Service design has two aspects: technical execution and relationship building.

Technical execution is about making the mechanical bits work. For example: the aircraft takes off and lands without unnecessarily killing anyone on board.

Relationship building is making people feel good about the process. For example: hot pre-flight towels, good in-flight movies and service with a smile.

Technical execution is easier to plan, implement, and measure. In many cases, good execution is …

“Small thoughts subversively strip away the fire of imagination, the generosity of the collaborative spirit, and that the halo of every dream.”

Small thoughts is publishers who try and grab more and more and give less and less. Always citing how costly and risky their business is, how it is such an honour they chose my work, and how hard it is. So I should take less of a …

Reframing is a useful technique to deliberately derail our entrenched thinking patterns and flows, so as to enable us to see a given situation from alternative perspectives.

Dev Patnaik documented three kinds of reframes:

Step out of your own perspective and see the world as it sees itself. (Walk in someone else’s shoes) See the world in a way that’s completely different from anyone else. (Read between the lines too …

When you hear this phrase, or find yourself thinking it, it is a sign that something is not well with your brainstorming session or collaborative work.

Someone is not feeling acknowledged.
Or someone is feeling threatened.

Acknowledgement is an affirmation, an expression of respect and acceptance. Acknowledgement can be expressed in different forms:

Overt and direct: “Thank you for that suggestion. That’s a great thought.” Indirect: eye contact, laugh (with; not …

When it comes to choosing to work with big or small suppliers (say a global advertising agency versus a local web developer), businesses tend to swing in cycles.

Say a business is looking to set up their website. They may choose to go with a large global agency for the sake of “safety” and stability.

Over time they come to realise that the large agency has policies and practices …

Imagine if there is no “them” and “us” in projects.
That’s a radical thought!

No separation, just real togetherness, true collaboration.
Where we actually treat other as we would like to be treated in return.
And we work towards a singular vision.
Without bean counting who has done more.
Because we trust each other to give 110%.
Or trying to work out whose contribution is more valuable.
Because we truly respect what we each have …

“Animals often act with more integrity than many people.” said Neale Donald Walsch in his book Conversations with God.

Integrity is not something you say you have. It is made evident in the way you act. Integrity is doing what you promise to. A tiger will kill and eat you. A cow will moo and fart. A cat will sleep – a lot. Like individuals, businesses either have …

Number 29 in Hugh MacLeod’s book Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity.

“[You take power by] not needing anything from another person in order to be the best in the world.”

We give our power away when we believe that we desperately need someone to accomplish our life’s work or complete a creative endeavour. We take our power when we know we don’t need anyone, when we …

A stunning performance by Perpetuum Jazzile, an an a cappella jazz choir from Slovenia.

Imagine if you could get your business to perform like this!

The shared creative concept. The clear singular alignment. The commitment. All that emotion. The undeniably genuine human connection. Imagine what that could do for your customer experience! Will your CRM system …

My friend Dennis White recently said to me: “We have Pay TV and yet we seem to spend a lot of time flicking through the channels trying to find something too watch. I have this theory that if you have a lot of choice then you expect you should be able to find something really interesting and you’re not willing to settle for something less than expectation. When …