On November 20th, I participated in the inaugural Rotman Business Design Initiative event by the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. The theme was Decoding Design for Innovation. The session I was involved in was moderated by Clay Chandler, (Executive Editor, Asia Fortune Magazine), and the legendary designer Bruce Mau and the wonderful Angele Beausoleil (Profesor of Business Design and Innovation at the Rotman School of Management).
Read MoreConstructive risk is expansive, has energy, and allows you to consider, What can go right? The opposite of this, is the constrictive, risk-averse, survival-focused mantra of What can go wrong? Risk assessment balances the two but I would propose that most of us tend to focus on what can go wrong over what could go right.
Read MoreI had my monthly catch up with a new friend, who I’ve only ever connected with via Zoom. He’s a designer, he’s also half-Japanese like me, and we are both fascinated with the subject of creativity. The basic conundrum we both aligned on is that there is the seemingly at-odds state of needing to make a living and the need to create. Ideally, we would be making a living from what we love doing but that’s often the exception, not the rule.
Read MoreI had an engrossing and philosophical discussion with the founders of Tea Leaves, a really beautiful tea company that abides from the principles of “Education, Enlightenment and Enchantment.” Their company has purpose beyond selling its high-quality teas that include thinking about the impact of design on the world, from biodiversity to climate change. I was introduced to them via Albert Shum, CVP of Design at Microsoft.
During our discussion, we talked about the role of ceremonies in design thinking. Let me explain what I mean by “ceremonies.” I’ll use Japanese examples but ceremonies appear in all cultures.
Simply put, in my definition:
Ceremonies are rituals that allow you to transition from the worldly to the profound.
Read MoreThe question of power, how to get it, how to maintain it, and how to wield it has been an area of fascination since the ascent of man. It makes sense. Power increases status and money and the ability to thrive. Or so it has been assumed.
Read MoreI’ve been interviewed on several podcasts recently about creativity (based in part on principles I wrote about in The Art of Creative Rebellion) and a common theme has come up throughout most of the conversations – what can design do during and after this pandemic? If there ever was a design problem that needs to be addressed, this is the one. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter.
Read MoreSo here’s my advice: Whatever you choose to do, do it without concern for how it compares or will be received by the unseen masses. You know deep inside what is Quality for you. You know if something is any good or works. You have your own standards. And if the work isn’t up to your standards, don’t fret. Just keep going. Do another painting, another chapter, another song. No one has to read your first draft but you.
Think and plan. But then true learning comes from the doing. The messy process of lurching towards truth.
Read MoreWe are all going to be spending a lot more time at home for the coming weeks, if not months. Besides adjusting to perhaps working from a shared office and having to balance spending time with our mates, spouses, children and pets while juggling the Zoom video calls, emails and Slack channels, it’s a good time to allow for contemplation: the ability to center for a moment, without distractions, both digital and analog, for a period of time. As I’ve mentioned in past essays, I find it helpful to use an app like Headspace or Waking Up to stop the monkey mind from constantly whirling in a manic fugue of thoughts that often just lead to anxiety, rather than constructive action.
Read MoreWhen I lived in San Francisco, a couple decades ago, I would draw every Sunday morning at a studio a few blocks away from my home in Noe Valley. I would carry my box of charcoal, pencils, erasers and drawing board down to a studio that focused on life studies. Sunday morning was an open, non-instructional, time and I paid for the opportunity to draw from a live model.
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When I walk into a bookstore or library, I’m often overwhelmed by the sheer number of books that are available. Thousands upon thousands. And these are only the books that actually made it through the process of publishing, marketing and press and actually got placed into a bookstore or online distribution. For every book published, there are thousands more, half-written, languishing in laptops or in dusty desk drawers.
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I was interviewed over the weekend by Dov Baron for his video-podcast called Curiosity Bites (my episode comes out in a couple of months -- stay tuned). Dov is a charismatic man whose resume runs from being a leadership coach to author to speaker to podcaster just to name a few arenas. Our discussion was very far-reaching and varied to say the least, running the gamut from design to art to business to languages and culture to being a parent. Underlying the whole discussion was the theme of creativity.
At one point I blurted out that, to me, creativity equates to freedom.
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One of the takeaways from the interview was a theme, which as obvious as it may seem, is to be true to your voice. Whatever that voice may be. This theme continued through the interviews with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, Dave LaChapelle, the photographer and even M. Knight Shyamalan, the film director. Shyamalan, famous in his 20’s for making The Sixth Sense, in 1999, found himself struggling for relevancy and studio interest in more recent years. The footage he shot a particular project was geared towards what he thought the studios would like and yet all the studios turned him down. He was in dire straits, as he’d actually mortgaged his house to pay for the shoot but he decided to revisit the footage and re-edit. Not trying to edit for an audience or a studio or a market but, rather, editing it the way he wanted it to be. This version of the project did sell. And it worked because he was true to his voice. They were all true to their individual voices.
Read MoreI wrote about doing something beyond your day job in my book, The Art of Creative Rebellion, and how it is additive to your ability to bring value to your job. I caution my design team from associating too heavily with their title or company brand – yes, it’s important to have pride in your company and your role but it’s also important to be a fully realized human being, with friends, family and passionate interests that allow you to fill your creative battery.
Read MoreAs I write this essay I’m sitting outside, on a balcony, overseeing the Santa Monica mountains. There’s the wafting citronella scent of a burning candle that keeps the flies at bay; a light breeze; the whirl of hummingbirds; the buzz of the bees coming up from the koi pond and the snorting of my French Bulldog, Momo, at my feet. Yes, it’s bucolic, idyllic, and I’m grateful for not having to put up with the blare of car horns and the thumping of helicopter blades overhead (even though motorcyclists do love to rumble through the canyon at 7 am on Sundays) but most importantly I’m grateful for the lack of distraction. I can think. And the irony (or hypocrisy) that I’m writing this essay about disconnecting from screens on a MacBook Air isn’t lost on me but in this case, the interaction with the screen is active – I’m not passively intaking Instagram or Snapchat feeds.
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