Design, creativity, and design thinking
Asking if its better to have people work in a physical office together or from home is the wrong question if you’re not willing to look at the work itself. Since COVID-19 forced the world’s office workers home as their base for the better part of 36 months the world of commercial real-estate hasn’t been …
Work Design For People and Production Not Places Read More »
Creative ideas, new insights, and sustained action thrive in a community. As the world adapts to new ways of organizing and distributing our work, it’s worth considering what kind of spaces support this. I work with organizations seeking to innovate and rarely does the topic of space come up at the start of the conversation. …
The famous Dutch cycling culture didn’t always exist; it was designed. A look at how this came to pass can help us to understand what it means to transform culture and keep it healthy. There are lessons to be learned whether you’re building a bike culture or transforming your organization. If you think of life …
Unlocking Organizational Change: Learning from the Cultural Phenomenon of Dutch Cycling Read More »
The confusion between whether something is used to teach or to guide underlies much of the dissatisfaction with the use of models to inform the way we work, learn, and behave. Let’s talk about systems and models — but stick with me, this is a practical and not just academic matter. I’ll start with a …
Seth Godin’s recently published book, The Song of Significance, looks at how we organize our work and the message is profound if we’re ready to hear the song. I’ve written about Seth Godin many times in this space. Seth has written about the issues of work and education and making a difference in thousands of …
Canadian wildfires are ravaging millions of hectares of forests prompting the evacuation of thousands of people and smoke plumes that are affecting millions. It’s a case study in how we address the psychology of climate change, invoke systems thinking about health, and apply what we know about design to it all. In a recent interview …
Wildfires: When Sparks Lead to Flames Across Systems Read More »
Creativity is something highly valued in individuals, yet is rarely supported in organizations. That requires designing a creative culture. If you don’t create a lot, you won’t be able to ship (what you create) because everything will be too precious to give away Seth Godin Creative work requires an exercise in ways of thinking and …
While much is made of purposeful innovation labs and high tech solutions, much innovation happens by cobbling things together on the go and seeing what works. When we’re looking to respond to a changing situation, innovation, and create something new to serve the examples often shared are dissatisfying. That’s how I feel about most case …
“Set it and forget it” might be a phrase that works with late-night infomercial products, but it’s not fitting for modern design. Next is now and that requires a new way to seeing, thinking, and making. Let me start by saying that this article ends with practical options for action and suggestions, but I need …
Strategic Design For What’s Now, Next and Beyond Read More »
Big Skills describe something that outwardly seems like an impressive singular act but is actually made up of many small ones, sometimes done modestly. Knowing what these might be for you can take small things and make them grow. It’s tempting to want to find the one big skill that will set you apart. But …
