 But it's difficult because it's one of those things that once you set an expectation level, 6:28 as far as the kind of help you can give, the kind of content you're going to deliver, 6:33 people come to expect it. And so you have to live up to that. You have to keep delivering. 6:37 And one of the things it is—it's a good problem to have. Don't get me wrong. 6:41 Having people come to me for help and advice is flattering, it's exciting. 6:44 I love helping them. Mentoring and teaching is something I love to do. 6:49 But sometime it is difficult. It does take time away. 6:53 And for me personally, I've found I have to set aside some time where I try to every morning 6:55 answer the e-mails that are those sort of things. >>Yeah. 7:00 Because I do have time where I have to give time to my paying clients first, of course. 7:03 They're paying— >>Right. >>There's a certain level of commitment there. 7:07 But I still want to help and give back. >>Yeah. >>So you figure out that balance. 7:10 And it's something that you constantly figure out as you go further. 7:13 You go along and—some days I do better at it than I do others. I'm a human. 7:15 Well, I think it's a responsibility that we have. 7:20 As we become more experienced, as we become more successful along our career path, 7:23 individually, professionally, personally, we have a responsibility to give back— >>Most certainly. 7:28 —to pay it forward. Some parting thoughts. 7:34 What are some ways that professionals in the industry can truly pay it forward 7:37 and follow their passions at the same time? 7:41 Well, I think—I'm a big, big advocate for giving back in whatever way possible. 7:43 And one of the things that I think not enough people do is realize 7:49 that they do have skills and they do have knowledge that they can give back. 7:52 And I wish more people would take their skill set and go out there and find— 7:55 whether it's a nonprofit or a school or a community group or a church group— 8:01 whatever is appropriate for you—and give back in that way. 8:05 Everybody thinks giving back and social good is about writing a check 8:08 at Christmas or the holidays. And that's great. But you know what? 8:12 If you've got some skill set and you can build a website or design a brochure 8:15 or do an app for your local Boys and Girls Club or a charity you believe in, 8:20 that's a great way to give back. And it pays it forward. 8:25 And you want to talk about something that's going to look— 8:28 you get more reward out of giving back than you could ever imagine. 8:31 If you've never volunteered, you're missing out on it. 8:34 Plus, I mean, being very practical, it looks killer on your resume. 8:36 When you say, oh, yeah, I built this website for The One Campaign 8:40 or I'm working with the UN Foundation on a campaign, that looks really good. 8:44 But it also feels really good, so take the time and energy to give back to the world. 8:48 I beg you. Please Trust me, trust me. 8:53 And it's a great way to get exposed to a whole new level of people. 8:55 So take that knowledge and share it. 9:00 Share it with the world, but then use your skills to make the world a better place. 9:02 Consider the potential impact you can have as you move forward in your career. 9:06 The more knowledge you gain, the more opportunities you may find 9:11 to share what you've learned within your online network or your community. 9:15 The connections we build in our journey may be re-established some time down the road. 9:20 So always remember that those we help now may be able to return the favor in the future. 9:25