Design Sprints are a great way to test ideas before you invest a ton of time and money in building them out. You could certainly make something up without understanding your customer but you’ll get more out of your Sprint if you know a little something about the people you aim to help before you start.

Busy is a great avoidance technique. Just like any other; alcohol, drugs, video games, tv, interpersonal dramas. Busy distracts us and helps us to avoid the hard work of being present. The first step to recovery is to put down our screens and stop stacking our calendars. The second step is to get comfortable with the uncomfortable feeling of being present and doing the work; on our lives, in our relationships, at work.

The Job Story method takes the team deeper into the needs of the people we are solving a problem for. This means they are more likely to create a solution that meets those needs and as a result, make something people value.

Five weeks after the birth of my daughter, I woke up with a funny sensation in my right ear — like I was underwater. Things were muffled and strange. I needed an MRI. I didn’t know exactly what to expect other than that I would be inside of a small space for an hour. Here’s the playlist I listened to during the process.

The following products have helped me care for my baby AND myself, and have delighted me along the way: The SNOO, Hatch Baby, Amazon Alexa, Magnetic Me’s & Vava Light. This is great product design.

When Justin Kaster and I first started talking, he was in the midst of working on the next iteration of his business ideas and wanted help defining what his team could do next. I ran a 3-day Design Sprint with Justin’s team to design, test, and get feedback on new concepts that could help him evaluate the best next direction for his business.

How to push yourself to be your best using the Self journal as your personal trainer.

The magic of the Design Sprint is its ability to neutralize politics. When I work with teams, I have frank conversations about politics and team dynamics going into the Sprint. The agenda I design takes into consideration the realities of those dynamics. I use methods to draw out ideas from everyone in the room and facilitate sharing and dialog so that politics aren’t what matters and great ideas can shine through.

You only have so much capacity. You can only do so much. If you do not consider your physical + mental capacity and get real about the maximum that you can accommodate, you run the risk of planning for more than you can handle. The results are worth avoiding.

When it comes to action, the biggest barrier to product teams is often the team charged with making change in the first place. This doesn’t have to be the case. Your team can overcome and bring greatness (or at least bring something!) into the world.

Upon rejection, a quick inventory will do. No need to spend more time than the time needed to assess and learn. Then, move on. Just show up and be better, stronger and more focused the next time.

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.