Though it brings rewards in the end, most of us are afraid of challenging our own thought-patterns as if it were an invasive brain surgery.
We’re designed this way, right?
Wrong.
But yes, we’re conditioned this way.
A few weeks ago I had a discussion with one of my friends who shares a rare frequency and runs a successful design firm.
We talked about building the business, creating A-list teams and providing A-class customer service.
He was discussing with me about customer feedback: designers working with his firm were otherwise very good but lacked innovation. He said that it was true for even their Chief Designer who had experience as little as 18 years in the design industry.
The conclusion was to hire a fresh (but brilliant) design graduate whose job would be to passionately challenge each one of the designs that the design team comes up with.
Last week, I met my friend again to hear the good news that his customer is very happy with the recent design innovations that his team produced.
It worked like a charm. Why?
Because the beginning of the end of any great endowment is: “Falling in love with your own creation”.
Sure, you’ve to believe in yourself, your vision and your abilities. But, at the same time, following the same way of thinking just because that’s the way you’ve always done it, is the sure-fire way to attract devolution at the lightning speed.
The decision of bringing in fresh talent to challenge generated healthy conflict. The conflict was to challenge their designers’ fixed way of being and to ensure that the best comes out in the end.
Sometimes, it’s better to have someone in your team who has eyes to look at the things from a fresh lens. Maybe it’s good to have ‘No, but, can we not…?’ kind of people rather than yes-men.
