My closing plenary at IA Summit 2010 in Phoenix, AZ. Sunday, April 11, 2010.

1. Transcending
Our Tribe
Whitney Hess
whitney@whitneyhess.com
http://whitneyhess.com
@whitneyhess
❦

2. ﬔe Truth
About Me
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

3. I’m amazed at the
position I find myself
in today
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

4. IA Summit ’09:
My first public solo presentation
IA Summit ’08:
My first IA Summit
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

5. IA Summit Closing Plenaries:
2005 - Andrew Dillon
2006 - Peter Merholz
2007 - Rashmi Sinha
2008 - Andrew Hinton
2009 - Jesse James Garrett
2010 - Whitney Hess
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

6. IA Summit Closing Plenaries:
2005 - Andrew Dillon
2006 - Peter Merholz
2007 - Rashmi Sinha
2008 - Andrew Hinton
2009 - Jesse James Garrett
2010 - Whitney Hess WTF!
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

7. I don’t need you
to tell me
how green I am
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

8. Synchronicity
brought me here
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

9. Who I Am Who I Want to Be
{ My pursuit of happiness
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

10. gapingvoid.com

11. ﬔe Tribe
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

12. You are not alone
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

13. Egos: few
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

14. “If I have seen further it
is by standing upon the
shoulders of giants.”
– Isaac Newton
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

15. Who is your mentor?
Who calls you their mentor?
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

16. “Knowing where one belongs
can transform an ordinary person
– hardworking and competent
but otherwise mediocre –
into an outstanding performer.”
– Peter F. Drucker
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

18. Love
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

19. Do what you love
in the service of people
who love what you do
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

20. Is this your job or your
passion?
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

21. Why do you care?
Why are you here?
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

22. Work
vs.
Life’s work
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

23. ﬔis isn’t a job,
it’s a calling
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

24. ﬔisIsIndexed.com

25. Our
Common
Mission
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26. We help people
enhance their own lives
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

27. ﬔe Butterfly Effect
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

28. We want to
change the world
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

29. If you wanna be somebody,
if you wanna go somewhere,
you better wake up
and pay attention
– Sister Act 2
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

30. ﬔisIsIndexed.com

31. Wake-Up
Call
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

32. It’s not about you
(or us)
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

33. We design systems
that enable more
successful behaviors,
but we don’t make them.
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

34. “Like so many brilliant people,
[we] believe that
ideas move mountains.
But bulldozers move mountains
– ideas show where the
bulldozers should go.”
– Hugh MacLeod
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

35. It’s time to focus our energy
outside of the UX tribe,
to become recognized leaders
to makers & management
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

36. How do we gain
influence?
Over our companies,
colleagues and clients
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

37. “ﬔe price of greatness is
responsibility.”
– Winston Churchill
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38. Source unknown

39. What’s
Holding Us
Back?
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

40. We heroize the tools
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

41. A fancy tool is just
a pillar to hide behind
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

42. We limit ourselves
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

43. We accommodate out of guilt.
We attack out of anger.
We avoid out of fear.
– William Ury
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44. We’re afraid to be wrong
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45. You screw up every day
and everyone
already knows it.
But do you admit it?
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

46. Celebrate
Fear
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

47. Fear is growth
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

48. Love hurts
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

49. Live in pursuit of the OSM
(Oh Shit Moment)
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

50. Fail magnificently
(Love demands that you do)
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

51. “Not doing it –
when you know full well
you had the opportunity –
that hurts far more than
any failure.”
– Hugh MacLeod
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

52. ﬔisIsIndexed.com

53. Perfection ≠ Credibility
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

54. ﬔis is my biggest OSM
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

55. Promote
Inclusion
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

56. Recognize the
destructive impact
of your words
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

57. “If you try to
dominate people,
you are already defeated.”
– Terry Dobson, master of Aikido
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

58. Be assertive without
being aggressive
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

59. “Your intellectual arrogance
is causing
disabling ignorance.”
– Peter F. Drucker
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

60. All human beings have a
basic need to be
recognized
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

61. We Need
To Lead
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

62. Chutzpah
(a.k.a. audacity)
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63. Conviction
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

64. Adaptability
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65. Act As If
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66. True leaders inspire
others to lead
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

67. Our
Legacy
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

68. Some say they have
20 years’ experience,
when all they really have is
one year’s experience,
repeated 20 times.
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

69. Can your company
succeed without you?
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

70. Can your company
succeed without you?
(No? Are you proud of that?)
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

71. What is our legacy?
(Is it outside this room?)
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

72. Let’s not be a footnote in
a technology textbook
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

73. Our legacy rests on all of
our shoulders
Whitney Hess ❦ @whitneyhess

75. ﬔank you.
Whitney Hess
whitney@whitneyhess.com
http://whitneyhess.com
@whitneyhess
❦
ﬔe Radical Leap by Steve Farber
ﬔe Radical Edge by Steve Farber
ﬔe Power of a Positive No by William Ury
Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod
Managing Oneself by Peter F. Drucker