Day 3–Empowering Change: Reigniting purpose, passion and impact in research

— We are here, at Day 3 and at the end! And so excited to be here

— Hello everyone and excited to be here talking to you, and privilege of being a design leader

  • In almost 40 years, went by many titles from graphic designer, information designer, experience designer, founder, CEO, DEO, Design Director, and Executive Leadership coach

— Leveraged design and lot of change in profession we all love

— Talk about good, bad ugly to side of change within ourselves and industry

  • Share examples of long career as illustration to navigate murkiness uncertainty and fear in professional life

— Share framework for challenge of change, and more frequent and more chaotic

  • Spoiler alert: Life will work itself out

— And will provide tool to work way forward

— Bear with me, but check in with emotions and get grounded, so close eyes and take one breath in and one breath out

— Want to reflect on how you felt at beginning of conference. Share with us one or two words that summarized about place in research industry before this conference, and use whatever words come up for you and invite you to place your response in conference slack channel

— Some might feel happy or secure, while others feel fearful about themselves and place in it

  • At different places in lives and careers, so no wrong answers
  • You are not alone in how you feel, and part of loving and supporting community and we got this

— Felt similar feelings throughout entire life and career as designer

  • Graduated with degree in graphic design, and sense of where graphic design and strategy all within one job

— Roles weren’t defined and did what was done to make high quality work for clients and people we cared about

  • As design matured and people worked inside company’s and roles became more streamlined and specific, and continues to this day

— As working designers we’ve thrived in some years, and in some years extreme downturns to tighten belts to survive

  • In course of 40 years it has evolved and recreated itself

— 10 years later founded and led experience design called Hot Studio, and grew to become multi-discipline creative company and creating many interactive experiences for clients

  • Grew to be one of the most respected design studios in country and created work by diverse and talented workforce

— Fun place to work and highlight in their life

— Company was unique and in 2011 gave TED Talk on people-centered strategic approach as CEO and founder, and declared best future leaders made up of design executive officer

— DEO as leader who saw problems as design problems, and right mix of creativity and metrics

  • Possessed special superpowers by putting people at center of everything you do and know how to get stuff done

— DEOS were rare in 2011, but here we are with 14 years later and now seeing other creative business leaders at highest levels of orgs

— Led studio for over 16 years and Facebook acquired us, and design and designers were in demand and valued by tech industries, people were asking for intuitive and seamless experiences from company’s they supported

— Tech companies looked around and realized they lacked people with right skills who understand people’s wants and needs and design experiences on their behalf

  • Oh shit, moment for industry

— Largest acquisition from design by tech studio, and at forefront of creative acquisitions

— Researchers and designers became valuable assets in tech world

— In 2015 joined Autodesk to be VP of Experience Design in 35 year history and goal to unify and build strong design practice and product experience across the board, and move it to be experience centered and another milestone in design

  • Rise of design leader in executive suite and loved that job deeply

— Was flying high and had excellent team and great cultural experience

— Had two executive sponsors who were largest supporters and had impact across entire company

— But it turns out support didn’t have support of entire exec team, and when CEO retired, and boss abruptly quit afterwards when not CEO

  • New CEO didn’t view design as important enough at level I was at and categorized work at important but not urgent

— So design leadership no longer considered a priority, and I was laid off

— Great metrics, business results, but how could this happen, and getting fired was shocking at the time

  • After all design leadership was on rise, and I had proof in results

— All emotions kicked in with shock, anger, disbelief— believed that if you work hard and show sold results, believed would be rewarded

  • Not necessarily the case,

— Something are in control, and you can learn from them and do better, and sometimes decisions happen which are outside control

  • Then fear and shame kicked in
    • Fear of losing status and identity as design leader
    • Shame of no longer being relevant and hopped on job interviews to preserve VP street cred and losing interest

— Struggles to shake off negative emotions, and why it was hitting so hard, and picked up book Transitions by William Bridges, and like the 80s cover

  • Book shifted my whole perspective and feelings — helped understand transitions how they occur and how to move through them over time

— Three stages

  • Endings, Neutral Zone, and New Beginnings

— Begin with endings:

  • Ending occurs when reality of present moment shifts or changes altogether—whether reorg, promotion, job loss, new baby, marriage, divorce
    • A loss and we feel grief when we experience loss and mourning loss and ending to once normal and predictable life

— During endings phase all stages of grief are triggered, and when we experience grief our creative mind shuts down

— Not ideal time for job hunt, as accepting job out of fear, instead of what helps you grow

— Better approach to take care of yourself during physical time and did all the feelings

  • Take the time to move through it, and let it pause

— Won’t be able to wipe away feelings overnight, and be kind to yourself and keep inner critic and demons in check

  • Don’t let them tell lies about not being good enough, even though circumstances are beyond own control

— You will then move to second phase called the neutral zone, and waiting for sign to rise

  • Bardo in Buddhism

— Point and place for analysis and introspection

  • Ask what we did right, what we could have done better, what to improve, and what did I learn about myself and

— Started colleagues about questions and turns out we all learned on the job and issues with leadership roles and wrote book of Changemakers with Christopher Ireland

— Take stock of what works and what isn’t. And use an energy audit to figure out where human energy is used effectively for best self and best work, and where drained to lose productivity and overall happiness in life and career

  • Focus on things that give positive energy in work and life

— What are things I do and passions that fulfill me in work and life and make list of all things that sap and rain all energy and figure out what saps energy and minimize in my life

  • Who are people who take energy and why?

— Can’t eliminate or avoid all of them but can work to minimize them

— After this phase, I promise you that spark will happen and new beginning phase occurs where mind is open and creative mind gets super-charged

  • Let go of way new things are, and what new thing this can become

— Confidence builds with meaning in life and work

  • Curiosity leads creativity, and will form new ideas, and ability to rethink, reimagine, and reframe career now

— So then reconnect to your why, source of passion and inspiration

  • Ask: Why do I do what I do, and why work is important to me and my values as a human being?

— The why would lead to a “how”

  • For me it was being in service to others and lift people up, and choose full potential and services they encounter or anything in work and life

— Over course of career brain-washed to think of career as ladder,

— To me ladders are no fun, but better to see career as set of trampolines, and resume as portfolio life experience

  • Ask what through-line across all trampolines and what are skills and strengths that sustained me financially
    • How can I sustain and grow them? And how can I apply them to make a world a better place?

— Greatest joy to help and mentor others

  • Led insight to be executive coach and shamanic counselor, which I wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t felt my feelings

— After hours of interviews, you get job offer that feels too good to be true, and done well think you are on a roll

— Reality sets in, and newness wears off with bumps in the road, and two years start to get deep dips

  • Fight through, flight, or quit, freeze, hide until winds change

— Most people leave prematurely

  • Failure is inevitable and it sucks and hurts— and takes time to recover with John Maeda sayin “Failure is easy, but recovery is hard.”
    • If you haven’t failed in org, you haven’t taken enough risks, and the higher you go up in an org, the harder you will inevitably fall

— Be courageous and bouncing back from failure makes you stronger, and pain almost intolerable will get moments of insights and spark creativity and new possibilities in life

  • Embrace the low points and their learning

— Once you hit bottom and clear out the noise, creativity will flourish, and then iterate and evolve and time to redesign

— Ask once again to close eyes and deep breath and breath out

  • Open eyes and reconnect to your heart and at conclusion for magnificent conference for profession

— Industry and world is in flux and defining what it will become and for many of us feel darkness world right now, and many things are breaking and hurting, and some people are dying

  • Many things to be re-envisioned and redesigned

— This is where we come in, and people to put pieces back together, and stop limiting ourselves on what we can dos

  • And see what’s possible with skills we have and path we are already on, or something new in better way

— Something completely different with skills we already have

— Thank you, so persist and thrive