Spring 2012 Business of Design Course
After looking through the course syllabus, these are the classes I’m most excited about:
4. THE “WHO,” “WHAT” and “HOW” OF BUSINESS (Business Model) – Feb 8
Lecture: What is a business model and how is it created?
I’m a very strategic person and I’ve always felt I think holistically about things. When it has come to the places I’ve worked in the past, I couldn’t help but consider other aspects that were related to what I was doing; business development and marketing, branding. customer experience, company culture, communication, process, etc. I realized this sort of thinking was going well beyond my role as a simple graphic and landscape designer. I was thinking at a much higher level, perhaps the business level. I feel I have important opinions about this, but because I lack the knowledge, experience, and words to express myself, it’s difficult to be taken seriously. I’m excited to take this course and learn from the ground up how a business is created.
5. THE ART OF SELLING - Feb 15
Lecture: What is a pitch? What are the characteristics of a good pitch? Why is it important to understand who your audience is before you develop your pitch?
This sounds like a lot of fun. Don Draper from MadMen anyone? I feel I have a lot of experience in creating the materials for presentations and project interviews, but I’ve never really given them myself. I have a knack for creating materials as I said, but I’d really like to sell someone on an idea.
7. NON-PROFITS - Feb 29
Lecture: Everything you need to know about founding and running a non-profit
I’m pretty sure I’ll work for company right out of school, but I have wondered about what it might be like to start up my own business. I don’t know much about non-profits, so I’m excited to learn more.
9. EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE (Culture & Hiring) – Mar 14
Lecture: A company’s internal culture should match its vision, values and the desires of its market; how to get hired
I’ve read and seen so much of all the cool design office cultures around. I’d love to learn how this is integrated and maintained from the ground up in starting and running a business.
11. – LEADERSHIP – Apr 4
Lecture: Why leadership matters. Personal leadership v business leadership v brand leadership. EQ “soft leadership” skills
There’s so much going around about how a business should be run and how people should be managed. Is a leader more important, or a vision? Steve Jobs was a visionary leader, but how strong and long will that vision go on now that he’s gone?
15. DESIGNING A LIFE (Wrapup) – May 2
Lecture/Discussion: Work/life balance.
I think this is incredibly important for everyone to have, but how do you integrate that kind of freedom and flexibility for your employees in the way the business is run?
I’m quite excited to take this class. Can you tell?
