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Who are you?

Last updated: January 1, 2023

Who are you today? How are you feeling? Forget about anything in the past and just think about today.

The goals

  1. Take stock of yourself

    Where are you?

  2. Gather some information to share when you introduce yourself in the next lesson

    Who are you?

  3. Suss out some good subject matter we can use for our examples

    What do you want to do?

Lecture

Temporary definition

Jonathan Stark uses the idea of a LFPS (laser-focused positioning statement) to help people find their niche.

You don’t need to find a niche right now (in fact, it’s a bad time to do that), but it would be a fun exercise to do so that we can look back on it later. Read his blog post about it. What would you say you ‘are’ right now? What would you like to do instead?

I’m a specific profession who helps specific client type with an expensive problem. Unlike my competitors, I do/unique take/what makes you the best choice.

I’m a _______ who helps _______ with _______. Unlike my competitors, _______.

Key
concept

Framework

Whether it is a schedule or a set of plans or a general outline – or a very specific set of tools and how they work together… a “framework” is something that should help you. It is a guide. If it isn’t helping you – then it has failed – and you should remove it.

In this case, the framework is a “fill in the blanks” outline to help you define the key points of this sentence. It is simple but very effective, and it provides constraints to keep you focused.

Personality tests

A few of us recently took some personality test type things.

The test takes 20 minutes or so, but – spend AT LEAST 30 minutes reading about your results – and write down your initial feelings / and any notes about how those change while reading. What do you think about this whole idea? Are there any revealing insights? Are you fighting against any of your strengths or trying to overcome things that might just be life-long weaknesses? Are you at a fork in the road with any part of your life?

They were fun. Here’s a list of them:

  1. CliftonStrengths: gallupstrengthscenter.com ($50 for the full results)

  2. MeyersBrigg: mbtionline.com ($50 for the full results)

  3. 16 personalities: 16personalities.com (FREE)

  4. Enneagram: enneagraminstitute.com (?)

  5. Kolbe A: kolbe.com/kolbe-a-index ($55)

Key
concept

Baseline

An initial set of critical observations or data used for comparison or a control.

In this case, you are going to take a snapshot of how you are feeling right now, where you’re at, and what you’d like to accomplish. We will use this information later as things progress. This snapshot is your baseline.

Derek's results

Only if you’re really, really interested…

Here are Derek’s full results

…if you want to see what you’d get for the money options.

Meyers Brigg: https://sheriffderek.consulting/resources/results/meyers-brigg.pdf

Clifton strengths: https://sheriffderek.consulting/resources/results/clifton-strengths.pdf 

Kolbe: https://e.kolbe.com/rv/?st=K2-3E87525D-D438-EE11-9131-00505682CA54

^ Derek just took this one in late 2023.

(There’s also a new documentary called “Persona” that talks about some of the negative effects of these tests in corporate America / and also tries to paint the creator as a racist? But without much real evidence of that… except that there were characters in a book she wrote who were racist.)

What do you want to make?

We can teach design with random examples, but it works a lot better if we have real-world examples.

What are you excited about? What kinds of things do you want to build? What websites/applications do you like? Do you have a website you want to work with? Do you have some big ideas that we can use as examples? Is it such a great idea that it’s a secret? Haha. Gather some inspiration, test products, or real-life projects. We’ll use them to help describe all the stuff!

You don’t have to stick to it… but give us some stuff to start with, and it’ll help people figure out who to partner with. Also, if you don’t have any ideas yet – that’s OK too!

In conclusion

Take some stock of where you’re at. It’ll be fun to reflect on later. Don’t take it too seriously. It’s not really “who you are” but more of how you feel as we’re starting out.

Exercises

  1. Fill out Jonathan's thing

    It doesn’t have to define you as a ‘person.’ Don’t take it too seriously for now. It’s really hard! So just take a stab at it. (as seen on Jonathan Stark’s blog: HERE)
    30 minutes suggested

  2. Take one or more of the personality tests

    Derek really likes the StrengthsFinder. If you don’t have $50 (totally reasonable), the 16 personality test is also really cool. Ivy likes the Meyers-Briggs and 16 personality tests. Sometimes, companies ask for your ‘personality type’ as a prerequisite now.
    30 - 60 minutes suggested

  3. Write down a bunch of ideas for things you want to design

    We need stuff to make! Have you found any problems out in the world you want to solve? Do you have some things you want to build—companies, non-profits, or app ideas? Write down whatever you have! We’ll use those ideas to illustrate the various concepts. Keep adding to this list in your journal as we progress through the course.
    30 minutes suggested

  4. Take this entrance assessment

    We want to establish a baseline for your current feelings about each part of the design and programming process. This is not a test; it’s just a way for you to keep track. You’ll take it a few more times throughout the course, and you can use it to track your progress and confidence: LINK TO FORM.
    20 minutes suggested

Lesson checklist

For today

  1. Filled in the blanks for that “I am _______…” sentence

  2. Took at least one personality test

  3. Wrote down all of the ideas you can think of (no pressure)

  4. Went through the entrance assessment form

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