Designer seeking advice...

Earlier this week I received a message from a young designer asking for advice on how to land her dream job.  With her permission, I'm reprinting it here (with some editing to not reveal her identity):

Hi Irene, How are you? Hope you are well :) Sorry for the direct approach. My name is V. and I'm a Visual/UI/UX designer currently based in [city].  I'm a young designer in my mid-twentys [sic] aspiring to become a good UX designer. During the mean time I'm having a difficult time just to get started. It would be amazing if I could get some help on some career advise. I discovered [an opportunity] I really want to be part of, but as I'm not experienced enough for the highly skilled small team, I was not a great fit. The team lead has kindly given me some advise on what skills I need for the role.  Two years later, I've found myself not gaining the skills I wish to gain through my job. While working, I'm constantly reading blogs, books, and more in order try and improve my skills. I'm starting to get frustrated, since I'm not quite sure how to take my skills to the next level through work. Like most mid-twenty year olds trying to figure out 'life', I find myself so hungry for something, but I can't quite pin point it out exactly. What I do know is that I do want to work on something meaningful, have contribution to the world through my skills. This is exactly why I find [this organization] so appealing, or you could say it was like love at first sight and the flame is still burning strong two years after. I strive for creating great user experiences through strategy, research and design. The only problem is, I have no idea on how to get there. Just yesterday I came across a design worksop that is going to be held at Google Headquarters - Mountain View. On the application it asks the applicant to explain one project that is in their portfolio that they are proud of. And I realised that I haven't done any UX work that I'm proud of nor came across any major problem solving matters. I do love being a designer and I'm grateful that I have a design job in this economy. Thank you so much for reading this letter and I do apologise if this letter came across a little strong or intense. Have a lovely day! Best wishes, V.

A few years ago I would have responded with a reply naming my favorite UX books, authors, and consultants.  I would have given more blogs to read, specific workshops to take, and conferences to attend.  What I have observed over many years of mentoring and employing hundreds of designers is that it's often not lack of skill but lack of an internal resource that limits them.  This is what I wrote to her:

Hi V., 

Since you asked for my advice, I will share my perspective with you, which has largely been shaped by my own career and studying and practicing the spiritual teachings of yoga. 

First, start where you are.  Stop worrying about the skills or expertise that you don't have.  You already have a foundation and basket of skills to draw from.  When you worry about not having the skills or knowledge you need, you lose confidence, which undermines your ability to learn and be effective. 

Second, the best way to learn is by doing.  Get involved in projects that interest or inspire you. Maybe you will be lucky enough to engage in such projects that happen to also bring you income.  If not, find the time to engage in such projects on your own time.  Seek collaborators, or go on your own.  Make stuff, design stuff.  Invent projects for yourself to do that allow you to exercise your skills; you will learn a lot by practicing.  You will learn even more by seeking feedback, from mentors and users.  From the feedback, you will discover how you need to grow.  In your desire to make your product better, you will orient your energy toward activities that will help you grow. 

Third, notice and follow what brings you joy and energy.  If you are truly interested and passionate about the endeavors, your interests will guide you toward what you need to learn, and you will invest the time and energy into learning it.  You will also build a portfolio/body of work that you can later show to potential clients or employers; the joy you bring to your work will shine through and you will be able to see yourself more clearly -- and people you talk to about hiring you will see that too.

 [...]

Best, 

Irene 

This advice was inspired by three basic rules for practicing Hatha Yoga, which I wrote about last year.  In fact, these rules are relevant to almost any endeavor, whether starting a yoga practice or exercise regimen, advancing one's career or beginning a new one, entering a new relationship, or creating a new product:

1. Start where you are.  Stop worrying about what you don't know or that others are further ahead than you.  Stop worrying about what the future holds.  Be in the present moment, and start with what you have, where you are, right now.
2. Join movement and breath.  In other words, just do it.  Fear nothing.  The best way to learn is by doing and getting into it.
3. Observe yourself.   Through self-study and observation we gain awareness and presence of mind.  We notice changes over time, understand cause-effect, and use that feedback to inform the future.

Hatha Yoga rules = Rules for Life

Udacity seeks to solve our greatest education and employment challenges

It's no secret that higher education as we know it today is not sustainable.  The cost of going to college is only increasing, and the nation now has nearly a trillion dollars in college debt.  And yet, the unemployment rate in the US is around 8%.  People are paying sky high prices for college, only to not find a job.

At the same time, here in the SF Bay Area / Silicon Valley, the demand for talent has never been higher.  Employers like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and countless startups compete for engineering and design talent.  It seems the country's system of higher education is failing employers and prospective employees.

It is because Udacity seeks to help address this problem that I am so excited to be working with them.  The CEO, Sebastian Thrun, who is perhaps best known for his involvement in directing the development of Google's self driving cars and augmented reality glasses, gave up his tenured position at Stanford to found Udacity.  His vision and ideals are directly aligned with mine:  use the internet to democratize education and make it freely accessible to all; offer a teaching environment in which students can explore their passions and learn about the things they love, while taking responsibility for their own learning; and help connect employers with people who have the skills and passion needed for the job.  

There is much work to be done with the site. It wouldn't be a fun endeavor if things were already figured out and perfect!  We're looking to hire a designer to join the team.  If you're passionate about working on these problems, have a great portfolio and would enjoy working in a scrappy startup environment, please contact me.  

The Nectar of Chanting

We just returned from a family trip to the ashram in upstate NY.  Our visit was profound, powerful, and uplifting, in ways that are too deep, personal, and difficult to explain with words.  As is typically the case when taking the kids to a new, unfamiliar place, they were uncomfortable at first, but by the end of the week they loved it.  Much to my surprise and delight, the kids have really taken to chanting.


Chanting at the ashram can be quite challenging.  We sit for almost two hours, chanting in Sansrkit, where the words can be as long as 30+ characters.  Sometimes the chants are repetitive, but the longest, most challenging chant is 183 verses, lasting 45 minutes, and is not repetitive at all, which is more difficult to chant than a repetitive chant because you have to stay focused and present.  The first time the girls went through it they thought it was immensely boring but politely sat through the entire program.  One or two days later, something clicked, and their whole attitude changed.  "Chanting makes me feel good," said Charlotte.


Chanting can be wonderfully euphoric and grounding.  At the most basic, physiological level, chanting is about breath control.  Chanting requires a relatively short inhale followed by a long, sustained exhale during which the notes are vocalized.  It is yoga for the vocal chords and tongue!  The control of breathing is a useful tool for reducing anxiety and stress and increasing feelings of gratitude.  


Singing offers similar benefits as chanting but there are features unique to chanting that contribute further to one's well-being.  Chanting features a highly regular cadence and has an even range of tone.  Thus, it is much simpler and more accessible than singing and more energizing than regular speech.  Not everyone can sing, but everyone can chant.  


When chanting is done in Sanskrit, most students only have a loose association with the words.  As a result, the words are said in a more emotional than analytical way.  Making sounds with feeling creates a release which helps people feel better and breathe in a more balanced way.  The repetitive chants at our ashram often progress through a range of cadences and tones, which results in a journey through varied moods and emotions.  


Since most of us don't know Sanskrit, chanting also becomes an exercise in setting aside one's ego and approaching an activity with a beginner's mind.  In addition to the health benefits, chanting cultivates increased concentration and mindfulness.  


Watching a beautiful music or dance performance can be extremely moving.  The performers are  united, mindful, filled with love for what they do, and sharing it with the world.  Chanting provides a similar sense of unity, with the difference being that you are also a participant.  That unity is our yoga. 

Scenes from home... with a squishy pink smiley face toy

After coming home from teaching an early morning yoga class, my daughter told me she had been taking photos around the house while I was gone.  I love looking at the photographs my kids take as it's a great glimpse into how they see the world.  Now that they're older, the photographs provide a view into their creative process as well as a way for them to practice an awareness of their surroundings.

The photo series starts out with a lot of photos of every day objects around the house: the piano, a book, a jacket, a toy, a container of loquats:

Then things start to get interesting as she starts to pair objects with each other:

Pretty soon she starts creating scenes with the squishy pink smiley face toy:

And then somehow the toy finds nirvana:

Goodbye Google, Hello World!

I've been getting enough inquires about my current employment status that it seems a blog post is in order.  Yes, it's true:  after 6 years at Google, I have decided to leave and move on.  I turned in my badge yesterday!  Reflecting on my time spent there, it has been an incredible journey. Google's relationship with design has evolved in ways that seemed unimaginable six years ago. I'm extremely proud of the team I built there, and Google UX is in great hands with the next generation of leaders. I'm excited for its future and look forward to seeing what comes next!

One of my main intentions behind leaving Google was to pursue a different path from what I was doing before. Having run not just one but two of the largest, most prominent UX teams in the Internet industry and in Silicon Valley, the impact I was having was at a large scale, but in a very indirect way. Going through the yoga teacher training last year taught me a lot about myself. First, I loved being in the beginner's seat again and learning something entirely new and different. Second, in contrast to the work I've done for the past sixteen years, the impact I've had in teaching yoga is very direct and hands-on, albeit at a small scale relative to what I did before. Reflecting on this, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Albert Einstein: "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."

What's next for me remains to be seen. For now, I am potting plants, literally and figuratively. (As it turns out, potting plants is another activity that puts me in the beginner's seat, as my children have pointed out to me that I know nothing about gardening.) I'll continue to teach yoga, but not too much, to give myself the time and headspace I need now. An avid advocate of Montessori education, I've joined the Board of Trustees for my children's school. As I've already begun to advise and consult with startups, next month I will join Trinity Ventures as an EIR. I'm extremely excited to join a team comprised of genuinely good people in the venture community. I'll save details on that for another post. In the meantime, Namaste!

"I'm not good at yoga."

Now that I'm teaching yoga, the topic of yoga comes up in conversation from time to time.  A comment I hear often is "I don't do yoga.  I'm not good at it."  The irony of this comment fascinates me.  How come one rarely says, "I don't go to strength training classes, because I'm not strong," yet people say they don't do yoga because they're not flexible?

Perhaps what lies behind that statement is the perception that yoga is pretzel poses that only contortionists can do.  In fact, such poses are not part of the ancient tradition of yoga, and if one wants to better understand the history of yoga and its relationship to Western women's gymnastics, I highly recommend "Yoga Body" by Mark Singleton.  Ancient yogic texts actually refer to only a few postures, intended for people to build strength and stamina to sit and meditate for long periods of time.

The term "yoga" means different things to different people.  The physical practice (referred to as "asana" which means "seat") is one of eight limbs of the spiritual practice of yoga.  And yet to many, the term "yoga" is commonly associated with the physical practice.  Now there is a growing community of teachers and practitioners specializing in the discipline of yoga therapy.  While the definition of yoga therapy continues to evolve, to me it represents the integration of traditional yogic concepts and techniques with Western medical, physiological, and psychological knowledge.  In this emerging tradition, there is recognition of the human being as an integrated mind-body system, and yogic techniques are used both as preventative measures to keep the body functioning optimally as well as to treat spiritual, physical, or mental ailments.

With these perspectives, what exactly does it mean to be "good" at yoga?  There is no "good" or "bad",  no judgment to be made.  In yoga, there are just three rules to guide the practice:

1. Start where you are.  It doesn't matter how flexible you are or whether you are or are not flexible.  If you can breathe, you can do yoga.  There is always something for everyone to do, and there is always somewhere to go, more to learn.
2. Join movement and breath.  There is no posture without breath.
3. Observe yourself.  Through self-study and observation we gain awareness and presence of mind.  We notice changes over time, understand cause-effect, and use that feedback to inform the future.

Ultimately the comment "I'm not good at yoga" comes down to ego.  Just making it to the mat requires surrender and letting go of the inner critic that judges oneself and worries about being judged by others.  And that is what yoga is about.  (As an aside, this is also a necessary step for any creative endeavor!)

Mindful Design in Japan

At the Wisdom 2.0 conference last February I spoke about Zen and Design and what it means to design mindfully.  While vacationing in Japan last week, I was delighted to see how public spaces there are full of examples of mindful design.  For example, consider something as mundane as manhole covers.  In the US we never give them much of a thought; they usually look like this:

In contrast, manhole covers in Japan are an opportunity to bring unexpected delight to pedestrians that pass:

Manhole covers aside, how often have you seen sidewalk railing that looks like a cage or bars in a jail?

In Tokyo and Kyoto, the railing along sidewalks and bridges are opportunities to bring delight to the public:

In yogic practice we try to cultivate mindfulness by bringing our awareness to the present moment, without judgment.  Mindful design is about bringing attention and awareness to the things we otherwise take for granted, and creating joyful experiences through our interactions with those objects or surroundings.  The manhole covers and railings illustrate how mindful design can be applied to the physical appearance of an ordinary object.  We also found examples of mindful design applied to the experience of public spaces.  For example, this time of year, cherry blossom trees are in full bloom, and pedestrian malls and major roads are lined with sakura:

Compare this scene with California Ave, the local business district for my neighborhood in Palo Alto, which sadly does not even have trees after the city decided to chop them all down:

California Ave, Palo Alto:  Before, with trees

California Ave, Palo Alto:  Without trees

Another example:  many creeks in the US are filled with concrete, motivated by cheaper maintenance costs and more efficient flow of water to its destination:

La Ballona Creek, Culver City, CA

... while all the creeks we encountered in Kyoto were beautiful pedestrian paths:

Mindful design is not just about aesthetics.  User experience practitioners advocate for understanding users' latent, unmet needs.  Identifying these needs and creating an experience that goes beyond what is expected or required is also mindful design.  Consider the ticket counters at Tokyo subway stations:

That little blue strip of plastic is in front of almost every ticket counter and vending machine. It's not pretty, but it serves as a resting spot for one's umbrella or cane as owners purchase their tickets.  It's unlikely the Japanese public requested this feature; whoever thought to offer this feature had a heightened awareness of users' latent needs and, just as importantly, had the funding and support to provide this extra detail.  Great design does come with a cost, whether it is added expense or time.  Thus, mindful design has to come from not only the designer, but also those who enable or support the creation of experiences (e.g. sponsors, CEOs, supervisors).

How are you designing mindfully the products and experiences you create? 

"Grown-ups like numbers"

We are rereading "The Little Prince" by Antoine De Saint-Exupery during bedtime stories.  (Even though my kids are old enough to read to themselves, we still enjoy the nighttime ritual of having me read to them.)  As my children grow older, they are able to appreciate the book in new and different ways.  In their younger years they loved the whimsical pop-ups and illustrations.   Now that Charlotte is 10, she enjoys the wisdom the book brings to light.  Whether you have children or not, "The Little Prince"  is a must-read.  As an example, this passage from page 15 poignantly describes adults' over-focus on data:

Grown-ups like numbers.  When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask questions about what really matters.  They never ask: "What does his voice sound like?" "What games does he like best?" "Does he collect butterflies?"  They ask: "How old is he?" "How many brothers does he have?" "How much does he weigh?" "How much money does his father make?" Only then do they think they know him.  If you tell grown-ups, "I saw a beautiful red brick house, with geraniums at the windows and doves on the roof...," they won't be able to imagine such a house.  You have to tell them, "I saw a house worth a hundred thousand francs."  Then they exclaim, "What a pretty house!"

(As I read this to Charlotte, she exclaimed, "This man is a GENIUS!")

Children are born wise.  As we get older we gain knowledge but somehow lose our wisdom.  

Sophie's wise thoughts

Wise thoughts from Sophie:

(1) The other day my parents came home bickering about an incident that occurred on their way home with Sophie.  Half an hour after returning home, they were still bickering.  Sophie looked at me and said earnestly, "Why are they still talking about this?  It happened in the past.  They should focus on what's happening now."

(2) Earlier this week, Sophie shared with me, "I don't know why people don't like the rain. I *love* the rain!"  Reminds me of the Arnold Beisser quote:  "The tragic or the humorous is a matter of one's perspective."

Contemplating non-attachment

Book I, Sutra 15, "Yoga Sutras of Patanjali"
Drstanusravika visaya vitrsnasya vasikara samjna vairagyam
The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving for objects seen or heard about is non-attachment.


This sutra asserts that non-attachment is essential to the practice of yoga.  Attachment is derived from the things the mind is attracted to through the body’s senses (drishta = seen; anursravika = heard), a metaphorical way to describe worldly things that we perceive.  Rather than go for things the mind wants, one should be able to discriminate whether the things we perceive are actually good for the self or not.

When the mind is attached to worldly things, the practice of yoga cannot be fulfilled because the mind is distracted.  When the mind is distracted by desires, the mind cannot rest and be at peace.  Meditation is only possible when the mind is free from attachment.  

The absence of attachment is related to the lack of expectation of outcomes.  When one is free from expectation, one cannot experience disappointment no matter what the result.  When we remove attachment and expectation from any endeavor, the pursuit of that endeavor becomes intrinsically rewarding, as opposed to extrinsically rewarding.  Thus we are more able to enjoy the journey (e.g. the process), rather than be focused on the outcome itself (e.g. the product).  When the mind is free from personal interest, we do our work well and feel joyful, because we are enjoying the work for experience itself, not the outcome.

Attachment and lack thereof has considerable impact on creativity and innovation, beyond meditation and yogic practice.  Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo found that we are the most creative when we’re focused on the process and being in the present, and least when we’re focused on the product or outcome1.  “When we are concerned about the product, we worry about how it will be judged, evaluated, accepted, and rejected.  Our ego is put on the line.  Worries can then feed back and distort the process of creating new ideas, new visions, and new products.”  One who is process-oriented is intrinsically motivated, engaged in the creative endeavor for the joy of doing it, while a product-orientation is by definition extrinsically motivated.

Outside of creative and artistic endeavors, the absence of non-attachment in the business world has perhaps had dire consequences.  Behavioral economist Dan Ariely conducted experiments in which he looked at the performance of subjects in situations where their compensation was directly tied to how well they performed on a variety of cognitive skills and mechanical tasks.  By connecting compensation to performance, he created conditions in which subjects became extrinsically motivated instead of intrinsically motivated.  Higher bonuses successfully motivated subjects to perform better on mechanical tasks, but actually led to poorer performance on tasks that required even rudimentary cognitive skills. Ariely and his team found similar results from experiments conducted in the U.S., Britain, and India.  “If our tests mimic the real world, then massive bonuses clearly don't work. They may not only cost employers more but also discourage executives from working to the best of their abilities. The financial crisis, perhaps, didn't happen in spite of the bonuses, but because of them."2

In the context of education, the emphasis on grades and testing introduces unhealthy attachment and creates an environment that is antithetical to the point of education:  learning for the pursuit of understanding and knowledge and then wisdom.  The consequences of our test-oriented education system is devastating for our children:  less interest in learning for learning’s sake, less interest in taking on challenging tasks (since they are motivated to get good results, not to take intellectual risks), and more superficial thinking.  Research by Eric Anderman and his colleagues have found in a 1998 study of middle school students, those who “perceived that their schools emphasized performance [as opposed to learning] goals were more likely to report engaging in cheating behaviors.”3

Zimbardo, Ariely, and Anderman’s research are evidence that non-attachment is essential for creativity, performance, happiness, and intellectual well being.  Interpreted broadly, Sutra 15 Book I has significant implications for every aspect of our lives.




References

1 Zimbardo, P. and Boyd, J.  The Time Paradox (Free Press, 2008), p. 122.

2 “Dan Ariely:  Bonuses boost activity, not quality”, Wired.co.uk (1 Feb 2010), http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2010/03/start/dan-ariely-bonuses-boost-activity-but-not-quality

3 Eric M. Anderman, Tripp Griesinger, and Gloria Westerfield, “Motivation and Cheating During Early Adolescence,” Journal of Educational Psychology 90 (1998): 84-93; and Eric M. Anderman and Carol Midgley, “Changes in Self-Reported Academic Cheating Across the Transition from Middle School to High School,” Contemporary Educational Psychology 29 (2004): 499-517.

The Friendly Letter

My soon-to-be 7 year-old daughter has been subjecting us to reenactments of her lessons from school lately, using the whiteboard in the girls' playroom.  In the moment, these lessons are a mixed blessing; we get insight into what she is learning at school while being bossed around in the evening as we catch up on the day's emails, finish dinner and clean up, and get ready for bedtime.  The lessons have ranged from "From Seed to Tree" to "The Works of Leonardo da Vinci" to "What is an Adjective?", complete with lesson, review, Q&A, and homework.

Last week, we had a lesson on The Friendly Letter.  We learned about friendly letter structure, formatting, and proper greetings and closings.  For homework, we randomly drew names of another member of the household and were assigned to write a friendly letter addressed to that person, due in one week.  As if we weren't busy enough!  We procrastinated, hoping Sophie would forget about the whole thing, but she never does.  She even made notebook paper for us by drawing blue lines on white paper, an orange line for the margin, and punched three holes along the side (I told her I had notebook paper, but she insisted on making it for me).

And then, we started to experience the magic of The Friendly Letter.  I received my letter shortly after the assignment was made, from my father, written in Google Docs and emailed to me.  It was brief, but I was moved by his expression of his love and the sense of permanence and sincerity from his written words.   Over the following few days, notes of love and appreciation trickled throughout the house from one person to another.  For the recipients and receivers of The Friendly Letter, it has been a moving experience, an opportunity to reflect on the goodness evident in our lives, to practice kindness, and to nourish our relationships with each other.

Thank you, Sophie, for the lesson on The Friendly Letter.

Why do we roll to the right in Savasana?

A question came up in yoga class about why we always roll to the right after Savasana. It turns out there are a variety of reasons why we roll to the right:

The right side is auspicious
Rolling to the right has a symbolic basis. In India, it is considered more auspicious to enter a holy place with the right foot, and in many parts of the world, we extend our right hand in greeting (in grade school, I remember being taught that we use our right hands to greet others partly because most of us are right-handed, but also because we are exposing our hearts to others). The right side also represents the east; rolling toward the east, or the rising sun, symbolizes asking for blessings, grace, and bliss.

There are physiological reasons for rolling on the right
Since the heart is on the left, rolling to the right puts less pressure on the heart and helps allow the blood pressure reach homeostasis.

Some believe that the right side corresponds to the cooling channel (ida nadi) which would keep the body in a state of calmness as it comes into a sitting position.  Physiologically, the sympathetic (active) nervous system is thought to be associated with the right side of the body, and the theory is that by rolling to the right, the meridians associated with the sympathetic nervous system helps stimulate wakefulness when coming out of Savasana.  But I believe this is an oversimplifcation of what is really going on in the body (otherwise how does anyone sleep on their right side?).

The most important thing to keep in mind about coming out of Savasana is this:  an appropriate Savasana provides the room for the student's nervous system to shift to a state of ease (lower heart rate and blood pressure, stimulation of the digestive processes, lower body temperature, release of endorphins). Students should come out of Savasana gradually, slowly, with no hurry or jarring action. Additionally, rolling to the side and pressing the floor helps prevent tension in the neck and lower back.

... but it depends!
So, we roll to the right after Savasana. But like everything, it depends. Pregnant women should lie on their left because it makes the heart's job easier as it keeps the baby's weight from applying pressure to the large vein (called the inferior vena cava) that carries blood back to the heart from the feet and legs. Lying on the left improves circulation to the heart and allows for the best blood flow to the fetus, uterus, and kidneys. Since the liver is on the right side of the abdomen, lying on the left side helps keep the uterus off that large organ.

Contemplating the 3 C's

I've been taking a yoga teacher training class (PURE) through Equinox with Michelle Myhre and Keith Erickson. Both are passionate and inspiring teachers and practitioners; in fact, when I signed up, my intention was not to become a yoga teacher but rather, I was motivated because I wanted to learn all Keith and Michelle could offer about yoga. Although this training has been a huge commitment that has required a lot of time, money, and energy (160 hours of classes plus 40 hours of practice, observation, and assisting in class required), I'm extremely grateful I took the time to learn the skills to do healthy things for the body and soul and be able to share them with others.

I opened this past weekend's class with this dharma talk I wrote, a derivative of the commencement speech I gave at the College of Engineering at my alma mater last month:

Come into a comfortable seated position with your spine erect. Begin taking long, slow, and deep breaths through the nostrils. Take notice of your body... what’s happening within you today? Take notice of your mind... how is your spirit today?

We are near the end of our eighth week of our yoga teacher training; only two more weeks to go. We’ve devoted our weekends, and weekday mornings and evenings to this journey. Along the way, we’ve bonded as a community and have grown to know each other’s souls and bodies. What brought each of us here, and what will we take away as this training comes to an end?

For today’s opening, we will contemplate the lifecyle of learning and growth. I call them the three C’s: curiosity, courage, and confidence. Let's meditate on these three C’s.

First, curiosity.

We all wanted to be part of this yoga teacher training because we are curious about yoga and are interested in learning more. Curiosity is the basis of learning and creativity. It’s more about asking the right questions than the answers themselves. On the yoga mat, being curious opens ourselves to discovering and connecting with our minds and bodies. Off the mat, our curiosity allows us to discover and fuel our passion. Walt Disney once said, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Now let’s talk about courage.

How many of us know someone who has said to us, “I don’t want to try yoga because I’m not that flexible?” Or “I don’t want to try do X because I’m afraid of Y?” Maybe we have felt that way at times too, when we had to make something out of nothing, or when we engaged in an activity even though we didn’t really know what we were doing.

On the mat, we summon our courage to go into poses that may be new, or seem awkward or unnatural. Whether on or off the mat, courage is the willingness to face whatever is in front of us. Maybe it’s fear of failure. Maybe it’s a fear of the unknown. Maybe it’s a fear of rejection. Whatever it is, when we gather the courage to face whatever is in front of us, we emerge stronger, more resilient, more flexible, and those qualities will withstand whatever failure, rejection, and uncertainties we encounter in life. Courage gives us the strength to take risks, and where there is risk there is opportunity.

The last C is about the value of challenge and adversity and the confidence gained from it.

Each of us made sacrifices to be part of this yoga teacher training. We devoted significant time, energy, and money to be here. Along the way, we had doubts about our ability to fulfill all the commitments required of this training. How could we possibly complete all the reading, writing, and practice hours while juggling work, family, and other responsibilities and commitments? And yet here we are all still here. We are doing this!

On the yoga mat, as we practice asana, we are physically and mentally challenged. Sometimes we don’t know if we can get into the pose, or stay in it long enough. But when we do, we feel awesome!

Adverse conditions help toughen us mentally and build confidence. We can choose to blame failures on factors we cannot control, or we can believe we have the ability to shape events and circumstances by making the most of what we can control. When we take on new challenges, a little at a time, we build our confidence to take on more ambitious endeavors. And thus the cycle of learning and growth begins again, with curiosity.

Let’s bring our hands together and offer our salutations to Brahma, for curiosity which cultivates passion and creation; to Vishnu, for courage through which we persist through whatever we face in front of us with optimism, and to Shiva, for adversity and the confidence and joy gained after we overcome challenges.

Guru Brahma
Guru Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheshwara
Guru Sakshath Parambrahma
Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha

(tr: Guru is the creator Brahma, Guru is the preserver Vishnu, Guru is the destroyer Siva. Guru is directly the supreme spirit — I offer my salutations to this Guru.)

Who is the inventor?

The other day, Sophie brought home stencils and coloring pages about inventors including George Stephenson and Leonardo da Vinci. It prompted an interesting discussion with Charlotte as the two of them argued as passionately as I've ever seen them.

Sophie: "Leonardo da Vinci invented the airplane."
Charlotte: "No, he didn't! The Wright brothers invented the airplane."
Sophie: "YES! It was Leonardo da Vinci. We learned that in school."
Charlotte: "No, Leonardo da Vinci only drew designs for airplanes but he didn't make it up into the air. The Wright brothers built the first airplane that made it into the sky."

In fact, Leonardo da Vinci made the first real studies of flight in the 1480's. He made hundreds of drawings that illustrated his theories on flight. One of his ideas, the Ornithopter flying machine, was a design that da Vinci created to show how people could fly, and was the basis for the modern day helicopter.

Who is the inventor, the designer or the builder?

The World According to a Two-Year Old

As much as it irks my husband to give our two-year old control of a $300+ digital camera, I love to see the photos she takes. Her photos give a wonderful glimpse into how a two-year old sees the world. From a trip to a Chinese restaurant:

And photos from a recent walk:

Reisenthel

I normally am not a fan of websites completely built in Flash but Reisenthel's shopping experience makes good use of the technology to create an effective online shopping experience.

Check out the Reisenthel site

"Yes, AND..."

I just started taking an improv class at Stanford--the decision to take this class was spontaneous and I hadn't given much thought to what I wanted to get out of it; it just looked like fun. Having had the first class this week, I had some interesting takeaways that will stay with me as a parent, a manager, a designer:

Dan, the instructor, had everyone break up into groups of four and pretend we were on a planning committee to work on a task (e.g. redesign a city park, plan a vacation, etc). The first round, we were instructed to respond to every suggestion with "No...". In the second round, we were told to respond with "Yes, but...". In the third round, we responded with "Yes, and..."

The effects of these various responses were profound. Even though we were only in a mock situation and following orders, the impact of having someone say "No" to every suggestion was a real downer, limited the flow of ideas, and even affected people's body language and physical interactions. Feelings of resentment surfaced toward people who rejected well-formed ideas, even though they were acting on orders.

In the "Yes, but..." condition, people were more animated, but this passive-aggressive way of saying "no" still killed creativity and people's willingness to advocate for their ideas. Watching this scene unfold, "Yes, but..." mirrored countless business meetings we've all had.

In contrast, "Yes, and..." generated the wackiest and most innovative ideas, and was certainly the most fun to participate in and watch. "Yes, and..." created implicit ground rules that people were not to judge others ideas but to accept them all, and to build on top of them. People started to lean in closer to each other and make physical connections with a touch of the shoulder or brush of the arm in affirmation. They were smiling and jumping up and down. Everyone felt like a winner coming out of the conversation.

"Yes, and..." captures the essence of what is needed for a successful brainstorm: divergent thinking, nonjudgmental acceptance of ideas, ideas built off of others. Children naturally have this gift for "Yes, and...", but we lose this over time. "Yes, and..." is an excellent mnemonic to help stimulate creativity and be more positive. When is the last time you said "Yes, and..."?

Hello Kitty

When I was a child my most treasured belongings were my Hello Kitty accessories: combs, mirrors, address book, wallets, pencils. I loved the compactness of the designs, the attention to detail, the use of high quality materials. Back in those days, you couldn’t find Sanrio toys in the United States; everything I owned came from Hong Kong. As a sign of how much I loved these items, I stored all my Hello Kitty paraphernalia in a special box my grandmother gave me. Now still in excellent condition, I have passed them on to my kids and know they treasure these things they way I did.

So I was especially interested when Hello Kitty stuff started to become more accessible in the US. You can now find Hello Kitty just about anywhere, especially at Target, where there are items created exclusively for the store under their licensing deal. My five year old daughter is just as into Hello Kitty as I was, citing “Hello Kitty stuff” as the only toys/accessories she really wants.

But what made Hello Kitty stuff so appealing when I was a child was not the image of her character, but the design and quality her character represented. With the licensing of her character, Hello Kitty is slapped on the same bags, shoes, clothes that you’ll find next to similarly made items with Barbie, Disney princesses, or Dora the Explorer on them. Even when I want to buy Hello Kitty “stuff” for my daughter, I find nothing worth buying unless I go directly to the Sanrio store. Hello Kitty has lost its cachet with me, and not because it is no longer an exclusive brand. The brand doesn’t represent the same things it meant to me 20 years ago: thoughtful, well-made, well-designed accessories for children (and even some adults).

1931: A restaurant that delights

One of the best meals we had while in China was at a small restaurant called 1931 in Shanghai, in the French Concession area. The food could easily stand on its own merit, but there were many non-culinary details of our evening there that made it a delightful experience. Reflecting on that meal, these are some of the key ingredients to creating excellent customer experiences:

(1) Consistency of experience
The decor of 1931 was recently remodeled to a more sino-Western 1930's look, complete with colored glass votives and lamps, flowery wallpaper, a painting of four 1930's Shanghai women playing mah-jong in the parlor, and old jazz playing in the background (they even claim to have a Victrola!). The restaurant itself is very small, with only 8-9 tables cozily packed in a small space. The experience felt as if we had wandered into someone’s house in the Concession for dinner. (Unfortunately there was a sign prominently displayed in the restaurant that said no cameras allowed!)

(2) Needs anticipated
Although the restaurant is small and cannot accommodate many diners at once, there was no shortage of wait staff tending to our needs when we were there. Dressed in traditional qipao, the waitresses were attentive and responsive without being too intrusive.

(3) Quality beyond expectations
We had the pleasure of experiencing many wonderful meals in China at some of the nicest restaurants, and this meal tasted as good as the best of them. What made this one stand out was how finely prepared all the ingredients were: potatoes, scallions, and cucumber julienned into the thinnest slivers; vegetables minced so well that almost no chewing was necessary, the food just melted in the mouth. The chef at 1931 clearly recognizes that texture is as important as taste when it comes to creating a delightful meal.

(4) A surprise that brings delight
Shortly after we ordered, we were served three small appetizers served on a glass-blown caddy: roasted seasoned peanuts, tofu with cabbage, and soybeans with vegetables. The finely prepared appetizers did more than put us in a good mood over having bonus food before our meal; they gave us a preview into what was to come. As Brian Wansink has shown, our perception of the quality of a meal is greatly influenced by external factors beyond the food itself, down to the smallest details like where the wine comes from.

The surprise appetizers, attentive wait staff, and consistently 1930’s, cozy atmosphere set such a positive impression and warmed our perceptions toward the restaurant so that the food tasted even better than if the same dishes had been served to us at any other restaurant. We got a great meal and a nice lesson on creating an excellent customer experience.

This space for sale

I was struck by how prevalent advertising is in China. There isn't any space that can't be sold! It was not surprising to see advertising in taxi cabs, even if it is on every seat (even the front passenger side):



But street signs and traffic signals are not exempt either:


And there are these huge boats whose only purpose as far as I can tell are to move giant electronic billboards up and down the river:


To what extent are the Chinese desensitized vs. tuned in to advertising? How are their expectations and tolerance for advertising different from other cultures where public spaces are not sold as heavily? How does that translate to web design?

Pearls Before Breakfast

Inspired by the Washington Post article Pearls Before Breakfast (a bit long, but worth the read; you can also catch the video of Joshua Bell playing at the DC Metro station), I'm going to make a conscious effort to be more mindful of my surroundings and enjoy the beautiful things in life.