Someone once said to me once (with a fair amount of contempt): Why do you bother to try and bring your whole self to work? Why do you need to care about the project’s purpose, the organisation’s values, or how well the business’ ethics line up with your own? All you have to do is turn up, shut up, and do the work!

I stopped working with that person very quickly after that.

Surely the more we realise that we have but one life, the more we would want to live it as wholly, and as presently, as possible? And since work takes up so much of our waking hours, why wouldn’t we choose to be as fully ourselves as is possible there as well?

Here are the key points that called out to me.

I have put everything in a block quote because I’m not sure how much of the following was ad verbatim or paraphrased.

People function in two modes: open and closed. Creativity is not possible in the closed mode.

Close mode:

• We are in this most of the time.
• Lots to be done. Get on with it; get through it.
• Active; possibly slightly anxious. Impatient.
• Little [creative] tension.
• Purposeful [focused on reaching specific goals]. Tunnel vision.
• Stressed and a bit manic.

Open mode:

• Relaxed.
• Expansive. More encompassing. Wider picture views.
• Less purposeful.
• More contemplative.
• More inclined to humour.
• More playful. Make absurd connections.
• Curiosity for its own sake.

To be most effective we need to [be able to comfortably] switch back and forth between these two modes.

Conditions that are more likely to induce the open mode:

• Secludedness – Separateness from everyday life for a specific time and in a place.
• Space – Not to be under pressure; seal yourself off in a quiet undisturbed place.
• Time – create space for a specific time. An oasis with boundaries of space and time.
• Time – Play with a problem longer, to tolerate the discomfort/anxiety when we have not solved a problem. Don’t make snap decisions. Set a deadline for a decision and don’t make a decision until then. Trust the process.
• Confidence – Fear of making a mistake is detrimental to creativity. Play means being open to anything that may happen. “You can’t be spontaneous within reason” Alan Weiss? When being creative, there is no wrong or mistakes.
• Humour – Gets us from closed to open mode. Laughter = relaxation. Serious vs solemn; seriousness should not preclude humour. What is solemnity for? What is the point of it? Giggle all you want!

Find people you like and trust to play with. If just one person in the group makes you feel defensive, that is a sign of danger.

An intermediate state between open and close is impossible.

Thanks to Tammy Davenport for sharing this link.

Quinninup, Western Australia. 2012.

Understanding derived from empathy drives truly insightful requirements gathering. What is it really like for the user? How do they feel? What do they want? What are they afraid of?

An non-overtly “expert” attitude keeps the designer’s ego in check; engender a more congenial and less prescriptive demeanour essential for successful charrettes. More “what if you exploited this option…” and less “just do this.”

A desire to deliver transparent solutions; because they work so well the users are hardly conscious of them. Unlike some other design professions, user-centred design is less about look at me and what I have designed. But rather more about look at how people are so much better off.

Mettle: this is the thinking, experience, expertise, and EQ wrapped up in divergent creativity and convergent analysis.

Metal: the core set of tools, models or frameworks. This is the scaffolding to enable the mettle and the mechanism to convert the mettle into tangible outcomes.

Another way of saying Think and Do!

Mt Chudalup, Western Australia. 2012.

I was listening to someone on the train talk passionately about changing the world and making a difference recently.

Admirable; until I realised that what they were really excited about was more self-aggrandising than world-serving. The monologue was mainly around how they will look, the recognition they will receive, and the accolade from their peers.

There’s nothing wrong with self-aggrandizement if that is what rocks this person’s yacht. Not being clear about their intention (or not being aware of it even) is potentially problematic. It could lead to mismatched goals, misaligned values and challenging relationships as this person inevitably starts to work with others.

Other often unnamed intentions behind wanting to change the world could be:

• Unhealthy selflessness; whereby doing something all consuming for others means I don’t have to face myself or my demons.
• Making money. It’s perfectly ok to say “I’m doing it to make lots of money” If that it’s the true intention.

1. Focus on authentic leadership and eschew passive aggressiveness.

Follow through; do what you promise.
Don’t take things personally.
Communicate what drives your decision-making.

2. Relentlessly pursue transparent decision making.

Tell people clearly how you make decisions. And navigate tricky situations.
Be “open and transparent about: who made the decision, who is accountable for the outcomes of the decision, and is that accountability real.”
“document the key decision paths of your organization and communicate them to your team as often as you can.”
“Share your biases and tell war stories of how your successes and failures shaped these [decision making] biases.”

3. View resources as instruments of action, not as possessions.

Share resources; not stockpile them.
Having a “common approach to assess and communicate resource decisions” creates a transparent environment conducive to resource sharing towards a shared goal.

4. Codify the relationship between decision rights, accountability and rewards.

Modelling: Show that you walk your walk.
Establish clear parameters: who gets to make decisions? Are all decisions tied to funding?

More here.

Mt Chudalup, Western Australia. 2012.

When designing a service, product, or software application, there are often these four aspects to balance.