_ mind the gap_ 


There's a gap between where we are and where we want to be.

Many gaps, in fact, but imagine just one of them.

That gap–is it fuel? Are we using it like a vacuum, to pull us along, to inspire find new methods, to dance with the fear?

Or is it more like a moat, a forbidding space between us and the future?

_ leave a trail _ 

" where did you go to school?" 

An interesting question, perhaps, but irrelevant to a job interview.

The campus you spent five years on twelve years ago makes very little contribution to the job you're going to do. Here's what matters: The way you approach your work.

What have you built? What have you led? How do you make decisions? What's your reserve of emotional labor like? How do you act when no one is looking?

You are not your resume. You are the trail you've left behind, the people you've influenced, the work you've done.

_Beginning _ 

Merely beginning.

With inadequate preparation, because you will never be fully prepared.

With imperfect odds of success, because the odds are never perfect.

Begin. With the humility of someone who’s not sure, and the excitement of someone who knows that it’s possible.

_ In and of itself _ 

Culture is changed by design, and design by culture.

There are things that look ‘right’, and others that don’t. We notice the mistyped word, the straight quote, the lousy kerning.

But then, the paradigm shifts. An illuminated manuscript and a dime-store novel are both books, but neither would look right to someone accustomed to the other.

The challenge of breakthrough design is in doing it with intent. To deliver more, not less of the change you seek to make, the leverage you seek to provide. To do the work with knowledge and care, not laziness or haste.

There’s an internal consistency to breakthrough design. It’s of itself, it reflects the intent of the designer. Copying the status quo is easy, commodity work. Creating a new paradigm, one that resonates, is the real work the designer seeks to offer.

_Bathrooms_ 

The class of a place is directly linked to the class of the bathroom. You’ll never find a 5 star hotel with pathetic bathrooms.

So, the next time, you are at a nice looking store/house/office with pathetic bathrooms, the “nice looks” are likely to be just a front. It’s just like the fact that your behavior matters most when the going gets tough.

That’s why McDonald’s systems ensure that bathrooms are cleaned every 15 minutes. Bathrooms matter. A lot.

So, how much attention do you pay to the bathrooms where you live and work?

_ Effort of decisions _ 

Designing a building requires precisely 1.56 billion decisions and I will be the first to admit that I can’t make them all – I don’t need to make them all. I would prefer to collaborate with talented individuals who like to plug themselves into the process and use their unique and specific skill set so that together we can do something amazing. My ego is not so large or fragile that I am unwilling to recognize that there are talented people out there with something to offer and I make it a point to try and listen to those people as much as possible. 

Which brings me back my topic of the day –

In the course of my job, I find myself in many conversations (especially in office) where I am trying to explain how something needs to get done. In most cases this is an easy process.Sometimes, the person I am talking to wants me to tell them every single thing that they need to do.

If I have to tell you everything …

Occasionally I will work with someone who thinks it is their job to simply show up and do what they’re told. For the record, I really don’t care for that sort of behavior … it smacks of apathy. That lack of interest, enthusiasm, and concern, especially when working in a creative field, is one of the things that makes me want to go home at the end of the day and lie facedown on the bed. While all of this might make me sound like a crank, I think it’s just the opposite. I have a huge threshold of tolerance for people who try their best but ultimately fall short of the mark. In those instances, I think it’s my responsibility to recognize the pattern and adjust my expectations accordingly. But this isn’t about someone’s ability, it’s about their desire, passion, and ownership in the creative process. What I particularly care about here is the effort . I want to surround myself and work with people who care enough to do their very best.

I don’t expect perfection but I do expect effort, anything less and you’re just wasting everyone’s time. 

This is one of the posts that probably shouldn’t be written – but that’s what I do. If I were half as smart as I pretend to be, I would have probably taken this moment and walked around or read news. Instead of doing those things, I went through the cathartic process of writing a post on the matter and we’ll see if I hit the publish button by the time I’m finished. 

_ Place for souls _ 

If a house is built only for shelter,
It is not truly a house for ones soul,
As much as we need a place where we can cook and sleep,
We need a place where our souls can play.

(Ancient Japanese Poem)

This beautiful poem has been my guideline when I create spaces. Sometime I fail and sometime I succeed.