2020 Mentor


Brian Peterson

Product Design Manager at Affirm Inc.

Career Development:

Create & Design Your North Stars

Whether you want to change the world, get that next job, or looking to get that raise you deserve, self-advocacy and goal setting are flexible frameworks to equip you to execute and materialize your badassery. If you are just starting in your career or are looking to set your next milestones, goal setting can create personalized roadmaps to empower you to design the career/life you want. Don’t be mistaken, this is not a Tony Robbins seminar, but there will be a ton of high-fiving and a bit of energy talk though.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Jen Sincero, “You are a badass”

Join Brian to take control of your career and fly through the cosmos.

Beginner Level:
  • Should have a general excitement about wanting to take ownership of your growth/career
  • Prepared to have discussions and spend a small bit of time outside of sessions noting/exploring goals
  • Interest in the cosmos
Session Topics:
  • Goals and self-advocacy intro, why are goals important? What makes a good goal, how goals should serve you, good strategy bad strategy, why do we make goals?
  • What drives you and where do your goals come from (write your obituary)
  • What do your design career goals look like? 3yrs, 5yrs, 15yrs, lifetime?
  • What do you want to achieve in the next year or so?
  • Frameworks for creating goals (smart goals, measuring, experimental mindset) and making roadmaps for how to get those short/long goals. (1wk, 1mo, 3mo, 6mo, 1yr…)
  • Collecting data and making a case for yourself (how to talk about your goals and wins), how to create and tangify goals for work and growth.
  • How goals can be a powerful vehicle for yourself and collaborating with other team members in day to day product work.
  • How to turn your meat computer into a dragon/unicorn/gold tiger barreling through space and star stuff.
Takeaways:
  • A foundational set of tools to create goals and create action plans for them.
  • A basic actionable plan to speak with your manager/boss or as a manager/boss on creating and talking about career growth goals.
  • A mindset of anything is possible, even becoming a space cruising unicorn.

Brian is a Product Design Manager at Affirm Inc. He is a designer, creator, and strategist, specializing in discovery, agile design methodology, and design operations. High fives are his most valuable currency.

With experience in design for almost a decade, Brian has worked closely with senior leadership, directors, and cross-functional departments to redefine organizations through design. In this time, Brian has worked closely with industry leaders to push forward digital innovations in sectors including Online gaming, Fashion, E-commerce, Enterprise customer support, Finance, and design process/training.

Brian’s career includes experience as a cosmic traveler, design lead, and a design director for a variety of challenging product engagements and teams. Brian’s recent challenge is building and growing a design team for Affirm Inc. in their new Chicago office, with the mission to create world-changing, honest financial products.

Featured Talk: Goal Setting for Growth
Linkedin: Brian Peterson
Instagram: @ironcobratv

Talk to Brian about:

Conan the Barbarian, Tropical Shirts, Outer Space, and/or Illustration/Animation