Writing

Design Leadership

Cultivating the Right Kind of Conflict

The ability to share conflicting views about a situation or problem and still get on is a vital component of any high functioning team. It allows us to broaden our range of possible solutions, spot weaknesses in our arguments, and test our assumptions—usually in the pursuit of a better outcome. As a result, productive conflict is generally focussed on things—be they ideas, features or solutions—rather than individuals. “I don’t agree with this” rather than “I don’t agree with you”.

The Tech Industry Has A Futures Problem

For an industry so focussed on inventing the future, you'd imagine tech companies would spend more time thinking about the impact of their products. However rather than imagining rich and nuanced futures, the tech industry seems hamstrung by incrementalism. Fortunately there is a solution.

My Home Video Conferencing Set-up

A lot of folks have been asking about the video conferencing set-up I've been using for LDFest, as apparently it looks like I'm on TV. So I thought I'd write a quick teardown of the tech. Here goes...

Personal

Clear(Left)

After 15 years growing Clearleft, today is my last day at this wonderful company. I’ve spent the past few years working on my succession plan. First by putting a new leadership team in place, and then by transitioning the company to employee ownership. As such, I’m leaving Clearleft on an excellent footing, and with a bright future ahead.

Speaking & Events

Using your status as a speaker to promote others

Being invited to speak at an event confers some benefits. For newer speakers, the most obvious benefit of speaking is to advance your career. Speaking at an event confers a certain amount of legitimacy and status. The fact that you’re on stage and other people are listening to you implies that you’re somebody who deserves to be listened to; that your ideas hold value that the other people in the audience will benefit from them. This is a great thing to have in your back pocket at interviews, and is sure to impress the person doing the interviewing.

Design Leadership

Transitioning to Design Management is Hard, Risky and Requires a Lot of Luck

There are three common paths into Design Management. Either you start at the bottom and work your way up, you take on a stretch project that elevates you above your peers, or you hit a glass ceiling and are forced to jump ship.