Seeing into the future is fraught with creative issues. While we might know about a future opportunity or situation, what might it feel like? What would it look like if we could ‘try on’ a decision before we bought it? We can. The idea of Identity Dress-Up is a simple visualization exercise that brings together …
If you wish to create something new or transform something, you’ll need to design. You must design well if you want that change to achieve something meaningful. What does that mean for designing in the present? What methods and approaches are fit-for-purpose when designing for living systems in the present? The mid 2010s and early …
We’ve used the 5 Why’s as a powerful, simple vehicle for fostering conversations about why we do things. Often, particularly with well-established programs and services, we lose the connection between the rationale behind why something was done and what value it brings. A technique called the 5 Why’s could help us get closer to this …
Do your notes bore you? They shouldn’t if you’re serious about learning. Note-taking is among the most powerful, accessible, and portable means to support innovation and learning. Yet, most of us do it poorly. Do you review your notes after you take them? Do you know why you are taking notes in the first place? …
You might have heard or read about concepts like Systems Thinking and Design Thinking (both with and without capital letters) and asked yourself: what do they mean? We see both of these are frameworks for thinking about problems. It’s somewhat confusing, but both systems thinking and design thinking are more than just ways of thinking, …
