There is a big movement in B-Schools and Design Schools to generate a new liberal arts paradigm that goes beyond learning how to think critically about an individual's role in society to learning how to build critically based on people's connection to cultural context. Call it Pragmatic Liberal Arts or Practical Liberal Arts. I call it Innovation Arts or Design Arts because it focusses on the "as if..." prototyping and creating that goes on in serious play (and which our schools succeed in stamping out by grade 2). I'll be discussing the idea of a new Innovation Arts paradigm at The Future of Design confab in Stanford next week.
One of the smartest guys I know thinking about creating new social behaviors by changing old rituals is Diego Rodriquez over at the great blog Metacool. He just had an insightful conversation with Michael Mauer, Porsche's head of design about cultivating, not managing, people. Mauer sees himself as a curator of designers and their ideas. He grows creativity. And anyone who has seen the new Porsche 918 Spyder can thank him for this approach to leadership.
Diego has developed his own set of Innovation Principles. Here they are:
1: Experience the world instead of talking about experiencing the world
2: See and hear with the mind of a child
3: Always ask: "How do we want people to feel after they experience this?"
4: Prototype as if you are right. Listen as if you are wrong.
5: Anything can be prototyped. You can prototype with anything.
6: Live life at the intersection
7: Develop a taste for the many flavors of innovation
8: Most new ideas aren't
9: Killing good ideas is a good idea
10: Baby steps often lead to big leaps
11: Everyone needs time to innovate
12: Instead of managing, try cultivating
13: Do everything right, and you'll still fail
14: Failure sucks, but instructs
15: Celebrate errors of commission. Stamp out errors of omission.
16: Grok the gestalt of teams
17. It's not the years, it's the mileage
What do you think?
One of my favorite things about my mom, she’s always cut out comics, pulled magazine articles, cut up newspapers… and now emails me links all the time as well… perhaps she was one of the curators of my world and editors of NOTCOT before it even came to be… one of her recent saves for me, which i couldn’t help sharing, 
On travel obsessions, someone just reminded me one of the few items that has made my MUST PACK list ~ i’ve been so busy using, i have yet to write about it. 
I feel like such a tease. I keep showing you parts of 
Ok, so i have been calling One Icon, Foothill Ranch - 
So, today was incredibly inspiring. Popped down to 
Ok. I’m super excited about this one. I got a little obsessed with 
Wow just stumbled upon this incredible poster… up close it’s all stars… step back and the skull emerges… oh, and it Glows In The Dark!!! 
I’ve been thinking of a million and one ways to start this post over the last year… So, here goes! In Nov 2008, i was in talks with Aston Martin’s London agency and it came up to have a 
Going through pictures from the London trip… i have so many i’ve been meaning to share from 
A grid full of inspiration ~ here are 25 of my favorites off of 
