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 …
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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 …
Design and Design Thinking are foundational pathways to change-making and innovation. How do we know what we’ve created is doing what we think it is and whether it’s making a positive difference? Design and Design Thinking comprise the bedrock of good innovation. Design is the intentional creation of things to serve a purpose, and like …
Knowing what you have influence over, what you don’t, and what’s in between can be the difference in creating possibility and hope or despair and confusion. The term sphere of influence was coined to refer to nation’s geopolitical power and used as a guide to frame a given country’s social, economic, political and military strategy. …
Climate change will continue to pose ever-greater challenges to how we live, work, and organize ourselves. A recent conference has helped inspire some ways to think about how we might do this better. Natural systems are all around us, even if they are hidden. In urban centres, much of what we call ‘nature’ is reduced …
In my previous post, I wrote about using metrics that are as much about reflecting width (joy, quality) as length (longevity, quantitative performance). In this post, I look at how that applies to organizations. I’ve encountered relatively few organizations that are driven — if they are being honest — by quality, depth, and richness as …
The finger-pointing to the moon is a model, not a truth. What happens when our models and frameworks become held as truths instead of guides? There’s an often rephrased Zen quote attributed to the Buddha that says: Do not confuse the finger pointing to the moon for the moon itself. Zen Phrase Often our models, …
Two simple words can make the difference between seeing something that just “is” to something that could be almost anything we want. Noema Magazine recently published an article from Yakov Feygin and Nils Gilman entitled The Designer Economy. Feygin and Gilman are not traditional designers looking at products and services, they are business writers and …
The AI Revolution is here. How we can adapt our nervous systems to deal with the pace and scope of the changes around us? Charlie Warzel’s Galaxy Brain newsletter from The Atlantic is among the best venues for insights into the cultural issues associated with technology. Warzel’s astute observations and commentary on not just what …
