* the explosion of new technology, that could be expected to result in major new industries emerging and older ones disappearing.
* the change which he saw taking place from an “international” economy to a “world” economy.
* the need which he saw for organizations of all kinds to learn new responses to the rising pressures imposed on them by society as a whole, and by individuals – whether those inside them or those outside them.
* the emerging “knowledge society” and “knowledge economy” and their implications on all of us.

How right he was! And how ill-prepared most of us were…and most businesses and governments still are to this day.

As I look back over the last two decades, the pace and scope of change is breath-taking. Businesses and governments today face a dramatically new and different environment.

* Low rates of growth in demand and in income, at home and overseas
* Under-employment of resources
* Major fluctuations in the value of our dollar, and of other currencies against each other, bringing radical shifts in competitive advantage.
* Old markets, old customers, and old suppliers changing and often disappearing
* New technology to master, in every job.
* New knowledge to acquire, in every job.
* New public and social demands.
* New and changing expectations from within organizations as new values, new faces and new skills replace old.

As Clifford Stoll, author of High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian, Silcon Snake Oil, and The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage has noted:

Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom.

To address these new realities we must take the time to stop and think. We need to question for clarity with our peers and especially with those for whom we are designing. We need to take the time to learn from a variety of cultures, values, and ideals the world over.

There is no top 10 list that will resolve an organizations’ fundamental issues with staff or clients. There is no application you can download or purchase that will make you millions.

The scope of of these issues was summed up beautifully – the pace at which this change has overwhelmed the world – by the author of The World is Flat, Tom Friedman:

I just went back to the first edition of The World Is Flat which I started writing in 2004, came out in 2005. I looked in the index of The World Is Flat; I looked under “F”. Facebook wasn’t in it. When I said ‘The World is flat, we’re all connected!’… Facebook didn’t exist, Twitter was a sound, the Cloud was in the sky, 4G was a parking place, Linked In was a prison, Applications were what you sent to college, and for most people Skype was a type-o!

I believe the essence of the UX discipline has the potential to push beyond the usual conversations of the tools and methodologies we hear about everyday. This is possible if we take the time to think about the variety of values, ideals, and insights of others whose culture and experiences differ greatly from our own. The average person cares little about technology so long as it works and becomes a ubiquitous part of their everyday lives.

I believe that collectively there is nothing we cannot accomplish so long as we don’t make such findings about any one individual, process, or company. Our problems our global. Our solutions must take these realities into account for the benefit of all.

If only we stop to think.

If only we take the time to question the experts and look to others outside our discipline consistently for inspiration and new ideas.

This TED video was another of a handful of talks that I enjoy watching time and again. Mr. John Hunter shares his life time of experience working with, and learning from, the children he has taught over many years.

When starting his teaching career the Administrator at the time asked Mr. Hunter…

… What do you want to do? And that question cleared the space. There was no program directive, no manual to follow, no standards in gifted education…and she cleared such a space that I endeavored to create such a space for my own students that they create meaning from their own understanding.

As a result of this insight, Mr. Hunter was able to make wise choices over time about how to lead his students to greater insights and understanding…

I’ve learned to seed control of the classroom over to the students over time. There is a trust and understanding and dedication to an ideal that I simply don’t have to do what I thought I had to do as a beginning teacher – to control every response in the classroom. It’s impossible. Their collective wisdom is much greater than mine and I admit it to them openly!

Allowing his own students to experience the lessons being taught without restrictions, one young man was able to comprehend the philosophical complexity of Sun Tzu…

…now I’m feeling really weird because I’m living what Sun Tzu said, one week. He said those who go into battle and win will want to go back and those who lose in battle will want to go back and win. I’ve been winning battles so I’m going back into battles – more battles – and I think it’s weird to be living what Son Tzu said!

this was followed by Mr. Hunter’s statement…

I get chills every time I see that. That’s the kind of engagement you want to have happen. I can’t design that, I can’t plan that, and I can’t even test that. It’s self-evident assessment we know that’s an authentic assessment of learning. We have a lot of data but I think we go beyond data with the truth about what’s going on.

I think we lose great opportunities as designers when we spend too much time focused on what others in our industry are doing. Perhaps it’s time to spend more time following and learning from those outside our field such that we can draw inspiration from a variety remarkable industries and professions.

To paraphrase Mr. Hunter, as a personal message to those who have guided and helped me in my own career…

On behalf of all the [designers and thought leaders] on whose shoulders I’m standing… Thank you. Thank you!

Do we listen to the quality of the ideas being shared any more? Ask yourself how often you’ve blindly followed the ideas of anyone within any industry – design or otherwise – because of their success online.

I recently watched “It Might Get Loud” a documentary with three of the most creative and influential guitar players in rock history, including: Jack White (White Stripes), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), and The Edge (U2). At the start of the movie Jack White stated:

Technology is a big destroyer of emotion and truth. it doesn’t do anything for creativity. Sure it can get you home sooner but it doesn’t make you a more creative person…that’s the disease that you have to fight in any creative field…ease of use.

And that is the distinction that I believe needs to be made clear – getting from complex to simple is rooted in creativity. We design to make things easy for others to use and interact with. Getting to ease of use should not be about focusing on specific processes or technology – nor should it be easy.

When was the last time you found inspiration following step-by-step instructions? The inspiration to create is not derived from replication. Creativity is born when we intentionally engage in new experiences and ideas that contradict our own long held beliefs.

It’s emotionally draining. It’s frustrating. But to see order in chaos we need to acknowledge the beauty and potential in being creative. The Edge qualifies this ideal, succinctly:

When you go past a managed forest you see a mass of tree trunks. Then at a certain point when you look again you see they’re all in perfect rows. Clarity. Clarity of vision. What you’ve been looking at from the wrong angle and not seeing at all. You labor. You sweat to see what you couldn’t have seen from that other perspective.

Update: September 12th, 2011 – You can now hear my talk from the conference, The Journey to Yes!

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be presenting at this year’s Information Architecture Summit in Denver with Alla Zollers.

The talk is entitled The Journey to Yes and was inspired by years of working with clients in all sectors and a variety of cultures, all facing challenges in trying to get buy-in, and by extension, influence great design.

We believe that empathy, patience, and communication are the key to getting stakeholder buy-in. Luckily, designers are already well equipped for this task! This talk will help designers sharpen their communication skills by providing 1) essential business frameworks from strategy leaders Stephen Covey and Charles Krone; and 2) conflict resolution and assertion techniques such as fogging, broken record, and negative assertion found in behavioral psychology.

Thank you to the organizers and sponsors of the Summit for this wonderful opportunity to share ideas that I believe will go a long way in helping IA’s move the conversation within the design process to that next level.

Researching the likes of Louis Rosenfeld and Content Strategists around the world, Greg drew parallels between the online world and those in the arts emphasizing the need to look outside the policy and rules that govern our lives.

Why don’t we question more often? What are we doing to be the change we want to see in our organizations?

There are three kinds of people in the world today: those in the game, those who watch, and those oblivious to the play, which one are you?

I’ve been asked consistently in the people I’ve mentored around the world, workshops I’ve lead, and conferences attended this one repeating question: “How do I get buy-in for my ideas from my superiors?” The answer lies within.

Change doesn’t come from those who sit on sideline and complain.

Ignorance is not an excuse in the information age where we can know about anything and connect with anyone.

The solution is to get in the game!

Be patient and respectful of others but don’t ever settle for “good enough”. Keep the conversations going, especially when conflict and disagreement arise.

We cannot improve the way we see the world by perpetually following those who insist on the status-quo for their own benefit.

Which one are you?

Download the poem “Music Box”

After a few shows, I had shared: research on e-learning, cognition, and behavioral psychology; interviewed then IBM’s Mike Moran on SEO; and, had a discussion with Boston-based independent Information Architect, Bob Goodman. I had no way of knowing, at the time, that this medium would allow me the chance to learn from a variety of disciplines and cultures around the world.

For the past three years, I’ve produced podcasts for the peer-written web magazine Boxes and Arrows, focusing most of my efforts in recording and the subsequent publication of nearly every presenter at the IA Summit in Miami (2008), Memphis (2009), and Phoenix (2010).

This work lead to invitations from Adaptive Path to interview presenters at UX Week and MX (an invitation I had to decline this year due to other business obligations); and the IDEA conference in Chicago.

In November of 2009 the creator of Johnny Holland, Jeroen Van Geel asked me to start a podcast series called Radio Johnny. Since its launch I’ve lead several conversations and have had the great fortune to find others like Daniel Szuc, Elizabeth Thapliyal, and Clifton B lead discussions on a variety of topics.

In 2011, I’ll be integrating my blog and my company site announcing new partnerships; highlighting what has been an incredibly successful start to workshops I’m leading with Kristina Mausser on IA, UX, and Writing for the Web; amongst other changes and initiatives that I will share at a later date.

Because of these changes I will no longer be producing the i.a. podcast but will be taking some of the more popular shows I’ve produced and migrating those to Radio Johnny.

I will also not be producing talks from the IA Summit this year, as I have done for the past three years on Boxes and Arrows. The 50-60 shows from recording to publication take 3 months of my time (volunteered) which I simply don’t have in 2011. Instead I will be trying to organize several group conversations which I will produce on Radio Johnny.

I’ve made a commitment to the IA community, recently being elected a member of the Board of Directors for the Information Architecture Institute, to help strengthen their service offerings and forge stronger relationships with other communities like the Interaction Design Association.

I have been truly humbled by the compliments of the design communities and designers around the world for my efforts in this one medium and hope that we continue to share ideas and insights that focus on possibilities and solutions.

I can’t recall most lectures in University, though one in particular stands out. It was a course on Social Psychology and Sports. The theme of the class was to better understand group dynamics, and the impact of an individuals’ behavior when immersed in groups or even crowds.

When the professor attempted to share an experience with the class, he did so by example bringing in physical objects like gloves, pads, or other sporting equipment for student volunteers to don and in slow motion had them reenact the events from that day in sports history.

In a recent conversation with David Farkas he shared his belief that the design community needs to focus on become better at presenting. Yet with all of the data online about how to become a better presenter there’s little understanding of what motivates adults to learn.

There is a saying in India, “When a pickpocket meets a saint, all he sees are the pockets.” Our motives shape how we see the world; all attention is selective and what matters to us most is what we automatically scan for. Someone who is motivated to get results notices ways to do better, to be entrepreneurial, to innovate, or to find a competitive advantage.” Working with Emotional Intelligence. By Daniel Goleman

I began studying the work of adult learning theorist David A. Kolb back in 2001 in the creation of a Mcrosoft Certified Training program. He addresses four keys to engaging adults when delivering information / training effectively, including:

* Adults need to know “why?” they are learning something.
* Adults learn best when the topic is of immediate value.
* Adults approach to learning involves problem solving.
* Adults learn best through experiential learning.

Whether it’s training or giving presentations the core purpose is the same – to share ideas and experiences that will help others make wise choices in the future.

Yet how many presentations or training sessions have we all attended where the theoretical constructs fall short of helping us move our own thinking forward? As I’ve noted in the past, there’s a big difference between being a thought leader and having the capacity to lead other people to an agreed upon end state.

The same holds true when trying to facilitate understanding in others. It’s a different skill set. Having a wealth of knowledge in a specific area does not necessarily equate to an individuals’ capacity to facilitate understanding.

Keep your Powerpoint. Keep your mountain of statistics. Keep your theoretical constructs… but only if they address the key areas of how adults learn.

Your brand and name will only get you so far in any industry. Understand what is motivating others and then communicate your ideas to others’ passions…not your own.

I think in many instances that remains a truism in the young and ever growing disciplines of User Experience, Interaction Design, and Information Architecture. We are working in an era of perpetual discovery making the notion of any definitive answer to any particular problem, simply absurd!

The key to the success of any endeavor in which innovation is at the heart is in respecting the differing opinions, ideas, and experiences of others while working at understanding those ideals that may run contrary to our own.

INFLUENCERS TRAILER from R+I creative on Vimeo.

In short, stop taking for granted the opportunity to learn from others; especially those with whom you passionately disagree! Reconciling those differences in my experience, though incredibly frustrating and even gut wrenching at times, will lead to the greatest opportunities to grow professionally.

If you are a thought leader in these fields, never forget that your responsibility to the growth of the discipline extends far beyond your contribution of new ideas…

When you get to a certain place if someone has helped you get you to where you are, you must help identify younger talent, and be the mentor for somebody else.

Some may argue, and rightfully so, that it’s not their job nor their career path to mentor anyone. They are in business to make money and sell products or services and that’s it! Of course that is a core reason why we are all in business. All I’m trying to suggest is that we never forget the impact (good or bad) we can have on those coming into our discipline.

Had I the heavens embroidered cloths enrought with gold and silver light; of blue and the dim; and the dark cloths of night; and light and the half light. I would spread the cloths under your feet. But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams.

W.B. Yeats reminds us all that many of those who have similar dreams and ambitions are looking to many of us for direction and inspiration. Be mindful of that expectation; whether you want that responsiblity or not it is being thrust upon us all.

In the information age where we can access knowledge about anything, not adopting a similar mantra is to live in denial, plain and simple.

We are all experiencing the pain of this transition in different forms; personally, professionally, and of course financially. The optimist in me, and the Information Architect, sees this as an opportunity to clear away the clutter in our lives and simplify.

We continue to place far too high a value on possessions. We cling to titles that too closely define an individuals’ perceived value. Both of which are ultimately meaningless as they don’t begin to define the value of the ideas and creativity of any person; regardless of experience.

In a book published in January of this year entitled “The Value of Nothing” author Raj Patel shares insights into this future and how we can all benefit as a global community, working together.

Some may see such a vision as overly Utopian for humanity; however I disagree. As I noted in my last blog post, futurist Richard Seymour argues that there’s nothing that we can’t do. Instead we need to shift the conversation back to what we should be doing.

Imagine a world where every approach that is taken to solve a problem is one in which all parties benefit.

The opposite of consumption isn’t thrift. It’s generosity. The oldest civilizations and the latest neuroscience agree. We’re not just selfish, greedy creatures but that we’re happiest when we govern ourselves and live in common!

A little food for thought this Canadian Thanksgiving. Special thanks to my mom for sharing this video and inspiring this post. Cheers!

In a recent IBM study of more than 1 500 CEO’s from 60 countries in 33 industries world wide…

…chief executives believe that — more than rigor, management discipline, integrity or even vision — successfully navigating an increasing complex world will require creativity.

Last week I published a conversation with User Experience lead at Comcast Intearctive Media in Philadelphia, Debra Gelman. We discussed many of the essential elements to understand when designing for children.

This discussion reminded me of the time I spent working with 2-3 year olds in a pre-kindergarten class. The program was called “Open Sesame” and allowed for children who were identified with cognitive impairments / difficult behaviors, an opportunity to experience a typical classroom environment to better prepare them for entry into the public school system.

What always amazed me about working with children of this age was their remarkable capacity to simply give any situation a try! Problems were seen as opportunities, and there was nothing that they could not create within the vastness of their own imagination!

I believe in order to develop the creative capacity in our future leaders, as IBM has shown is a must, not a nice-to-have; in a world obsessed with controlling the conversation and owning ideas, we should be asking questions such as “how do we design for a loss of control?” Or as Futurist Richard Seymour states, quite succinctly…

Because you can do it, you do it. We’re now at a stage in the 21st century where we don’t need to talk about what we can do, we need to think about what we should do.

However, in order for the conversation to shift back to what we should be doing, as Mr. Seymour illustrates, we need to start being conscious of the need to reconcile rather than compromise.

We need to ensure we understand the differences between critiquing versus that of criticizing insights shared by team members; as was illustrated beautifully at a recent UPA Boston event by Alla Zollers (@azollers) and Adam Connor (@adamconnor).

We must become better at communicating both online and offline!

If we can find the patience and strength to reconcile differences in experiences; open up and share ideas through creative processes rather than adding to an already overwhelming set of rules that restrict the flow of creativity; I believe we can start more conversations by saying “What if…”

Imagine working in an environment where people worked and shared with such passion as this young drummer? Do you think there could be any limitation with respect to what we could create? What if…we gave that a try for a little while?