Does the name of a thing affect what it is or does?

Who knows? What I would argue is this:

• Someone’s official job title should never be used for judgement, only for trust
• A single person can hold several jobs; not all at once, as multitasking is a myth, but within a shorter span of time than is often socially accepted (i.e. “wearing three hats” in one day)

What I would wager you see when you hear their names

Elon Musk – What you may see

• An entrepreneur
• A clean-energy evangelist
• A budding space colonizer

Lady Gaga – What you may see

• A singer and songwriter
• A performer
• A feminist

Louis CK – What you may see

• A comedian
• A writer, director and producer
• A father

What I see when I hear their names

Elon Musk – What I see

• He knows how to successfully demo a product – thereby selling an idea
• He understands and shares his loyal customers’ needs and wants
• Need: products designed to extend the lives of owners and their children
• Want: products designed to convey a high caliber of social status
• He is hungry for new ideas, and becomes dedicated to bringing form to only the best of those ideas

Lady Gaga – What I see

• She crafts songs that not only express herself, but enable others to express themselves through her prose and melodies
• She realizes her brand is only as valuable as the ideals she stands for, for herself and on behalf of her followers

Louis CK – What I see

• Through experimentation, he validated his assumption that making his products more easily accessible would lead to greater customer satisfaction
• Through experimentation, he validated his assumption that his customers will buy content that they know nothing about, other than it was produced by someone who consistently produces high-quality material
• Through experimentation, he validated his assumption that treating customer relationships like family relationships (visiting once or twice per year with grand gestures of generosity) is a superior strategy to both mediocre-oversaturation and long-winded content droughts capped by momentous but risky releases

Can you see what I see?

I think you will after this webinar with Tech Talent South, entitled “How to break into UX Design”. 

What you can learn if you are willing to open your mind

• That being a designer is not magic: anyone can learn, but to get good requires practice. That’s why most of the class you’ll be practicing so that when class is over you will already have overcome the toughest hurdle.
• That being a designer means being a great door-to-door salesperson: knowing your neighborhood and the tribulations of those living in it will get you farther than you ever imagined.
• That being a designer demands a behind-the-scenes mentality: your goal is to go unnoticed, not to be the one in the spotlight. Your portfolio should showcase work that made others feel like superheroes, not work you produced to boost your ego.