Get Passionate

Written by Nicole Braseth Friday, 27 March 2009 11:22

I attended this year's SXSW Interactive conference (first timer!) with the goal of acquiring information that we could apply to Idea Market's practices. But what I found, was that much of the information I deemed useful could be practiced by any workplace, not just a design and marketing firm.

So, I will be passing along to you, oh faithful blog reader, tips which I hope you find useful in your workplace and your company culture. There's a few of them and I like to explain so I'll break them down into a few posts. This one is all about getting excited about your work:

Passion = Success
Ownership = Passion
Participation/Collaboration = Ownership

Let me explain: no one gets handed success without earning it. Earning it requires WANTING it. Hence, passion. If you're passionate about your work and your company (whether you own it or simply work there), you are more driven to succeed. You have ownership of your work, your ideas and your company.

But often you are not the only one involved. Teams need to have passion for their common goal (more than just the paycheque), and ownership (of a project, of an idea, of the workplace and even the team) breeds passion. Sometimes you also have to get a client motivated and really interested in the project (even if only to get them to go along and approve your passion!). Getting a client or members of the team involved actively will accomplish this. Involve them in every step of the process (including the planning stages) and take their ideas seriously. If you can incorporate something that they get excited about, they will be invested in the project and be excited to see it through.

To end, here are some quotes I picked up from SXSWi that you can think about:
"Good design is taking things away." (Brendan Dawes)
"People are looking for experiences, not products."
"Create a conversation, not a lecture."