Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Design thinking is a mindset and a methodology to approach challenges. It’s a process of approaching a problem from multiple perspectives and using trial and error to get to the right solution. It’s about drawing inspiration from a variety of sources and applying them to your particular challenge, resulting in innovation....

If you give a designer a blank sheet of paper and tell him to make something that looks nice, he will be paralyzed. At the minimum, he needs a topic, a message and an audience. But he needs more than that; great design comes from a seemingly impossible contradiction. Perhaps the impossibility is budget-related. Or the combination of two impossible desires that cannot possibly co-exist. For instance, a financial services client who hates the color green.... A designer needs a contrast to create a spark. In other words, designers cannot operate in abundance; designers need restrictions!
Design Thinking on The Back Row Leader.

I’m learning that good leaders want to provide answers while exceptional leaders want to provide tools for people to find their own answers.

The first is easier and feeds the ego. The second takes time, patience and builds successful organizations.

The first develops dependency, the second develops respect.
Golden Eggs and Other Gems.