Farm Odyssey – Use of Visualization Tools to Design a New Life on the Farm 

 Challenge 

 Growing up on a farm in Iowa 30 plus years ago , I never would have imagined taking an online course to   learn design concepts and tools that could be applied to reimagine the family farm , but here we are ! The   presenting challenge is an aging father who is very set in his ways , and with good reason – he has done   extremely well with past farm methods and still loves his work at age 78 . In fact , he feels that 114 years   on the farm is not out of reach . And being his only son , seeing him do these risky activities ( like climbing   a grain bin and driving heavy equipment to town ) with poor hearing and limited mobility has made me   realize it is time to design a new way of managing the farm . 

 Selection 

 To imagine this new way , I have decided to use visualization tools to help us see alternative paths   forward . During this Coursera course I came upon a book titled ‘ Design Your Life ’ by Dave Evans – a   Design instructor at Stanford University . In it he provides a wonderful visualization tool called the   Odyssey Planning Worksheet , along with some powerful questions for reflection . Both my dad and I are   very visual thinkers and enjoy exploring alternative options . As described in week 1 of the course ,   visualization engages the right brain and can create a creative approach to imagining new opportunities 

 Application 

 The worksheets have yet to be reviewed with my father , but it is my goal to sit down with him after the   busy harvest season and visualize the opportunities . I have completed a draft version to confirm the tool   is appropriate for use , and identified the following process : The Odyssey Planning Worksheet will allow   us to visualize 3 different options to pursue : 1 ) continue the ( very manual ) current process of farming ; 2 )   collaborate with my cousin to contract some of the planting and harvesting activities ; 3 ) rent the land   and sell the farm equipment . 

 With each alternative plan , the worksheet includes visual gauges to determine resources , likability ,   confidence and coherence of the plan . The full link to the Odyssey Planning Worksheet can be found   here : http://designingyour.life/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/DYL-Odyssey-Planning-Worksheet-v21 . 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from visual exercises in the past , and anticipate with this discussion , is that when   people have the ability to draw or see things in a worksheet they engage their creative side and become   less defensive about current thoughts or processes . I ’ve seen this work time and again with project   teams at work and am excited to work together with my father on designing a new way forward - one   that limits his risk as an aging farmer and opens up new ideas for future investment and farm   management . 

 What I really appreciate about the Odyssey Planning Worksheet is that it combines an opportunity to   explore a few options and then visualize how confident we are with certain plans . It also provides a   rough draft timeline for key events that will need to happen along the way for each plan . It literally   places people ‘ on the same page ’ working collaboratively , generating a new future . 

 Design thinking can be applied to so many challenges , or ‘ problemtunities ’ as we have called them at   work . In this case , design thinking can be used to reimagine life on the farm but I also see now that   visualization is lacking in my life – I need more of it ! At work as a project manager , I have realized   visualization tools can be used to facilitate many different team processes ( timeline discussions , task   prioritization , team roles & responsibilities , etc ) . As a next action of this course I plan to expand on the   power of visualization by attending Dan Roam ’s Napkin Academy . Who knows , maybe my future self   involves being a Black Belt Master of Visual Presentations consultant while working remotely from the   farm in Iowa ! 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Farm Odyssey – Use of Visualization Tools to Design a New Life on the Farm 

 Challenge 

 Growing up on a farm in Iowa 30 plus years ago , I never would have imagined taking an online course to   learn design concepts and tools that could be applied to reimagine the family farm , but here we are ! The   presenting challenge is an aging father who is very set in his ways , and with good reason – he has done   extremely well with past farm methods and still loves his work at age 78 . In fact , he feels that 114 years   on the farm is not out of reach . And being his only son , seeing him do these risky activities ( like climbing   a grain bin and driving heavy equipment to town ) with poor hearing and limited mobility has made me   realize it is time to design a new way of managing the farm . 

 Selection 

 To imagine this new way , I have decided to use visualization tools to help us see alternative paths   forward . During this Coursera course I came upon a book titled ‘ Design Your Life ’ by Dave Evans – a   Design instructor at Stanford University . In it he provides a wonderful visualization tool called the   Odyssey Planning Worksheet , along with some powerful questions for reflection . Both my dad and I are   very visual thinkers and enjoy exploring alternative options . As described in week 1 of the course ,   visualization engages the right brain and can create a creative approach to imagining new opportunities 

 Application 

 The worksheets have yet to be reviewed with my father , but it is my goal to sit down with him after the   busy harvest season and visualize the opportunities . I have completed a draft version to confirm the tool   is appropriate for use , and identified the following process : The Odyssey Planning Worksheet will allow   us to visualize 3 different options to pursue : 1 ) continue the ( very manual ) current process of farming ; 2 )   collaborate with my cousin to contract some of the planting and harvesting activities ; 3 ) rent the land   and sell the farm equipment . 

 With each alternative plan , the worksheet includes visual gauges to determine resources , likability ,   confidence and coherence of the plan . The full link to the Odyssey Planning Worksheet can be found   here : http://designingyour.life/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/DYL-Odyssey-Planning-Worksheet-v21 . 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from visual exercises in the past , and anticipate with this discussion , is that when   people have the ability to draw or see things in a worksheet they engage their creative side and become   less defensive about current thoughts or processes . I ’ve seen this work time and again with project   teams at work and am excited to work together with my father on designing a new way forward - one   that limits his risk as an aging farmer and opens up new ideas for future investment and farm   management . 

 What I really appreciate about the Odyssey Planning Worksheet is that it combines an opportunity to   explore a few options and then visualize how confident we are with certain plans . It also provides a   rough draft timeline for key events that will need to happen along the way for each plan . It literally   places people ‘ on the same page ’ working collaboratively , generating a new future . 

 Design thinking can be applied to so many challenges , or ‘ problemtunities ’ as we have called them at   work . In this case , design thinking can be used to reimagine life on the farm but I also see now that   visualization is lacking in my life – I need more of it ! At work as a project manager , I have realized   visualization tools can be used to facilitate many different team processes ( timeline discussions , task   prioritization , team roles & responsibilities , etc ) . As a next action of this course I plan to expand on the   power of visualization by attending Dan Roam ’s Napkin Academy . Who knows , maybe my future self   involves being a Black Belt Master of Visual Presentations consultant while working remotely from the   farm in Iowa !
### Output: 