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 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 MoreI am often asked about what inspires me and how do I stay inspired, in spite of the daily grind that permeates everyone’s lives: work demands, family demands, traffic, the weather, corporate politics, the national political environment, and the coronavirus (now officially given a somewhat dystopian moniker, COVID-19).
There’s no easy way to stay in high spirits in spite of it all but I’ve found that focusing on solutions, rather than ranting at the problem helps: condemning the problem does nothing to actually address the core issues.
When things seem dire, take action.
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It’s been a week since a helicopter went down in Calabasas, taking the lives of 9 passengers, along with Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna. The world felt this one, as Kobe was one of those mythical figures, like Prince or John Lennon, whose contributions and excellence in their respective fields meant so much to so many. And when shooting stars die young, we feel the additional loss of their unfulfilled and unexpressed potential; there was so much they were going to do to make this world a more beautiful and wondrous place.
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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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Recently, I decided to do a thought experiment. I made an attempt to go through each day without complaining and also not allowing myself to either become angry or react to another person’s anger.
This is much tougher than it seems. The usual internal default mode for most humans is to find something annoying and then complain about it, ostensibly to relieve one’s internal stress about the issue and to spur on some kind of action. What I’ve found is that on a very basic level, complaining is simply a way for one to defer responsibility to another person or situation and essentially cry out for someone else to do something about said issue. The term “complaint” is nuanced and I’m not referring to important complaints about larger social issues (#metoo movement, climate change, et al) but rather the smaller complaints we launch out into the world from a position of feeling imposed on. I find that once complaints are vocalized some stress is released but in reality, at least for me, the concerning issue bounces around in my head and often gains steam. The negativity then becomes a flywheel that fans the embers of discontent and then anger arises.
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I spent the weekend recording my narration for the audiobook version of The Art of Creative Rebellion. Well, I spent around 10 hours in total getting the first two-thirds of the book recorded. It was a humbling process. We clearly underestimated the amount of time it would take. I’ve never liked hearing my recorded voice (I’m pretty sure this is a common issue) but I felt that it would be odd and inauthentic to have a professional voice actor read the book, as the stories were my personal stories; anecdotes of failure, heartbreak, and dogged perseverance.
Read MoreI would posit that the common thread between so-called creative types (artists, designers, musicians, writers, et al) and entrepreneurs is that they both require two things: Vision and Creative confidence. Both the artist and the entrepreneur are making things that are, hopefully, unique, and in the latter case, useful. But either way, something is literally being pulled out of the aether.
Which is no easy feat.
Read MoreI’ve always encouraged my design team to do something beyond their day job. Yes, work is of paramount importance, for learning, growing professionally and of course paying for rent, healthcare and groceries but I’ve found that if you are only immersed in the day job, and come to identify who you are by only your title and brand association to the company, you will be at risk for losing who you truly are. Also, the more an employee exercises creative work beyond the glow of the RGB screen, the better. Many of my team focus on meditation, music, ceramics, baking, yoga and martial arts before and after work. I write in the early mornings and paint at night before bed (when I’m working on a series). Your perspective broadens and your sense of self deepens when doing work that is not directly for monetary return but for being in the creative moment. This reduces anxiety and, looked at from a business value proposition, you get a much more focused and effective employee in the office.
Read MoreThe day ends with the TV and binge-watching before going to bed with a sense that another day has gone by. And what has been done? What has been accomplished?
Ideas are plentiful. Good ideas are fragile and elusive. In my experience, it’s almost impossible to develop really good ideas in the office as the environment is geared towards “busyness” and business. Ideas require space and relaxation to arise and develop. Reality and practicalness are the enemies of the good idea. How often have you heard ideas shot down in the conference room or, worse, ridiculed or ignored? No is always easier to say than yes. Good ideas require complete license to actively be ridiculous. The crazier the better. Combinations that should have nothing to do with each other find non judgmental intertwining usually when you are in the shower or taking a walk or about to fall asleep.
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