If you're looking for innovation, empathize deeply and remain open to feedback! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=19YnJGOJKZo  ...

This is a collection of thoughts gathered from visiting FabLab's across the globe. One of my main reserach goals is to develop methods for global collaboration with digital fabrication: Its all about the documentation: In order for people to build further upon the work that you create, they need to access it. So share your CAD files, machine settings, photos, screenshots and which materials you use. Be empathic: Think about how people perceive the knowledge that you share. What is the first thing people see when they open your CAD file? In which sequence does your photos tell the clearest story? Which information is superfluous? Too much information means no information....

Hi, hei, hola! I’d love to share this snapshot with you: The story behind this? Well, I was recently invited to give a design-thinking workshop at Total E&P Norge, the French oil and gas company based in Stavanger (takk, Kjetil!).  I was trying to reserve a hotel room through the Nordic Choice Hotels site.  Of course the site was in Norwegian—as it should be.  I was happy to see, however, that they offered a “choice” (pun not intended) of languages on the top right-hand corner.  So I lazily picked English.  (Admittedly, I shouldn’t have if I ever want to learn my new country’s language.  My wife would not be happy.) To my annoyance, a window in N...

I give thanks every day for having the opportunity to do what I love.  It would be an understatement to say that I’m passionate about teaching.  That’s primarily because, to me, the word “teaching” encompasses much more than what it does to most.  Teaching is about building lasting relationships, it’s about sharing, it’s about trusting and, above all, it’s about caring. The first time I actually realized this was when Professor Richard Powell invited my wife (girlfriend at the time) and me to dinner at his place.  Professor Powell, now retired, was then a 56-year-old, long-haired, macroeconomics genius from Northern England living in Barcel...

This article is on Design Thinking and witten by Tim Brown, the current CEO of IDEO....

Please see the this movie on Designing The New Business....

Design Thinking What now matters is the design and delivery of value. That needs design thinking. That needs creative thinking. Judgment thinking alone is not going to be enough. Most people, in business and elsewhere, have done very well on judgment thinking. Such people are rarely aware of the need for 'design thinking'. They find it difficult to conceive that there is a whole other aspect of thinking that is different from judgment thinking. It is not that such people are complacent. It is simply that they do not know that there is another aspect to thinking. —Edward de Bono, 2003 As with design, there’s probably no one definition of design thinking everyone would agree on....

Who would of thought that a book published in 1974 would be so incredibly relevant today.  Anyone who cares about innovation and creativity should read this:  Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas Share your impressions with me!...

Where does creativity come from?  It’s an important question any leader should ask---often.  Whether in the private sector, the public sector, the education industry, or literally anywhere else.  How can we stimulate an environment where new ideas blossom? After thinking about this for a long time, as a manager and teacher, I’ve come to the conclusion that deeply ingrained misconceptions and societal blocks stunt creativity.  Taboos, you may call them. One of my favorite parts of my business master’s classes is “the farm experience.”  This entails classmates finding a partner and making the sound of farm animals --- pigs, cows, chickens --- as loud as they can...