Mats Lederhausen at ID
14/04/08 13:30
Last Monday (04072008) Mats Lederhausen, former CEO of McDonald's, spoke to us in Larry Keeley's Advanced Design Planning class at the Institute of Design . Mats spoke about the power of purpose. You can find out more about Mats's new adventure Be-Cause here.
His simple of leadership is convincing a group of people on one side of a room to move to the other. How do you do it? How do you get from here to there?
These are the 10 points Mats finished on.
1.
Purpose bigger than products
crystal clear: passion: fuels purpose: purpose fuels results
2.
Who really matters
- bet on people, not strategies. bet on the horse, not the rider.
- inside very person there is a philosophy
- finding who can execute that strategy better than anyone else?
3.
Brand harmony
- design is the fundamental soul of a man made creation. everything communicates
- "all the little ingredients must amplify each other in a solution. All the critical solutions must sing from the same hymn."
4.
80/20
- concentration is key is to economic results
- if your priority is not your bosses priority then help make them make it one. - Hijack one
5.
Think big, start small, scale fast.
- people are more likely to act themselves in a new way of thinking than to to think themselves in a new way of acting
- art of the smart start
- people worry about a big scary starting point. how do you make it easy to start?
- help them start
- how can it fail?
- find low political and financial risks to make a smart start, de-risk the starting point and maximize learning.
6.
Under promise and over deliver
- early victories breeds momentum
- under sell the process and over sell the vision
7.
Only the paranoid survive
- noah started building the ark before it began to rain
- embed continuous design
- companies that seem like they are doing well are usual not doing well. companies that are doing great act like they are doing poorly.
8.
Decentralization
- choice beats force, accountability beats bureaucracy
- define critical aspects of solution that can bring change
9.
Minding your mind
- placebo is real. is you believe more then you can do more than you believe
- what is placebo effect in leadership?
- placebo effect is around 30-40%
- A.G. Laffley - "identify disciples, throw out the nay sayers and convince everyone on the fence."
10.
Disciplined execution
- god is in the details. you can never talk yourself out of a problem you behaved yourself into.
Examples of successful purpose change in Mat's history:
McDonald's:
Sweden:
hamburger company serving people -> people company serving hamburgers
U.S.
- confused success with size, this was the measure of success
- from growth by being bigger to growth by being better.
Chipotle:
born great
challenge was never to compromise quality for quantity
focus on people, food and r/e
Great results:
10 years of double digit comps
from 12-700 restaurants
"Problem with fast food isn't the fast, its the food."
- fast is not enough
Ladd brothers
05/12/07 09:35
Have to plug my friends, brothers, colleagues, inspiration. They are the cover of the new issue of American Craft Magazine. I have worked with Steven & William for it seems my whole life. I get a little mention in the piece and am delighted!!! Check it out and love them.
Transformation @ Mayo Clinic
14/11/07 10:48
What an amazing couple of days in Rochester, Minnesota.
Ok that was like 3 weeks ago.
highlights form the trip:
1.
Teach Design Planning overview for SPARC Director Ryan Armbrusters Innovation in Health Care course at University of Minnesota
2.
Finish User Insights write up for Research and Demo course at Institute of Design.
3.
Hang out with design and health care experts to get insight into health care now and as it relates to innovation.
The class
The opportunity to introduce Design Planning tools and methods and dazzle their starry little eyes with the great new way is addictive.
It was amazing to hear what these Master of Health Administration students wanted to get out of the course. It shows how people see Design as way to touch people and serve them.
"I would like to understand how to begin a process of change in an organization. I feel that things are so rooted in staying the same that I need a spark to make a difference."
Organizational change
"I would like to learn how to better scope new projects and initiatives. Projects tend either to be too big to complete or too small to make a difference."
Understanding the scoped of the problem
"I would like to learn how design can be relevant to the health care industry."
How can user centered design help?
"I would like to learn how to pick an innovation team."
Developing teams
"I need to figure out how to channel my creativity and make it more disciplined."
Capturing the value of insight
"I would like to learn more about user observation and how it can help my call center."
Better understanding users
"How can I make my practice more user-centered?"
Better understanding of users
"I would like to learn about the process of innovation."
New tools to make change
"How can I wake up the creative side of my brain? I feel that it has been turned off for so long that it might not know how to wake up."
Help seeing opportunity
"How can I add value through user centered design?"
Helping people to have a better experience
"How can I take this process to a non-traditional market?"
Finding new opportunities
"How can this process be used in the creation of new policy?"
Making systemic change
2. User Insights Paper
Clustering, analyzing, and synthesizing baby! Got it in at the last minute.
3. Hang out with Design and Health Care experts
Ok life for a Design Planner doesn't get much better than this.
Speakers reception:
I got lucky there was a delayed flight so I was able to have dinner with the events speakers. Wow. Some very cool lively people. We retired to some bar at the Marriott down the street for one last drink. Well for me. Old people can party!
Anyway, favorites were Larry Keeley at Doblin, Keith Strier from Deloitte + Touche, Linda Dewolfe from VHA, Gerard former CEO of Ritz Carlton and now CEO of Henry Ford Health Systems and Dan Buchner from Design Continuum.
The big take away was the astoundingly obvious fact that health care is sooo far behind in service. The great news is there is a rumbling for change. I asked the folks at Henry Ford how they justify the added expense of patient experience services. They believe they have no choice but to provide human centered services to compete. Nice to hear. Apparently they are building a $400m
"north woods lodge" facility outside of Detroit. Sounds like a good reason to get sick.
Yoo Name
06/11/07 18:01
http://yooname.com/
Yooname is a funny name, I don't really understand it but so many of the web 2.0 names are taken so I will let them slide this time. Anyway, it is too awesome to harass. It is named entity recognition software, yes reader you are right, I don't really know what that means except that when I put some text into YooName's portal the thing identifies people, places, etc. It knows people. It knows my secrets.
Person, Organization, Location, Facility, Product, Event, Natural object,
Unit Miscellaneous:
Could there be future in named entity recognition for context aware linking option for services such as NetFlix so when coming across a film you are interested in while browsing using a NER filter would allow you to click and add to your que using a simple greasemonkey java enabling script plugin for Firefox.
Context aware java applications?
Googley eyed
03/11/07 11:09
I found this Google services list and began to wonder just what Google does and found a map which is nearly useless because of its design but starts to cluster the services which is helpful.
Found this cool categorized search site called simply google which makes a nice list of many of the searches.
Would like to find more derivative data results from Google. hmmmmm.
Design Planning dudes
30/10/07 09:49
I have been giving the same interviewing advice over and over during recruitID week here at the Institute of Design. It seems to work and make sense. So I am writing down.
#1
Know what you do.
The short:
We help companies know what to make and why.
The long:
Design Planners close the innovation gap. In an increasingly complex world where anything can be manufactured Design Planners help companies figure what to make using social science, business analysis and design thinking. A critical part of this is bringing design to the beginning of the development process to help generate new options.
#2
Know why you do it.
Tell a story about why you are here and why that matters. Practice your story. Seriously.
#3
If you are bored your interviewer is bored.
Its ok to be a little funny. 80% of your time spent with colleagues will be spent slogging through piles of communication and research. If you seem like you suck you probably aren't someone I want to spend 60 hours a week with. Sorry but it matters.
#4
Make it easy on the interviewer.
Help them get to know you. Tell them why things are important. They are likely your future supervisor or part of a team and this is not their full time job activity. They often don't know what the heck to ask either. Some are good at interviewing and some are bad. Help them out.
#5
See #3
My pal Jack Welch
29/10/07 12:49
I have been spending a great deal of time thinking about leadership and what it means to me and hopefully my future, particularly in how I will begin my next paid position of leadership.
So I wrote to Jack and Suzy Welch at Businessweek one bleary eyed morning. I wondered what they think is most important about how to enter into a company's culture in a position of leadership. I was pleasantly surprised when they wrote back, in Business Week (read it). Not only did my new pals Jack and Suzy give a world class answer, they gave a bonus by slamming George Bush as a leader.
So what does their answer mean to me? What does it change? Well, it did three things, it put me in conversation with some of the brightest business stars in the sky which always provides valuable information. Second, and most importantly, it made me feel like I belong in that conversation. It validated that line of questioning for me. Finally, they asked me to define what I believe as a leader. I have done so below.
1. Leadership happens everywhere.
I recently listened to John C. Maxwell's 360 Leadership series. One of those "business leadership" books. Have to say it was great. Maxwell helped me to see that leadership happens at every point in your life not just when you get to the top. If you don't have anyone to lead, lead yourself.
2. Let others lead until they need help. Sometimes even then.
Helping people to grow will only make them love you more. It will also make you love them. Growth through hardship will always help you develop stronger bonds than anything else. Letting you and your team understand that "its ok to fail at this" will help them take better risks. Not to say driving the project cliffside is the best way to drive all the time but a little less fear always loosens people up to perform in new ways.
3. Leadership is an honor.
Treat those who are willing to follow you with all the respect you can muster. Particularly when they are sharing their ideas and interests. Feel fortunate anyone would bother to listen to you much less be inspired by you.
4. Requiring performances that are nothing less than inspired.
Letting people know what is expected and why is critical to this happening. Telling your team members in ways that are meaningful to each individual that you know they can perform fantastic feats may just result in them.
5. Leaders succeed when their team wins.
When your team is successfully able to do things without you not only is your job easier but your resources just got bigger. It is positive sum growth.
So what do you do again?
24/10/07 11:30
Since no one seems to know what I do as a Design Planner I thought I would take a crack at defining it for myself and others.
Introduction to Design Planning: The short
Design
Changing to a desired state.
What is Design Planning?
Design planning methodology is a convergence of design thinking, business analysis, and social science tools.
Design thinking is a structured approach to the design process that breaks design into common elements such as research, ideation, prototyping, etc. to explore and develop concepts.
Business analysis tools such as landscape analysis, SWOT analysis and McKinsey's 7S's help define trends and opportunities.
Social science tools like ethnographic research, human factors analysis and sociology that leads to a better understanding of people.
All of the disciplines meet at the need / desire to provide value to people.
People create value through their needs and businesses exist solely to deliver that value.
Combining knowledge uncovered from using design thinking, business analysis, and social sciences creates a rich understanding of a problem and opportunities to solve problems and find new opportunities.
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein
All solutions developed in the Design Planning process are user centered, meaning that they seek to serve the needs of each individual avoiding the one size fits none syndrome.
Innovation is the desired outcome of the Design Planning process.
Why learn Design Planning?
Life is increasingly complex due to increased ability to travel, advanced technology and abundant information that leads to more choices with each passing second.
In a time when people can make anything Design Planning helps to understand what should be made.
The difference between what can be made and what should be made is called the “innovation gap”.
Learning Design Planning tools will help people to gain a generalists perspective so they can see many sides to an issue. This is important because when only a few tools for analysis and synthesis are used all the time it makes the solutions the same. When you are a hammer everything begins to look a bit like a nail.
Who are Design Planners?
Design Planners are problem solvers.
They are naturally curious which leads them to have a breadth of knowledge.
Typically Design Planners, like most people, have found a lens through which they view the world. Often that lens is graphic design, engineering, computer science, and or architecture. This makes them experts in that area. Thus they are "T" shaped.
They can and should come from any background. Diversity brings new perspective.
Design Planners do not have to be world class graphic designers, have a deep understanding of ethnographic studies nor do they have to be world class strategists. Competency and expertise helps but the most important part is to understand the value of those tools and processes and use them in basic ways. Combining them for perspective is the critical competency.
Design Planners do have to be world class thinkers and problem solvers who know how to find the tools and resources they need to solve a problem. They must be omnidexterous. They must collaborate with others well. No longer a lone genius time of invention. Complexity has changed this. It takes teams of people to create innovation.
Design Planners can specialize. They can be strategists, communication designers or product designers. Other variations include experience designers, service designers or design researchers.
The following is a diagram from Institute of Design Professor Jeremy Alexis which was posted to his blog D Log
Christopher Gladwin Lecture
20/10/07 12:04
Had the luxury of a brief supply chain lecture from Christopher Gladwin - CEO of Cleversafe
Insights on dealing with venture capitalists funding.
To not need it. VCs love to hear "I dont need your money"
Not spend the money. Think about how long it would take you to raise this cash otherwise and try to give as much back as possible.
On the deal
Find or build a community of interest.
Do a deal that works make it win win. Business is about long term relationships.
On supply chain
What is the supply? Where does it come from and who controls it?
What is the market requirement from a service?
Do your suppliers want to put you in business?
How can you change the supply chain to get more leverage in the system?
What can you control, what can you influence and what can you change?
When exiting look to who is making the most money on the service to buy it.
People with leverage are people with margins.
If you are upsetting the model watch out for competitors spreading fear uncertainty and doubt. Having strong partners will help you stand strong. Show your partners how they will make money with you as the entry point.
On being a tech start up
Technology business is over sold. It is hard work. Do it only if you are passionate about it.
Hire the right people, let them be brilliant and take all the credit for it!
Assumptions
10/10/07 22:55
The old adage "know thy self" has been more important than ever as I move through projects and see how our bias holds sway on the way we begin a project.
A quote out of context I have come to love from the book Nickel and Dimed is "like certain laws of physics starting place matters." And so it does.
Where do we begin? What are my assumptions about the project topic I am about to start working on?
If I were starting a project about health care I might write down my assumptions about doctors, nurses, insurance, etc. This will help me not only identify and discuss my own bias with my teammate but also help us all to better navigate our bias.
Gabcast + Twitter + Jott
07/10/07 15:01
+
+
=
So every once in a great while I catch up to a little bit of this digital world. Oh lord it can be painful.
I found Gab Cast which lets you record audio posts. Mmm. I have been using Twitter and Jott with some regularity. So lets line it up. A site that posts text + a site that converts speech to text + a site that blogs speech. Awesome.
Blog from anywhere using my voice and put into writing so people don't have to listen and I don't have to type. Or they could listen. Either way I don't have to type.
This brings drunk blogging to a whole new level.
Marc Gobe
03/10/07 14:41
Marc Gobe, Desgrippes Gobe, was gracious enough to speak to us at the Institute of Design 2 weeks ago. Marc brings a deep background in branding and advertising. Redeveloping products like Coke, Evian, Victoria's Secret and Banana Republic.
Clearly at the helm of a large and successful branding machine Marc presented key concepts of emotional branding and the role it plays in the consumers mind. His slides were simple and direct. Oddly old fashioned but with the Desgrippes Gobe star details all over them.
At any rate, he made some great points about reaching out to touch the customer. This follows close on the heels of my previous post about Starck's visceral manner of speaking about products. My favorite part was his dissection of the brand as a "champion" for peoples lives. Once soap solved the problem of the dirty child. This made the child out to be the problem. Which problem do you want your brand to be in the middle of? Careful about getting between mother and child. Now the strategy is to encourage the child to go out and live. To be dirty and its soap that allows that to happen. All of a sudden it is a champion. This the extension of the classic example of people not buying drills but buying holes. People want outcomes not products. Experiences not platforms. So in the case of soap people are buying life not soap. Pretty great.
There was an interesting hesitancy from the students in the room to engage in a dialogue about branding. We are taught to dissect the problem with structured planning methods to understand the base of the problem before creating options but Marc cut right through all of that to the meaning.
He seemed to see the human factors, field research as important but only a minor part of the battle summing up the role of designers, "Designers are not just for making form. They are incredible filters for what's going on in society." It was slightly annoying to hear the design research process being under cut by Gobe but it is clear he is a visionary and leader. He sees the final outcome of the process in real human terms. His passion did not position him to have a tools discussion it positioned him to have a human discussion. Very exciting. If anyone was at Institute of Design's Design Research Conference and heard Darrel Rhea from Cheskin speak you may remember his call to leadership. Whether Gobe's is the exact moel for that or not I think he has an empathic vision which we could all learn from.
A final point of interest was the way in which he prototyped the opportunity for Victoria's secret to move into the adjacent space of lotions and perfumes. He put regular product from the drug store into the Victoria's Secret store and waited to see if it would sell. It did. They launched.
Googling for $$$
03/10/07 08:02
So everyday I Google, you Google, your mom and maybe your grandma Google's. It kind of makes me giddy to think about it. Anyway, the point is all the worlds a Google'n. Well, I am SearchMashing, but the point is we spend a lot of time doing it and get a lot of value out of it. So what does it mean to be good at it?
We have all had colleagues who can't Google. Its uncomfortable for all involved. Its like finding your buddy drunk and crying or catching an adult picking their nose. Not cool, back away, never speak of it again. That's just like being bad Googler. Some people are criers, some pickers, some not Googlers.
At any rate, thinking along the lines of the front line folk asked to do the dirty work on the interweb I wonder if Googling could ever be prerequisite as a job skill. Just like typing speed, abstracting concepts to tags becoming a critical function of your job. Yes, yes, semantic web, blah, blah, its a long way off but Google productivity needs are here. We need to optimize our workers not just our web.
So in an effort to find out about Googling I Googled.
And found GoogleGuide.com. This link will take you to the special character query list. I quickly learned I am the search equivalent of a blubbering drunk. Sigh. It would be fun for someone to develop a little game of "How good are you at Google?"
Google Labeler could be like basic warm up for the mind.
The Secret
30/09/07 20:14
Presentation Scramble
30/09/07 18:04
This summer was the summer of the Mayo Clinic for me. I spent a great deal of time thinking deeply about the complex needs of patients, the Mayo Clinic and the services it offers. It is an ooey gooey problem and lots of fun but it takes a lot of effort to focus the range of issues for clear presentation. During the project my team was asked to present our findings to colleagues on extremely short notice. This is annoying.
However, I learned a great deal from it. I learned about simplicity. I learned constant reassessment and focus. If 3 of us had 20 minutes to tighten up a quick presentation we better know what we mean. Although there are painful moments where things you clearly could have explained a point better with 5 more minutes, there are great moments. of clarity where you see your audience adding up the points and clarifying the most exciting issues. We called the process the "Presentation Scramble" I know see it as rapid prototyping method for presentations.
Presentation scrambles must of course be done in a safe environment but the small failures steel your logic and nerve while teaching you what's important. So I say thank you to Ryan Armbruster for his Presentation Scrambles.
All my life
30/09/07 09:32
"In all my life, I never speak about design and architecture, I always speak about our life: our fight, our pain, our difficulties, our dreams, our vision, our utopia."
This comes from an interview with Phillipe Stark in the latest issue of Fast Company. It is a magnificent statement. I see it in many ways. Imagine Phillipe taking his clients through a future project, humanizing it, getting them excited, creating a vision and the client knowing he can make the project happen how he says it will.
The statement also points to the place where experienced successful designers coming from a seriously deep background in architecture, product or communication design are able to reach out to the human need. They have the experience of human interaction with their creations. They do not discuss work in the way that design researchers discuss it, they seek the human element. Its all about people, people.
Yves Behar, on the cover of Fast Company, also speaks to the humanity of products. He is the designer of One Laptop per Child and countless other witty and useful products. He is deeply involved with product design and brand development but has the knack of bringing it back to people. There is still the cloud of the classic instinctual design but it is rooted in the place we are coming from, people. So lets learn to stop talking process when presenting and start talking life.
#288
28/09/07 07:24
Cup #288 came into my life yesterday. Those quotes annoyingly titled "The way I see it". Gag, ack, bleh but often quite nice to read particularly when you are bored in class. Back to #288, the one I can't find listed on the Starbucks website (emailed customer service ~ shockingly no reply! Just like the ABC video support team but that is another story . . ), it was from a man who talked about how a choice made before his lifetime brought him to a Phd while his cousin barely had light in Tibet. That was interesting enough but the thing he said that really stuck out was his charge for the world.
"It is our duty to understand that we do not exist in different worlds."
It is important not because of the difference in physical worlds, but the mental worlds. How does one persons knowledge affect their life and how can another understand that?
So what does it have to do with strategy and business? Mental models & communication.
How can we consistently create those moments of communication that really satisfy and light up a room. Seeing the light at the end of a discussion helps but establishing critical social capital is key. Walking into a first meeting can be tenuous. The client exalts you for being a great consultant here to help or if they did not bring you in they may be antagonistic. Either way you are in pretty much the same position, in the dark. Doing your homework can benefit your position but putting too much stock in other peoples character assessments is a tricky process. Recently a client of mine was characterized as politically charged (what group isn't?) and protective of their turf (uhh.. who isn't?) at any rate, we walked very carefully but quickly found the team we were dealing to be no nonsense and ready to work. They are bright experts who just need some help. It really is that simple. And it usually is.
The lesson here? Instead of getting worried about a client's predilections get excited to explore their world.
Check out Roger Martin's Integrative Thinking (pdf) for more thoughts on mental models.
Marketings Perfect Storm + Fuzzy Tail
25/09/07 10:40
ID colleague Irene Chong and I headed the Hard Rock Hotel's second floor auditorium to see David Armano (Design + Logic) (See his slides here) and Chris Bernard (user experience evangelist) (Microsoft) speak about what was essentially Design Planning.
The crowd was all over the place as the event was announced in the Chicago morning rag the Red Eye as having free booze - yikes! All in all it went well though. David and Chris gave good presentations that were meant to introduce basic concepts of the value of user experience, being in touch with it, how to use it, and why it is good. They even got into the future future tense (had to be there).
Best point from Chris:
Everything changed when we started measuring things. e.g. analytics. The world is keenly aware of click through rates, viewer rates, tracking, all of which create a statistical characterization that allows them to understand and feel comfortable with making a decision.
Best point from David:
"How can brands start to facilitate communities without manipulating them?"
Imagine that a brand would now move to fill the space that is made available by a consumer group rather than forcing its way in and pushing or pulling the user towards its model of functionality.
A funny example of how brands and consumer are parting ways.
Design Research Conference
23/09/07 15:06
It was conference bonanza for Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design as it hosted the Design Research Conference. The conference directly titled brings the Design Researchers from all over the world to Chicago from organizations such as Whirlpool, Frog, BMW and Adaptive Path.
The conference was well organized by ID students Ido Mor and Caroline Little (Thanks guys!) and had great gatherings of attendees and speakers in the evenings. Bin 26, Hotel Sofitel and English.
The speakers always gave a me a little something new to think about and sometimes a great show - thanks Dan and Alec. Most enjoyable for me though were the conversations with Alec Bernstein (BMW), Stuart Karten (Stuart Karten Design) and Steve Knox (Tremor). Other favorites included those from Hot Studios ( a favorite of mine) and David Armano from Critical Mass (read his blog Logic + Emotion he has a lot of great clips from the event). The conversation topics ranged from my recent favorite of leadership to the time horizon for Design Research as a management competency. Alec puts its adoption at 3 -5 years. Amazing considering the brief history lesson he gave me about the field. Alec was on the team that tested the first ATM machine!
At any rate, aside from the information the speakers shared I found myself recognizing a couple of broader elements that were occurring.
#1:
The speakers are giving away their tools to experts and scholar in their field. This tells me:
A. the tools have a long way to go
B. there is a seriously untapped user community. There is tons of info and many events about Design Research, however, there is no community for product and service development like there is for web design. If there is please let me know! I am still finding the edges of the field.
#2:
ID holds a Design Research Conference and A Strategy Conference but where is the one that brings it all together? From user research to brand messaging? Each conference needs to make that a focus.
#3:
Our biggest strength needs to be communication of concepts. Without this we will lose the good fight for the value of user research. Alec directly addresses this in his presentation, however it is apparent from all the speakers presentations. This includes taking the time to understand our personal mental model as well as our intended audience's.
How do you eat an elephant?
05/08/07 12:20
That can be the big question when attempting to find a point of entry into defining a project space. In developing websites as well as diagnosing organizations I have found websites to be an effective base for language and understanding. Whether the members of the organization believe that their site accurately reflects them (which nearly all will say doesn't) there is still an essence to the language and construction of the organization. It is a common artifact that can help form common language bonds and develop process.
It is funny that a number of firms have trouble not only seeing the real value of a great website to their business but the value to the firm itself. Every employee is represented by the site and feels as though their own efforts are reflected through it. Finally, like it or not the website is the place where a company has taken a clear position on who they are and what they do.
G Phone
05/08/07 09:24
(from zdnet.com)
Oh Googlezon (Epic 2014) please give me free wireless.
The widely narrated Google platform is now demonstrating yet another piece of brilliance. Already the owner of largest network of fiber, one of the worlds brightest ad pusher and derivative data hulk they have turned the world into a super computer. You are the input and consume yourselves. Amazing.
Soon you will be an even finer bit bot on the grid with Google no longer stuck in that silly computer but roaming with you. For some like Epic 2014/15 there is fear for me I am too interested to want this ride to stop. A little crazy I know but semantic web and life altering data triangulation makes me shiver with delight. I want to know how my habits of buying Starbucks Mocha's tells what brand of shoes I buy and when I am best on a date.
Will there be critical mass for the ease with which we make decisions? No longer saying "I dunno what do you want to do?" Or will we be even more bored?
There is mention of the competition between iPhone and the G phone but is there? Apple has made the hardware move (after a sad software move with the Rockr) which is excellent in providing a consistent brand based element. The flexibility of Google to be all things to all people gives it the upper hand in longevity though. It enables all handset producers rather than being direct competition. Apple has a strong product but sits in one price point. I would argue that Google and Apple are not even in real competition as G phone's will be available in a variety of price points. Apple is for software and design. Google is for access. Entrenchment beats competition. The real test is how Google incorporates ads into the handset without making people crazy. I for one would hope for free or discounted cell/data service. I am still waiting for ad paid services that collect my data. My services have been stealing it from me so far but hopefully there will be better ways of capturing my data for leverage.
Its ok to fail at this
04/08/07 09:37
Visionaries, looming figures of thought and dedication drive us to new places by turning themselves and us on. They often fail but when their thoughts turn to reality it can cause epic vibrations. Their ability to get up one more time than they fall makes them a success and worth watching. The few times I have found myself in the presence of truly beautiful minds I come away more addicted to possibility.
This summer I am working for the Mayo Clinic which has brought amazing opportunities with somewhat protected, but enormous possibilities in the balance. As I practice the craft of Design Planning I recognize the need to push the boundaries of my mental edges to places that I fear. How can I flip a paradigm on its head? The client "doesn't do things that way". Are the relationships and observations I am crafting my argument around truly verified or will my client blast me as the presentation barely leaves my lips?
Where does the strength to move forward despite the looming weight come from?
For me it insatiable curiosity and the building belief in failure as success. Turning a weakness into a strength.
What is it for you?