These methods used are both a means to solve the challenges at hand and as practice so that educators walk away with tools they can use to continuously improve and refine on their own. First: we identify our “to solve” and refine by putting the human beings we aim to help at the center of our problem solving. Then: we come up with new ideas rapidly. Last: we define solutions that will be tested and tried after our work together.

If you are excited about something, jealous of someone or have a desire to say no so that you can say yes to something else, ask yourself: “How you are standing in your own way?” I’m out on my own running collaborative design sprints for clients to solve problems and come up with new ideas for products, services or experiences in the world.

Language is a tool people use every day but words can fail us. Drawing feels uncomfortable and intimidating to many of us. But even the worst (and I’d argue that there is no bad drawing — the only bad drawings are the ones that aren’t drawn.) Drawing communicates volumes compared to a sentence.

When I facilitate Design Sprints, physical movement is a part of the equation. We get up and move around the room. We stand and gather round for sharing ideas. We go out into the world to observe the environments that people live and work in. Motion creates a noticeable shift and more ideas come forth than they do when a group is sitting still around a table.

In terms of advertising, what’s holding back responsive web design is our desire to apply an old monetization model to new ways of publishing content…and it’s not working.