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Almost exactly two years ago I left Red Hat to start what would become New Kind. I'd been there for four and a half years. It was wonderful and challenging; one of the great adventures of my life.There are several reasons it was so rewarding: + I was
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If you're a designer who thinks design deserves a 'seat at the table' you have to love John Seely Brown — a design hero and sherpa for the 21st century. His book The Power of Pull, co-written with John Hagel III, works off their recurring theme that
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My friend and business partner Chris Grams wrote a great blog earlier this week on whether or not companies should have vacation policies. We decided long ago at New Kind that we would not have a vacation or sick leave policy. You need or want time off, take it. We
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We live in a world with some big problems. That’s certain enough. I suppose it has always been true and will always be true. We advance. The blessing and curse of being human. We exchange one set of problems for the next. But we do not succumb. We do
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My good friend and business partner, Chris Grams, writes that “formality in business is dying.” He isn’t referring to fashion or manners. Chris is referring to formal business practices such as the heavy emphasis on structure: the arranging of elements rather than content.Amen, brother. And not a moment
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Grasshoppers have to let go of some old baggage. If we continue to battle 20th centuries bogeymen, we're going to lose 21st century opportunities.
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At New Kind, we believe that innovative organizations compete stronger when they have a mission. A real mission. Something you can understand. Something you can see. Hold onto. Bite into. Something you can join. This is the most important strategic question for innovative organizations— those whose
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Creative people are different. They insist upon being different. And business leaders who believe innovation is truly strategic might consider adjusting their own world view of creative workforces in order to gain a competitive advantage.
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Maps, plans and spreadsheets are only valuable when they are in service to people who have somewhere to go— not when those people are slaves to the plans. As we create organizational culture, we have to make sure that our work forces are prepared and comfortable looking up from their plans, evaluati
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What does the future hold for marketing and communications now that the Web has made such a mess of things?
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Last night I attended Shel Perkins presentation at an AIGA Raleigh event; I'm a big fan. I recommend Shel's book— Talent Is Not Enough— to any designer who is interested in the operations management of a creative firm. Shel takes the complicated issues of trademarks and
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Design Thinking proponents are often at odds with advocates of Six Sigma and other quality-driven, process programs. I have been no exception. It is not that I don't recognize the powerful competitive advantage such programs have driven over the past three decades. But in an age where quality