WEBVTT - Prototype your next step

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip comes from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans book

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<v Speaker 1>Designing Your Life, which is about using design principles to

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<v Speaker 1>craft the life you want. They suggest using the design

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<v Speaker 1>technique of prototyping to get insight into whether you want

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<v Speaker 1>to pursue a particular life option. If you're pondering a

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<v Speaker 1>big move in professionally or personally, your best bet might

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<v Speaker 1>be to start small. Here's what I mean. According to

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<v Speaker 1>Burnett and Evans, designers don't think their way forward. Designers

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<v Speaker 1>build their way forward. They create a prototype, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a simplified model, to see how well a given idea

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<v Speaker 1>will work in practice. Just like you'd pilot a new

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<v Speaker 1>feedback system with one team before trying it on the

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<v Speaker 1>whole organization, Prototyping a big move you're considering can help

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<v Speaker 1>you see what the option would be like before you

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<v Speaker 1>commit to it. Here's why prototypes work. Prototypes help you

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<v Speaker 1>visualize alternatives in a very experiential way. Burnett and Evans right.

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<v Speaker 1>That allows you to imagine your future as if you

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<v Speaker 1>are living it. A prototype is not a thought experiment.

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<v Speaker 1>It needs a component of the real thing, just not

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<v Speaker 1>the full fledged real thing. This allows you to evaluate

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<v Speaker 1>what works and what doesn't in a relatively low stakes way.

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<v Speaker 1>So how do you go about prototyping an option you're considering.

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<v Speaker 1>One approach that Burnett and Evans advocate is what they

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<v Speaker 1>call a life design interview or prototype conversations. Talk with

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<v Speaker 1>people who are pursuing the path you are considering. What

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<v Speaker 1>do they do on a day to day basis, What

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<v Speaker 1>do they love and hate about their work? How did

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<v Speaker 1>they get to their current roles. As you talk with

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<v Speaker 1>people about their life designs, Burnett and Evans emphasize that

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<v Speaker 1>you should be listening to the people you're interviewing, not

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<v Speaker 1>talking about yourself. You want to take in all you

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<v Speaker 1>can about their actual experiences. Then you'll be able to

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<v Speaker 1>reflect on what you learned and consider how similar you

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<v Speaker 1>are to the people thriving in that path. After you've

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<v Speaker 1>had some prototype conversations, Burnett and Evans suggest pursuing prototype experiences,

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<v Speaker 1>which they compare to taking a car on a test drive.

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<v Speaker 1>A prototype experience can be as simple as spending a

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<v Speaker 1>day shadowing a person pursuing a path you're considering, or

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<v Speaker 1>it could be more intensive. Burnett and Evans suggest working

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<v Speaker 1>on a time to find project without pay, or taking

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<v Speaker 1>an internship doing the work you're considering. It can be

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<v Speaker 1>fun to imagine prototype experiences. If you're prototyping being a

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<v Speaker 1>freelance writer, you might volunteer to write the annual report

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<v Speaker 1>for a nonprofit that you care about, or you could

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<v Speaker 1>start a blog where you post articles of the type

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<v Speaker 1>you'd one day like to be paid to write. If

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<v Speaker 1>you're contemplating becoming an elementary school teacher, you could volunteer

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<v Speaker 1>as a Cup Scout troop leader or as an assistant

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<v Speaker 1>in an after school program. Or you could take a

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<v Speaker 1>few days off work to help out in a classroom.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're brave, you might try becoming a substitute teacher.

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<v Speaker 1>Prototype experiences don't have to be complicated, but you do

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<v Speaker 1>need to actually try out living the life you're imagining.

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<v Speaker 1>If a prototype experience is rewarding, great, continue having conversations

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<v Speaker 1>and experiences. You may eventually decide to pursue the path

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<v Speaker 1>that you've explored, And if you don't like them, well

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<v Speaker 1>that's not failure, that's useful information. You can identify other

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<v Speaker 1>paths to explore. It is far better to decide that

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<v Speaker 1>you don't want to be a lawyer before you spend

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<v Speaker 1>years of your life in law school and take on

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of dollars of debt. There are many options out there.

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<v Speaker 1>You want to know what's best for you. So what

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<v Speaker 1>big moves are you considering in your life? How can

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<v Speaker 1>you use short term experiences and life design interviews with

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<v Speaker 1>people pursuing those paths to prototype these options? As Burnett

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<v Speaker 1>and Evans advice, try stuff. That's what designers do if

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<v Speaker 1>you prototype options you're considering. I'd love to hear what

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<v Speaker 1>you learned in the process. You can email me at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number

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<v Speaker 1>four then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot

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<v Speaker 1>me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at I heeart

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<v Speaker 1>media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with

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<v Speaker 1>all the letters. Thanks so much. I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I

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