Stick to your goals
And you will get there in 2024 - a personal reflection on the UX profession
2023 is a year in which I’ve learned much more about management than 2021 plus 2022. I have witnessed the recession of the tech industry and was put in the most challenging situation where the company I worked for was shut down. But that was not the worst; I have seen my team members be laid off, and no one would be prepared for that situation. We have been talking a lot about the people who have been laid off, but there are not so many articles from the managers’ perspective who see their team chopped down to half the size. I was up all night thinking about what to say to the team, both the laid off and the ones who stayed, how to let them understand the situation but still be professional enough to be a presentative of the company.
2023 has raised many questions for me about the UX and Product design profession and my career. I had doubts sometimes; I questioned myself about the roles and the jobs I would have in the future. Design and UX are still young compared to other professions, and we are moving too fast. We didn’t have enough time to establish UX in Vietnam and then we needed to focus on Product Design. There wasn’t enough time for anything to be properly learned and developed.
2023 has seen many more design courses, instructors, and teachers trying to teach design and UX to the younger generation. I also joined them. I opened new courses to provide enough time to teach and grow properly. I was too afraid as well because I was the person who was really against the design courses, so I tried to be as low profile as possible, thinking I would only teach and mentor those who trust in me. I hope I could help you in some way.
The Growth Mindset
However, as concerned and skeptical as it can be in 2024, I believe we will improve. It turned out that all the hard work, all the doubts, all the stresses, and all the time that I felt lost had been paid off for 2024. That was because of the consistency I’ve been focusing on in the last 3 or 4 years. It paid off for a better future that I’m getting into now. I believe the most critical mindset is the growth mindset. This mindset helped me a lot through this challenging time. I think you should have that as well. These are the most important thoughts that I think are essential to continue to grow in the next year:
Don’t be afraid: calculated risks are better than no risk
Embrace and get over the challenge because you will sooner face them, and you will grow much faster if you can overcome the challenge. Even though there would be risks in some decisions, it’s better to have a risk that is well calculated than taking no risk at all.
Solve problems strategically
If you want to grow further in any organization or company, you need to solve the problems of others, not just users but other stakeholders and departments. To find the grey area nobody wants to touch on and solve the problems there. More than that, choose the issues to solve wisely. You can’t solve everything, but you can select the problem that might impact the business or help essential stakeholders.
Always learn something new and get to know new people
Every year, find a new interest to learn and refresh your mind. More importantly, new things help widen your view. It enables you to get to know more people and extend your circle of networks. And who knows, you might need some from your new friends in the future.
Have a goal and stick to it.
Always set an objective or a goal for your career and your life. Try to imagine who you can be and who you want to be in the future. Understand yourself so your goal can be as realistic but ambitious as possible. By having a clear imagination of yourself, you start to manifest and begin to move toward that goal. I didn’t give a real name for my goal, but I always imagined how I would be shortly and what I would do, and year after year, I started to move toward the goal I always dreamt of.
Give gratitude
Most importantly, always give gratitude to everything and everyone around you. There would be no “me” at this moment without the support of others. Gratitude is as important as success. It gives us the right positive mindset when we fail and even when we succeed.
Looking ahead
Take on AI
2023 is the year that I’m starting to use AI as my assistant, and I’m beginning to believe in this new technology. It has been there the whole time, but I was skeptical initially. But recently I have been using it very often. It helped me summarize the research much faster, saving time and reducing the effort spent on any research. So don’t be afraid of AI; take advantage of it and use it to help us more. Above is a picture I created using Midjourney; it has been my new desktop wallpaper, and I’m considering a more extensive collection soon.
Open a new course for Product Design.
Last year, when managing the team and talking to many designers, I discovered a gap that many young designers may have missed when they want to get into UX and UI design, which is the foundational and essential skills of:
Interaction design
Information Architecture
Research
Analysis
System thinking
Without some of the skills above, designers usually find it difficult and take more time to solve design problems. I want to help new designers design more effectively and focus more on the product, the user, and the business. Become less stressed and be more creative.
Find more details of the course here: https://www.growthdesign.coach/course/product-design-foundation
Write more
I realized I had not written much in 2023, which was not good for me. I hope to get back to writing more soon and deliver higher quality for everyone.
I’ve been following you for a while, and I also learned a lot from your resources. Good luck on your next journey!