Week 4: ??????

MONDAY

I hosted an awesome UX Book Passion talk at CPHUX with Anne Cathrine Wind Fallesen about her book "Udviklere er ogs? mennesker" ≈ "Developers are humans too"

It was inspiring to hear her thought on how we can improve communications on the path to working better and avoiding wasted efforts. It was an intimate setup that invited open and vulnerable conversations. Hard stories were shared and it felt like everyone in the room grew a bit together.

?? So thank you Luiza Varella , Christian Wreem Munch , Bianca Giordani , Bailey Doolittle , Erzsébet Bálint , and Anamaria Roxana Rosu for opening up and listening with us ??

TUESDAY

After a morning with my baby girl, I jumped on the train to Odense. First I got to visit my great friend Astrid Juul-Larsen (who is looking for a job in event management.) I've always appreciated doing things while talking so it was awesome to take down their Christmas decorations while discussing the world situation.

Then I went for a, I'd call it career-changing meeting. I met with Luciano Lykkebo and Marc Lukas Fischer for a lovely dinner at Restaurant Fynboen . We talked about the potential synergy effect between CPHUX and UXN , our shared ambition to expand and take over Europe (honestly I want world domination *insert manic laughter*)

Over the years I've heard people over and over say that my dream to make a UX community was "too niche, there isn't enough money in community building, your target market is too hard to reach" and suddenly am I finding myself with two ambitious, successful and hearty humans who see the potential in what I have built (with the help of many others), sees in the business potential, believes in the target group and acknowledges that the hard work I've put into it shows. I'm completely honest that we're currently losing out on a lot of business opportunities because I'm a community builder, not a salesperson. Luciano asks me what I love doing and it's so clear to me. I love networking, making professional friends, understanding a city's UX status quo, and making that knowledge transparent. That is how I believe we can raise the industry standard in UX and I take pride in people getting the 'right jobs' and being critical because they are better informed from the get-go.

The meeting was an overall success in my book and I'm excited to hear more next week once they've had a chat with the 3rd and final partner.

WEDNESDAY

Every month I sit down and look through a bunch of event calendars to gather all the upcoming events happening in Denmark in the UX space. I love doing it, despite it being manual data entry, because I get an overview of what is moving in the UX space.

I got to welcome Mirco Pagliarani who is a Milan-based senior Service Designer looking to immigrate to Denmark, and therefore saw CPHUX as an opportunity to learn about the eco-system before making the jump ?? I feel so humble that our work gets to influence good people like Mirco lives ?? So if you know anyone looking for an experienced Senior Service Designer, do get in touch with him ??

Straight after | e-met up with Gui Webster where I got to hear his story on how he ended up in UX or digital product design which he calls himself, for my podcast Why UX? ?? I love these stories because each of them is so unique. Gui started in plastic science/manufacturing and got into 3D, moved into industrial design, got into graphic design, and then ended in UX ?? He's originally from Brazil, but has been in Denmark for quite a while. Like so many others he came while he was studying.

It's funny because sometimes I hear this fear from native Danes about our educational system being misused by foreigners (yeah, let's put the entire world's population in one box ??) and I must say that I see SO many stay-and-work hard to become a part of the Danish society. Wanting to give back on so many levels, not just the tax one that most people care about. I personally think we become so much richer as a country when we get this positive influence from others. I'm proud to have so many 'foreign' friends and I want to teach my daughter to speak English early so she can become a world citizen.

On another note, do I firmly believe every human being should live minimum 6-months in a different country to understand their own culture/country better...

THURSDAY

With Olivia sleeping in her baby carrier on my belly, I had a walking-phone meeting with Lise Bach Lystlund . She is the founder of co-coders which is a development community. We have founder each other as community builders and it's unique to talk with such a like-minded individual. On paper, I guess we are in the boring box labeled "struggling-female-social-impact-founders" but when we talk, I feel the same fire in her, I have for the people that I get to impact with my community. The financial struggle that comes with not wanting to half-ass it, but builds something that lasts and makes a difference in people's lives. We have both recently lost key people in our business and it was nice to talk through what that means both positively and negatively. I'm grateful to have allies like her and thanks to Daniel Kowal for introducing us.

I finally finished the proposal which is LOOOOONG overdue to Henrik Harsbo from PensionDanmark on a partnership with CPHUX. Being a perfectionist with a limited attention span when it comes to writing things, this is honestly such an undertaking for me ?? Another example of why teaming up with the UX Nordic peeps, makes so much sense ??

After having been away from FW for a week and a half it was incredible to come into an almost filled class. The ladies gave their all, and although I wasn't popular when presenting our chest workout as pushups, the many alternatives on how to do it to amp up or down the intensity helped. I started my run, but only did half of it. It just wasn't my day, and I knew pushing through it wouldn't have changed anything. Before coming home, I had to hang up 3 loads of laundry and my fingers were freezing when I got up. After a warm shower, it was nice to cuddle up with my husband in bed, because Olivia now starts the night by sleeping in her own bed #babyvictory

FRIDAY

Olivia woke up at 6-ish and Lars got up with her, while I stayed in bed. Around 7:30 she showed signs of sleepiness and we had to make a decision. Should we skip baby swimming class for the 3rd time, or go, knowing there would be a risk that she would freak out... We decided to go with an agreement that we would leave if she showed any signs of not being okay with the situation.

Good thing we went, she had a blast, now splashing with both arms and legs ????

Lars wasn't supposed to be on full-time paternity leave, which was why we chose this morning's class. But with him being home, these early sessions don't really suit 2 B-people. I asked the admin people if we could change to a later class and now we get to go every Thursday from 13-13:30. Just thinking about it, it makes me happy to know our mornings will be more relaxed. Lars can walk there with the stroller, instead of us having to use the car.

Jayden Hanly met me at Kvalifik for a 'Future of CPHUX' meeting. I explained the situation to UX Nordic and that they weren't okay with me having a 25% passive partner. The plan is, we need a third-party evaluation of the company and then I will buy him out of my own pocket. If anyone has any tips on this, PLEASE let me know ?? ??

It's always nice to chat with Jayden, and it feels a bit weird that he is going to be completely out of the business, but it is what is right for him, myself, and the business.

Next week I'm doing a talk for the students at Service Design Lab, Aalborg University so I was preparing my talk and coordinating with María Vitaller del Olmo . I'm really pumped to talk to their students. If I can help just a few of them make better career choices it positively impacts our entire industry.

Giorgia Meton came over and we walked through our event promotion on SoMe and how we could make some improvements. It is really awesome to see her taking control of this role and always wanting to do better. I wish I like her at the age of 21 and would have found a student job in UX. But back then the world of UX hadn't even entered my worldview. She will have such an advantage once she graduates and that was actually a requirement from my side when I hired her. That she wanted a future in marketing. Who knows if that is where she lands, but the original desire needed to be there. It made me trust that she would apply herself because she understood that this is a stepping stone in her career.

Before leaving for the day, the Kvalifik team invited me for a taste of the new Carlsberg Group experimental brew. It's really fun to rate beers together but would never have been something I would come up with as a Friday afternoon initiative. I liked the beer flavor-wise which reminded me a bit of kombucha, but I needed some sparkles and probably wouldn't order it at a bar again ??

SATURDAY

I was invited to my BFF Sally Gregersen birthday, but unfortunately, I was sick the entire day ??

SUNDAY

Sick most of the day, but did have a lovely dinner with our baby-friend-couple Johanna Corvenius Kreiss , Brian, and their daughter Alice. Both Alice and Olivia are born on the 29th, but 1 month apart, so they celebrated 6 and 7 months of life ??

UPCOMING WEEK

Monday I have my 3rd "UX Job Seeker Work Session" with a focus on how to build a strong LinkedIn profile ?? ?? I love LinkedIn with all its limitations and flaws ??