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Inspiration
{ 10:10 pm
This semester
Create a list of 15 places that I would like to work at / apply to
Photograph all work successfully (high quality)
Write to at least 5 design blogs about my work and website
Have a completed resume and business cards
This year
Graduate from RISD with an updated resume, website, and portfolio
Have applied to at least 10 companies / businesses
Make a list of personal projects that I would like to work on after school
Take a week to travel
Build myself a manufacturer/ material source book for future personal work
Successfully find design related job
2 years from now
Continue to work on and finish a personal project every 5 months, market/pitch projects to the future perfect, matter, ect
Keep website updated – press, new projects, resume
Enter at least 2 design competitions/ shows per year (core77, ID mag, ect)
Build a professional resume by finding freelance work (3 small projects/ yr)
Go to ICFF as attendee every year it takes place
Be showcased in at least one satellite show during NY Design week
Take at least 2 weeks each year to travel
Continue to learn manufacturing processes for design
Continue to work in a design related job
5 years from now
Be guest lecturer, teacher or visiting designer at a university (RISD!)
Do a collaboration with a designer friend!
If previous jobs are unsatisfying, find a job related to my interests/ aesthetic
Have at least two of my own products manufactured by companies I admire (above)
Reevaluate personal work/ define direction
Create 10 new personal project ideas
Continue to work on, finish, pitch/market a personal project every 5 months
Build a professional resume by finding freelance work (2 small projects/ yr)
Showcase personal work at 3 ICFF satellite shows (1/yr for 3 years)
Showcase at ICFF at least once
Have my work be in at least 7 national design magazines (Dwell, Surface, Wallpaper)
Go to Milan as attendee
10 years from now
Be a regular part time faculty member for at least a year at a design university
Have my work be in at least 15 national design magazines
Show in Milan
Have a furniture/product design job I’m very satisfied with OR
Be self employed designing my own furniture/ products
{ 8:09 pm
If you are having difficulty getting started on setting your goals, here are a couple of readings on the topic that might help inspire you:
The book Write it Down Make it Happen cites several stories of goal setters who turn into celebrities after they write their goals down. Apparently Jim Carrey wrote himself a check for $10 million and Scott Adams of Dilbert wrote “I will become a syndicated cartoonist” 15 times a day, long before either came true. Although this is perhaps a simplistic view of the steps these individuals took on their road to success, the author spends 250 pages arguing for the power that writing a goal down can have.
I mentioned the often cited study of Yale’s class of 1953, which claims that the 3% of polled graduates that had set goals were more successful than the other 97% combined. Fast Company seems to be making the claim that they debunked this myth, but Yale also has an official statement on their website stating “It has been determined that no “goals study” of the Class of 1953 actually occurred.”
If that doesn’t make you skeptical of the benefits of goal setting, there are plenty of articles that try to do just that. The Boston Globe has an article that reads like a cautionary tale against letting goal setters get out of hand (warning – it loads slowly). The article cites a paper titled “Goals Gone Wild,” whose author, Adam Galinsky, says, “Goal setting has been treated like an over-the-counter medication when it should really be treated with more care, as a prescription-strength medication.” Sounds Dangerous. The New York Times also has a post in their “Idea of The Day” blog, that touches on, and links to more content on the trouble with setting goals. In the end, I think, like all things, moderation is key. As long as you maintain an awareness to your greater situation, keep an open mind, and set S.M.A.R.T. goals, I think you will be better off having set goals than you might be otherwise.
Elsewhere in the New York Times, the owner of a furniture company outlines some of his near term goals for his business. Although he has an impressive list, these goals read more like a to-do list than “goals” as we have been discussing them. And another article in the New York Times has some exercises you can do to help figure out what your goals might be. It’s focused specifically on single year goals and was written to help with new year’s resolutions (from 2007), but it might be useful anyway.
If you are looking for some scholarly research on the topic of goal setting and motivation, try Motivation: Theory and Research, a report that was funded in part by the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Perhaps most relevant in this text is Chapter 2 “Goal Setting Theory”, written by two pioneering researchers in this field, Edwin Locke and Gary Latham. Another approachable text that covers some of the same territory is Goal Setting and Task Performance: 1969-1980, also co-authored by Locke.
If you are still stuck, below are some questions you can ask yourself to help get in the proper mindset (adapted from the book Professional Practice for Interior Designers) :
Another exercise adapted from the same book:
On a sheet of paper make 2 columns, one with the heading “problem” and the other “solution”. Under the “problem” column, list things that are holding your back, then write a potential solution to the problem in the “solution” column.
If you find anything else helpful or interesting, share it with the group here.
For your reference (or entertainment!), I’ve posted the slides from the “Goal Setting” presentation.
“If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time” – Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker
Part I:
Setting concrete goals for your career can have a profound impact on the trajectory of your professional development. By clarifying your near and long term objectives, you can weigh decisions and take actions that will bring you closer to achieving your ambitions. In order for the class as a whole and you as an individual to better understand your professional ambitions, formalize your goals into a thoroughly considered and strategically composed written document.
The primary objectives of this assignment are to help you navigate your career path and to establish a framework upon which your efforts in the class can be directed and evaluated.
Approach:
Begin by reading the following articles:
http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm
Using the S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) principles, write your goals for the next 10 years with specific milestones outlined for this semester, this year, 2 years from now, 5 years from now and 10 years from now. Consider how your near term goals relate to your long terms goals. Write your goals as positive statements; state the desired outcome and not the situation to be avoided. For example: “I want to be wealthy” is a positive statement, as opposed to, “I do not want to be poor.” It may be that you will have fewer goals the farther out into time you project, and you are likewise not expected to detail a day-by-day schedule for this semester. What is expected is a realistic, clear, comprehensive, and actionable plan for your future.
Some realms of achievement to consider as you compile your goals:
Part II:
Create a list of professionals and organizations (companies, collaboratives, etc) whose careers you admire. Include a brief explanation for each item in the list. Your list can draw from any field, but should include some entries that are directly related to the areas indicated by your goals.
Part III:
Set up your profile for the class website.
Deliverables:
FURN-2582-01
Department of Furniture Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Mondays, 6:20pm - 9:20 pm
Prov-Wash, 237A
Instructor: Christopher Specce
Teaching Assistant: Taylor McKenzie-Veal
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