Merry Christmas!
This story here has been a favourite for many years now, and I have probably sent it to hundreds of you around this time of the year, either as part of my work mailers or…
Category: Human Behaviour
Design ThinkingHuman BehaviourImproveInspireLife or something like itNot So SeriousThe known unknown
On Writing..
One of my favourite fictional characters is Poirot. In the 2023 film A Haunting in Venice, when explaining his method, he says: “When a crime has been committed, I can, by application of order and…
On Re-reading Books..
Most of us don’t read enough. And those who do, often fall into a numbers game: how many books can I finish this year? In this mindset, re-reading an already finished book feels almost wasteful.…
Should Innovators or Designers expect or hope Users to provide Solution Ideas?
Here’s a nice post by Nikki Anderson for anyone who’s debated whether innovators and designers should ask users for innovative solutions to their challenges, or if crafting the solution is solely the innovator or designer’s…
Random musings on Lego Pricing and Positioning
I’ve admired Lego since childhood, although I haven’t collected many sets over the years, the most recent being two Technic kits about 7-8 years ago. What holds me back is the plastic. I hope Lego…
Ever Find Yourself Asking ‘What Can One Person Do?’
Ever caught yourself telling someone, or even yourself, something like, 'what difference can one person make?', or 'what can one person do?' If you have, the name 'Ferdinand Cheval' might be one worth remembering. Born…
From Quality Revolutions to Design Thinking: Where Did All the Productivity Go?
Back when I was researching for my book, 'Design the Future', that simplifies design thinking for businesses and curious individuals, I noticed something striking. The popular 5-step Stanford design thinking model closely mirrors DMAIC, a…
Fragmented Societies
I recently read 'The Social Animal'; an ok book with some 'aha' bits. One idea that stuck with me was about how societies are evolving over time. Over the past few years, I have kept…
Tweaking User Experience – What more in the name of Novelty?
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is one of those timeless pieces of advice that gets overlooked far too often, particularly in the world of product and service design. Over months and years, you…
The Funny Route Life Insurance Companies in India chose to Bridge the Gap in Insurance Cover
Startups often struggle to find a healthy balance between becoming and staying relevant, with marketing and sales, and competition and growth. Their efforts and struggle, while not necessarily always logical, is usually understandable. However, one…
How Should the Pedestrian cross the Road-2
A few months ago, I had posted about the concerning design of the current lot of cars, with their sheer vertical drop fronts. I was recently lucky to spot an old Honda Civic in a…
For More Inclusive Products and Solutions
When designing products or experiences for customers who might be less privileged compared to you, a lot of people attempt to try and think of what life might be like for them in general, and…
Excerpt from Execution by Larry Bossidy
"As a leader, you have to show up. You've got to conduct business reviews. You can't be detached and removed and absent. When you go to an operation and you run a review of the…
Instagram – Are People Reeling in their Posts?
Not sure if this is a more common pattern, but it has been my observation at least with regard to a bunch of friends who are active on Instagram that they have considerably reduced posts,…
Coin Tossing should be more commonplace
I recently watched the 2006 political action thriller, 'The Sentinel.' It had a character follow this practice that is old, obvious and practical, but is hardly used nowadays. In the movie, a senior Secret Service…