Toolkit for Designers Working in Business Contexts

Smile. You've got plenty of reasons to be happy!

My personal Design Thinking toolkit as a designer working as a manager in a business context, includes sense of humor and happiness and a positive attitude.  As Richard Branson, Virgin CEO, in his recent post , I believe too that happiness is a great measurement of success.

First inconvenient is that some colleagues believe that being happy is just the opposite of being "professional" because  they associate value creation and professionality with being serious and arrogant: I believe just the opposite (and thank God my boss thinks the same). Being happy and smile means that you are confident about what you do and the responsibility that you are assuming. It means that you care and respect  your audience. It means that you are focus in what you are doing. It means that you are going to accept errors and unexpected situations nicely. It means that you are stating that it's ok to make mistakes, we'll solve them. I'll go further: 

I don't know of any inspiring, visionary leader with no sense of humor...Think about it.

Being transparent about your emotions isn't a weakness, quite the opposite: Emotional intelligence is widely recognized as a leadership quality, and being confident about your emotions is part of it, but leaders are expected to maintain a poker face. I rather laugh and try to make sense through laughter. 

An a piece of advise: Don't mess with a happy person...don't get it wrong...It's a very common misunderstanding believing that "happys" are weak...no, no, very wrong! Acting appropriately at the appropriate time...


Designers and innovators need mental peace (and space), time, pace and a crystal clear state of mind to look upon our world, as Proust would say, with fresh eyes and develop new ideas  and insights... But creativity is a live learning, an exhausting and arduous process and it can be a long and sometimes dangerous journey if you have gone through learning the trial and error lessons! 
I'm not going to focus this post in the difficulties but in the joy of overcoming the obstacles that gave designers the opportunity to design their way out of them and learn some valuable lessons in return. 

These are My Top Tens reasons to be happy and have a positive Design Thinking Attitude:

#1 reason to be a happy designer:  
The first and best victory is to conquer self. –Plato. 
This is a hard one but totally possible. It needs perseverance, will, empathy, modesty, forgiveness, acceptance, thrownness... This knowledge gained extends to everything you'd do. A creativity driven life needs a clear mind, free from past regrets so new ideas and insights would have space to grow.
(Ha,ha,ha...but this part was soooo difficult)

#2 reason to be a happy designer: 
Learning not letting yourself get frustrated by people. Sometimes don't fitting in a common stereotype can be so much fun! (Ha,ha,ha)

#3 reason to be a happy designer: 
Having achieve the ability to function in a hierarchy organitization while being a heterarchy at heart! (Ha,ha,ha) Haven't they noticed?

#4 reason to be a happy designer: 
Perseverance in following your intuition and imaginatively thinking and take the risk of predicting a solution. (Ha,ha,ha)

#5 reason to be a happy designer: 
Be human, be empathic. Liking and trusting people, no matter what!!!! (Ha,ha,ha)


#6 reason to be a happy designer: 
Learning the difference between being nice and being weak...and leaning to confront the great amount of people that haven't yet learned the difference. Being tough or elegant when needed (Ha,ha,ha)

#7 reason to be a happy designer: 

Cultivating patience: Learning to wait the right time, the right moment is an art. (Ha,ha,ha)

#8 reason to be a happy designer: 
Courage to fight for your ideas, your believes, yourself...Yes! (Ha,ha,ha)

#9 reason to be a happy designer:
Deep beliefs and a smiling Know-How...why not? Making sense through laughter is not weird, isn't it? (Ha,ha,ha)

#10 reason to be a happy designer:
Taking risks, failing, even making a fool out of yourself is ok...so what???? Let's try one more time...(Ha,ha,ha)


And the happiest AHA moment: 

YES!  "I made it and I'm still ME ! Isn't it amazing?" (Ha,ha,ha, ha,ha)

Let them think you are a fool and laugh! 

Happy New Year!

My inspirations:

Richard Branson: happiness is a great measurement of success 
Ranjan Malik: the fool and his kind of innovation
Reena Jana writing about John Maeda & The Art of Leadership

Jerry Seinfeld: How to Write a Joke

GK VanPatter Data Analytics meets Scrooge?

Maria Popova Brain Pickings Simone de Beauvoir on Ambiguity, Vitality, and Freedom

“The drama of original choice is that it goes on moment by moment for an entire lifetime.” by Brain Pickings

A Design Thinking Attitude

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) philosopher 

My favourite definition of Design Thinking it's got to do with finding the insight among chaos.My favorite insight  about Design Thinking is Martin Heidegger's THROWNNESS concept.

Design Thinking requires a set of professional skills grounded in operating in unstable contexts. Design Thinking mindset it's got to do with being able to coop with wildly different people from yourself and dealing with situations that are radically new... It's got to do with feeling comfortable with unexpected, unstructured and unpredictable; Design Thinking is about finding meaning and understanding out of human attitudes and mindsets that an unstable situation brings up.

Design-Thinking-Thrownnes is got to do with developing a survival intelligence applied to a constant evolving enviroment, totally focus on "think in order to act" versus think to "think some more"

Design Thinking it's got to do with THROWNNESS (German: Geworfenheit): It is a concept introduced by German philosopher Martin Heidegger to describe the interactions of the subject with its surroundings in the everyday life, that causes it to act upon instincts, immediate reactions to other people's language and actions, "flow with the situation," and immediate interpretations.
Once one accepts that not to act is also an action, Heidegger notes that one is 'thrown' into situations without being able to reflect on them first, for to reflect on them (not act) is also something that can be interpreted as an action. One therefore must rely on instinctual interpretations, and go with the flow.

Design Thinking is got to do with assuming that you are THROWN into a situation where you haven't been invited in most of the cases: It's about being ALWAYS AN OUTSIDER and feeling comfortable with it.

Design Thinking is about staying calm and focus under pressure: It's about listening to your instincts among the chaos and saying YES and NO clearly to you and the rest of the world.

Design Thinking is about finding synchronicity and serendipity. It's part of that Thrownness Mindset that needs to be on constant "alert mood", because it knows that sooner or later that knowledge is going to be needed: It is another kind of survival instinct.

Design Thinkers is about empathy: They know that they need to gain their audience trust in every single situation, therefore they need to figure out how to connect with people and creating meaningful connections.

Design Thinking is got to do with honesty. Experienced Design Thinkers know very well how to do their jobs...and one of them is understanding people and their social and emotional relationships in order to manipulate...but totally focus on an honest goal (Maybe this could be a nice definition of empathy: Being able to truly understanding other people's insights and weakness, and being respectful and honest about the use of that knowledge)


Design Thinking attitude is got to do with all written above. It's also the impossible search of understanding the DNA of millions of people...and  secretly say to oneself "I told you!"

This is a great video by Fred Collopy (Case Western Reserve University) and their project "Managing as Designing"

Mi Yo Virtual (Españoles Por El Mundo... De Las Ideas II)

Mi Yo Virtual ha tardado algunos años en decidirse a salir ahí fuera. En primer lugar porque yo no estaba segura acerca de la conveniencia de hacerlo (exceso de exposición, falta de privacidad, bla, bla, bla). Después porque estaba tratando de encontrar una estrategia que se ajustara a mi modo de pensar ... Cuando me quedé sin argumentos, tuve que reconocer la realidad: sencillamente me daba miedo dejar por escrito -con luz y taquígrafos- al alcance de todo el mundo -literalmente- qué me gusta, qué me mueve, cómo y qué pienso.

¿Por qué no hacerlo? ¿Mi Yo Virtual va a ser diferente a lo que soy en mi vida real?, ¿Acaso va a tener vida propia y va a decidir qué cuenta de mi sin consultarme?, ¿Va a opinar de forma diferente a cómo pienso yo?, ¿Va a ser alguien que no soy yo?

Me tranquilizó pensar en estas preguntas tan simples, porque claramente la respuesta es NO. 

Luego, ¿cuál es el autentico freno para no desarrollar El Yo Virtual? (si uno quiere hacerlo)

Mi Yo Virtual es una declaración pública de lo que soy, aceptando claramente que no deseo el anonimato y que he aceptado completamente mis peculidaridades, mi ideas y mis teorías propias. 

Mi Yo Virtual es un compromiso público conmigo misma y mis intenciones. Es un acto de valentía de alguna manera. Es también un alivio.

Mi Yo Virtual me complementa y me impulsa a profundizar un poco más cada día en el conocimiento que me interesa. Mi Yo Virtual está moviéndose por el mundo de las ideas en mi nombre, con los límites que elige, recogiendo lo que le gusta, opinando cuando quiere, conectando con las personas que la inspiran  y teniendo la oportunidad de estar en contacto con profesionales de gran talento.

A Mi Yo Virtual le gusta expresarse a veces en español (lengua materna) y a veces en inglés (no soy nativa): me ayuda a ampliar la conexión practicamente con todo el mundo. (Por cierto, me gustaría dar las gracias a mis seguidores de habla inglesa por su paciencia y generosidad).

Mi Yo Virtual me ha enseñado que, 

dirigiéndome a mis interlocutores (el resto del mundo) con autenticidad, respeto y empatía, recibo exactamente lo mismo que doy.

Estoy reconociendo en mi que necesito comunicarme (antes yo veía esto como una debilidad) y mi necesidad de intercambio no es particular, es universal.

Y por último compruebo en mi misma y en los demás la tolerancia ante lo distinto y que la necesidad de entender crea vínculos invisibles con personas desconocidas difíciles de describir. Creo que me hace más humana.

En definitiva: Mi Yo Virtual me ha enriquecido personalmente de tantas formas distintas, que todavía lo estoy procesando...

Os lo recomiendo.

My inspirations to write this post:


What are you doing when you feel more beautiful? by Jacqueline Novogratz
Grupo: NextDesign Leadership Network
"A Brief pause" by Ethan Kaplan
Mindfulness and Stammering

University Presidents Will Soon Find Social Media Presence a Must

My Virtual Me Manifesto (Acknowledging The Act Of Communicating )

MY VIRTUAL ME has taken her time to decide to get out there. Firstly because I wasn't sure about the idea of doing so (over exposure, lack of privacy, blah blah blah). Then because I was trying to find out a strategy that would fit my mindset ... And when I ran out of arguments, I had to acknowledge the reality: I was afraid to show-share what I like, what moves me, how and what I think. 

So here I am. Why not?

MY VIRTUAL ME is a public statement of who I am. It's me saying: I don’t desire anonymity AND I have fully embraced my inner nerd AND this is it.  

My Virtual Me is a public compromise with myself and my intentions. It's an act of courage in some way. It's a relief because I finally accept what a design thinking nerd I am. 

My Virtual Me complements me, and drives me to deepen a little more every day into the knowledge that feeds me and makes me happy. My Virtual Me is me out there, with the boundaries she chooses, picking what she likes, saying what she feels like saying, connecting with people that inspire her, and having the opportunity to engage into conversations when she feels like doing so. 

My Virtual Me is me in a flow. Me sharing. Me engaging. Me learning. Me understanding. My multiplied ME.

My Virtual Me likes to express herself sometimes in Spanish (native language) and sometimes in English (not native as you noticed) because she feels more connected to others in doing so. (By the way, I'd like to thank to my English speaking followers for their patience and generosity).



My Virtual Me has taught me that, 

by entrusting those who I talk to with the same level of respect, authenticity and empathy, I get exactly what I give in return.

I 'm acknowledging the act of communicating and I recognize in me the need to do so (I'm an introvert)...in other words: I need other people as much as they may need me .

And also, I'm aware that the need to understand is universal and creates invisible bonds with others that are difficult to define nor describe. And... makes me feel a little more human??

My Virtual Me has enriched me in so many ways...

This is a great epifany in my life that I am still processing...






My inspirations to write this post:


What are you doing when you feel more beautiful? by Jacqueline Novogratz
Grupo: NextDesign Leadership Network
"A Brief pause" by Ethan Kaplan
Mindfulness and Stammering

University Presidents Will Soon Find Social Media Presence a Must

Delivering Unsolicited Meaning: First They Ignore You...And Then You Win

First they ignore you...by Mahatma Gandhi

What does usually happen when a design thinker delivers unsolicited meaning to an audience that is not prepared to understand nor listen to anything out of their system of knowledge?

First they ignore you, 

You'd probably find silence when sharing new ways of thinking about a situation and giving existing things new meaning.

Let's face it: Most of the innovations happen because mad designers and innovators are so stubborn! 

As a Design Thinking practitioner, I believe it's necessary to master a kind of passionate excitement about the "finding" of the idea or meaning, and the "fighting" for make it happen. It's a kind of "design thinking CORE" that, together with some others, make you say with security: 

“This is going to work”.This is the way to go. I know it.

Designers don't take a NO for an answer: It might seems at first they do, but it's just another designer's trick. It's a step back to reconsider a new strategy to try again, and again to make an idea HAPPEN. 

...Then they laugh at you, 

Too many professional still don´t know how to adapt to an ever-evolving business environment.

I understand that challenging the COMMON conceptual structure used in constructing theories is hard for both parts:

• As the "challenger", you better be ready to a "your analysis has no rigor", and a few pity faces feeling sorry for you.
• As the "challenged", please consider that rationality is necessary when analyzing any situation, but it's a part of the process of understanding, especially when trying to innovate and find meaning in a fuzzy problem.

This is why Design Thinkers are undergirded with hard-core analytical and a broader data gathering, that includes observation and sense making of society in general, people, technology, emotions and developing of insights. 

  

Most senior managers and CEOs would trust in strategic concepts and logical deductions based on their "logical data gathering": They use tools such as benchmarking, analytical data, etc., to arrive to solid conclusions. Executives construct theories using their rationality and their conceptual structure and culture. They come to conclusions that make a lot of sense for them because the sense they find is soooo similar of what they found last year, and the year before... only reinforces current knowledge and produces small improvements to the status quo. 

...Then they fight you, 

A Design Thinking approach challenges the 100% rational methods...and that is... scary?
For some analytical thinking professionals I guess it is. But it won't go away: It's a fact that there are experts (innovator, design thinkers, scientists) who are able to identify industry trends and important big ideas way ahead of the rest of the professionals and, even more important, designers know how to network with other "interpreters" – customers, suppliers, intermediaries, designers, artists - who understand and shape the markets they work in.

A new approach means redesign the business as they know it. I guess that is scary too.

...Then you win. 

The “This is going to work” is a fact...two years later, the average time leaders need to understand unsolicited meaning delivered by one of those mad designers two years before...the problem is that, sometimes, it's too late.

And just for the record: 

1. Labelling people doesn't work anymore
2. Better listen the “This is never going to work” 
3. Some leaders just never get it....
4. Any business can commit to successful design thinking

My inspirations to write this post:

Changing the Rules of Competition by  Radically Innovating What Things Mean, by Roberto Vergant
The Generation M Manifesto by Umair Haque
THE END OF BLAH BLAH BLAH – END THOSE USELESS MEETINGS FULL OF TALK By Alexander Osterwalder

Be irrationally optimistic Jeff Haden
A new era of meaning By Tim Leberecht 

Design Thinking starts at the top 

BY JOHN MIZIOLEK

¿Cómo XXXXX El Diseñador Español?

Magritte. Presence of Mind (1960)

¿Cómo vive el diseñador español su profesión?, ¿Qué piensa sobre la situación actual?, ¿Qué análisis hace de la profesión en España?, ¿Y en el mundo?, ¿En qué nos afecta como colectivo?, ¿Qué puede aportar el diseño a la sociedad?, ¿Qué opina el diseñador sobre las nuevas tendencias internacionales?, ¿Cómo cambiamos la percepción que tienen las empresas sobre nuestra profesión?, ¿Alguna teoría propia? etc...

¿Cómo se puede ser empático si no compartes, al menos, ideas?

¿Cómo fomenta la empatía el diseñador? Es el título del post que he escrito en inglés, donde comento la importancia de nuestra profesión y de nuestro trabajo para promover actitudes y desarrollos profesionales en el mundo de la gran empresa que tengan en cuenta a las personas.

Estoy intentado hacer una versión de este post en castellano desde hace dos días y no puedo... y ya sé porqué: no es coherente.

¿Cómo voy a escribir sobre cómo pueden los diseñadores  fomentar la empatía profesional en mi país, cuando no se fomenta la empatía entre la propia profesión? ¿Cómo se puede ser empático si no te comunicas, no compartes?

Tarea nº 1 del diseñador español: FOMENTAR LA COMUNICACIÓN, empezando por uno mismo.

Por lo que ésta será la versión en castellano de mi post How Designers Foster Empathy

Mis post relacionados:

La revolución de los nichos
Expertos en Design Thinking e Innovación
La Creatividad no es un movimiento solitario
FAQS personales de un design thinker
El diseñador de experiencias: su público y la marca



Mis inspiraciones y recomendaciones:

Design Thinking: Thoughts by Tim Brown

http://populardelujo.wordpress.com/ 

VIDEOS: 

Bill Moggridge 1943-2012 

Esteban Ucros on what-design-can-do

Grupos:

Design Thinking

Design Thinking Spain

How Designers Foster Empathy

Magritte. Presence of Mind (1960)

So what else can designers do to foster empathy besides their human-centered approach and their Design Thinking process?

Work closely with business and deliver GREAT RESULTS that have positive impact on people’s lives AND meet the needs of the client.

Business and markets are now aware of the benefits that an empathic approach can bring to them for the pursuit of their goals...and these are good news for of all us because of the positive impact to people.

Reality shows that business culture and its impersonal language dominates most of the professional relations: How can empathy be nurture in such an impersonal and distant environment?.There is a need to build a new working model for contexts of diversity and professional interaction by creating a communication space with a shared language that would permit a real multidiciplinary team work. 

Design have accomplish the ability to put together sciences and design, and some designers are already working their way to get together business and design.

Nº1 TASK for designers: Develop empathy for business! 

• Working embedded in business environments. This will allows designers to get insights that may lead to a mutual better understanding. 
• Widen your knowledge of global markets, marketing, economy, etc., to be effective: just as you would if the task were to get an insight of another community.
• Some designers are reluctant to any partnership with business and prefer to focus on aesthetics: Don't you think that it would be a positive impact to business to bring some aesthetics to their culture? I believe it is a awesome challenge...
• Forget the believe that "my kind of knowledge is indescribable". Find the way to communicate. It's very possible. 
• Do you think that business culture is boring or...? This is another awesome challenge...and you can truly improve your "thrownness ability" by practicing in outsiders environments... 
• As a Design thinker, you can contributing with your know-how to get rid of boundaries between business and designers: Share your experiences and insights with your peers
• Learn "business talking" to understand them and try to "teach" them a more creative storytelling: But also you need to improve your communication skills to a less complex level, focus in engaging and empathying with people. 
• Help business to bringing more people into the conversation and foster interdisciplinarity, synergies and sharing knowledge.

And the most important of all:

Try to have fun while doing all of this!





My inspirations to write this post:

Design Thinking: Thoughts by Tim Brown

http://populardelujo.wordpress.com/ 

VIDEOS: 

Bill Moggridge 1943-2012 

Esteban Ucros on what-design-can-do