My name is Dale Cody and I am in exactly the right place doing exactly the right thing for me. After a long successful career in the trenches as a Creative Director dreaming up branded ad campaigns, software apps, online games and dozens of other things, I’m much more interested in empowering others to reach their goals and achieve success than I am in most anything else. All along my career trajectory, I’ve also been invested in education. I taught for years as Adjunct Faculty, before accepting a position with IADT Seattle as Visual Communications Department Chair some years ago. All this has brought me to my current role as Instructional Designer and Educator, where I can combine all my skills and experience to create projects that really make a positive difference in people’s lives.
I am very challenging to label. In a world where people love using labels to quickly categorize and prioritize practically everything in life, that situation has both advantages and disadvantages for someone like me. I am a generalist’s generalist (see Multipotentialite) and curious about nearly everything. That doesn’t mean I’m a dilettante, nor does it mean I don’t strive hard for mastery in several select disciplines – because I most certainly do. I love the process of creation, exploration and education in all its forms. I want my work to be as excellent as possible. In some ways, this makes me a little harder to grok as a brand, but in practice I’ve found it has made me a stronger problem-solver for my clients, students and employers. After all, I want to provide as much value as possible for those that hire me. Mostly though, I love to teach, train and coach. I think learning should be fun. I know I prefer that approach regardless of whether I’m a student or an instructor.
My Unique Selling Proposition (USP) or Label – AmazAppLego. I synthesized this word from three companies I admire as an attempt at building in some degree of meaning for my own manufactured label. The first is from Amazon where a constant flow of new content is added to existing volumes with as much rich depth and breadth as possible. The second is from Apple where user-centered design and innovation drive process. The last is from Lego where imagination and creativity allow us all to play with joyful exuberance.
Here are a few fun facts:
- I am a published author of two books, one of which was an Amazon bestseller for a time. I have two more in the final stages of writing and editing.
- In 2013/2014, I put on a backpack and traveled first around the world, and then back and forth across America by car.
- I’ve been a serious rock climber since my teens. I have climbed all over the world including El Capitan in Yosemite, the Verdon Gorge in France, the Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro and in Thailand.
- My mom and sister were both national water ski champions in the same division, although at different times of course.
- I grew up in Canada, have dual citizenship and have lived in some interesting places including a cabin in the remote Southern Appalachia Mountains of North Carolina.
- I paid for college by working as a helicopter rappel forest-firefighter up in British Columbia, Canada for several seasons.
