Perspectives
The Five Whys of Taylor Swift
One of the things I like about design thinking is the vast array of tools available in the proverbial toolbox, particularly the ones that help uncover underlying themes. These tools allow us to understand and empathize with people in meaningful, human ways. One...
The Workman’s Approach to Innovation: A Lesson from Chris Stapleton
In a recent interview, Grammy-winning artist Chris Stapleton shared insights into his creative process that extend beyond the realm of music and into the broader landscape of innovation. His words shed light on two crucial aspects of innovation: the intentional,...
What we can learn from Rick Rubin on communication, boundaries, and wanting people to like us
“Can we make it less cold?” I was listening to legendary record producer Rick Rubin’s appearance on the Dax Shepard podcast, and Rick uttered that simple phrase. Out loud. I could feel my body tense up, and the runaway train that is my brain was well out of the...
Did You Feed Your Soul Today?
I know it’s important to begin each day with self-care — simple rituals that get your mind and body right. Meditation. Exercise. Spiritual pursuits. Journaling. Intentionally carving out that time is so critically important to being a happy and productive human.
Except I don’t do it. It’s far easier for me to hop out of bed and race down the litany of to-do’s and handling “this one little work thing”. Before long, morning has turned to afternoon and the hamster wheel is still spinning. Oftentimes I’ve given away the best of my energy and brainpower to things that don’t require much of either.
The Super League: How Failing to Understand All Stakeholders Torpedoes Innovation
My only real exposure to soccer came in the second grade, where I spent a brief period of time running around in the bee swarm that is a childrens' soccer game. The majority of that season, however, was spent in in chicken pox isolation, so it was a bit odd to get a...
What is Design Thinking?
What is Design Thinking? Design thinking is not so much "a thing", but more so "a way". Below are sourced excerpts that explain design thinking in more detail and provide links to original articles. "Design thinking is an innovative problem-solving process rooted in a...
Design Thinking, Organizational Development, and Dungeons & Dragons
The idea for this article has been percolating in my head for many months, and it’s something I’ve been hesitant to write for a long time. But here it is. I play Dungeons and Dragons. Even better, I believe that D&D has tremendous power to make organizations...
Making Mistakes Matures the Brain
Saw this Forbes article and it got me thinking about the Miles Davis quote, "If you're not making mistakes, it's a mistake." Too often, failure is positioned as a negative instead of a positive step forward toward inevitable success. "Making mistakes matures the...
What Does Your Organization Sound Like? Part II: Harmony, Jacob Collier, and Herbie Hancock
I discovered Jacob Collier recently, and then I saw he had made this video about harmony for Wired — and it features the legendary Herbie Hancock. What a fantastic breakdown of a complicated topic – and done in a way that resonates with each target audience. There is...
What Does Your Organization Sound Like? Part I: Equalization and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody
Recently I had a chance to catch up with the brilliant and insightful Valdis Krebs, who does all sorts of fascinating work on social network analysis. After one if his talks in Europe, an attendee approached him and posed this query: “It’s great to see what an...
Stop Weaponizing HR Assessments
I love HR assessments. They provide interesting insights to personalities, behaviors and skills. They make for interesting conversation around the water cooler or dinner table. But while lots of organizations run assessments, many of those same organizations are...
A Punch is Just a Punch — Leadership Lessons from Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee once said, “a punch is just a punch.” (Not to be confused with Freud’s apocryphal quote “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”) Bruce was essentially talking about the learning process and the winding path to expertise. The journey to becoming an expert...