Thinking Backwards

Patience is for the impatient.

Many people believe that great designers get great clients. It's not true. It's the other way around.

Patience is for the impatient.

This is the golden age of yes.

How much of your day is spent working to get better clients versus pleasing the clients you've already got? And is pleasing the clients you've already got the best way to get better clients?

One of the things that we see when we look at the work of people who have put really big ideas into the world is that they got there by being patiently impatient, or impatiently patient.

Do small things - things that won't get you fired, without asking. If they work, go to your boss or client and let them take full credit for what you did. If they don't work, go to your boss or client, tell them what you've learned, and take responsibility.

All of you have convening power. We're not in the industrial economy anymore, we're in the connection economy—and connection creates value.

Do small things.

Reflect credit but embrace blame.

It's too important that you do work that's important, than you do work that's pretty.

There is no longer ANYTHING for everyone

"If you want to make change, make it for people who deserve it. But don't give up too soon, because maybe it's your fault that they don't get the joke."

It's so easy to say that my boss won't let me when what we're really saying is no one gave me an effective place to hide.

Patience is for the impacient.

Many people believe that great designers get great clients. It's not true. It's the other way around.

What we see is that the people who have jobs or who have clients who are making a dent in the universe are doing it by leading the people who are ostensibly in charge to make better decisions.

It's deep within in us to let the boss tell us what to do.

Reflect credit but embrace blame. If there's something wrong, you own that; but if someone else, particularly a boss or client wants to take credit, that's fabulous. The reason it's fabulous is they will come back to you for more of that - they're eager to work with people who make them look good.

We've got all these tools and what we're using them for is to play angry birds, which is ridiculous.