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"Many people believe that design is a profession for artists and creative types.
In actuality, design is all around us—not just the beautiful things—and it's done by all of us, and it affects all of us.
It's not just the things that you own or interact with—like your new favorite shirt or smartphone—that are designed. The process by which they came to be exist was also designed. How the original ideas were conceived, the way those ideas were tested, the mechanics of how they were produced, distributed, sold and delivered—influenced by design.
All of it.
Design is a disciplined approach to discovering, identifying and capturing value.
The good news? Design is a teachable discipline—it has its own process, its own tools and its own way of working. It just hasn't been taught to most of us."
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"What is it that enables leaders to persevere through seemingly insurmountable challenges that at first seem to exceed our limits?
Make a list of leaders you admire and who have made a difference in the world. They could be living or dead. The chances are they all have one outstanding quality in common: they are bold.
A strong mind excels at speed, creativity, and decisive action. They are risk takers. It's not the only factor that drives success, but perhaps it is one of the most important in the age of overload. We all face the twin problems of deciding what to do and what to tune out. Creativity enables leaders to imagine different solutions to a problem and can help you "cut through the noise and focus on the signal," as high profile entrepreneur Elon Musk describes it. If you want to make
an impact, you need to act boldly, especially when the going gets tough."
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"Every business leader agrees that accountability is an essential ingredient in a healthy organizational culture. Which makes it all the more striking how little training there is out for leaders and managers on how to do it well. Employees are left carrying the bag—working for managers who don't have the relationship skills or emotional confidence to give them direct, early feedback with supportive guidance on how to make the changes the manager wants (but isn't saying).
The cost to teams and organizations is high and widespread."
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"How do you shift the behaviour of bankers? This was the subject of a conversation. All of the people involved had considerably more experience in financial services than me, so their perspectives were particularly striking. The low point of the conversation happened when one of them said this: 'Bankers are only motivated by money. It is the only way we know how to get people in banking to do things.'
Now, I know some bankers, and count a number of them as friends. Watching them at soccer games and birthday parties, I'm struck by the fact that they're not "only" motivated by money (unless that child with the dirty nappy was slipping them some cash on the side).
But this conversation reveals a more vexing problem: Organizations domesticate people. Like Pavlov and his dogs, we are trained to discrete patterns of responses in organizations. It is not flattering, but I would propose it is a reality we don't understand, nor take advantage of: organizations domesticate people to certain ways of working. The problem of domestication in organizations sub-optimizes all kinds of performance and innovation. Through a combination of factors, organizations create 'goldfish tanks' with a certain mix of water that drives the behaviour of the 'fish' in their tanks."
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"It has always amazed me how large trees can weather the most intense storms. Their root system provides enduring strength, and it helps them stand strong in the best and worst of circumstances. Our core is like the root system of a tree. Among people, leaders are no different. It is our core that gives us the strength to lead. It enables us to endure the onslaught of daily storms and sustained periods of challenge. A strong core also enables us to manage our ego in the midst of wild success.
A strong core holds us tight. If we are without a defined core, we likely hold tight to weak substitutes called attachments. These attachments come in many forms. Sometimes they are rules, policies, or procedures. Other times they are titles, positions, or power itself. For some, attachments are cliquish relationships. Attachments are the fertile ground where sacred cows are born. When we cling to attachments we tend to hold on to everything. Yet embracing your core values allows you to give confidently. There is a great difference between the impact of attachments and the impact of living one's core values; the results couldn't be further apart."
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