Persistent, dramatic changes are taking place that influence our work, communities, and personal lives and understanding what it means to learn, respond, and succeed will take changes in how we evaluate it all. A key feature of change in a complex system is that once its shifted, it never goes back; there’s no ‘undoing’ what’s …
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 »
This week, the world is noticing what happens when we ignore climate change. The alarms are (literally) ringing, and designers must answer the call. I am not arrogant enough to presume I know what to do to solve our issues of the day. But I know enough to suggest hundreds of things that can make …
Strategic Foresight can do more than help us to see what might come, it can help us to live better lives today. Using the example of well-being we look at how design with foresight can help us create a better present while shaping our preferred future. What if we could live in the future today? …
Earth Day provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our place on this planet. The planet needs action not just reflection. Lessons from psychological science can help us convert good intentions into planetary health. Beginning in 1970, much of the world recognizes April 22nd as Earth Day. The event was established as a means …
Our future depends on our ability to change how we see ourselves and the world and act on it — and it pays to know how this works. Climate change is here (as if there was much doubt). After decades of cautious language, scientists are now speaking about climate change in unequivocal terms. The future …
Innovation is emotional work and it’s time to connect our feelings and thoughts to fuel our change efforts and actions. I recently read an interview between Yancey Strickler and Clare Farrell, co-founder of The Extinction Rebellion (XR) movement that attracted my attention. The interview was part of Strickler’s Ideaspace podcast and titled ‘from hope to …
Design is far too important not to be shared and made as accessible as possible as our future literally depends on it. Design is not a luxury. Design is what will shape our world to come. Our ‘next’ will be designed by us and those design choices will shape who benefits, how, and what influence …
If there was a word we could use to define the current times, paradox would certainly have to be a leading candidate. Can we learn to love this seemingly maddening force or are we doomed to accept this emergent complexity? This first in a series looks at some of the paradoxes of the day, what they …
