Pollinators of Mindful Design: Cultivating Community with Organic Innovation

Synopsis

Reflecting on a recent conversation with Michael McKay, I have come to appreciate the importance of cultivating mindfulness among disruptive innovators in business and design. My role as a metaphorical cross-pollinator encourages a continuous exchange of creativity and innovation within the communities I work with, contributing to the evolution of human experiences, culture, and environments. By exploring my Ikigai, I have discovered a deeper purpose in challenging preconceived notions and fostering mindfulness among clients and designers to better serve the needs of people and society as a whole.

Yesterday proved to be a day full of valuable insights. I had the privilege of engaging in a conversation with Michael McKay, a dear friend from Denmark who currently serves as the Vice President at Novo Nordisk, a healthcare company dedicated to innovating treatments for chronic diseases. Michael and I have a long history; sixteen years ago, he was one of my students at the 180 Academy, a school for change-making and innovation in Denmark. Since then, we have maintained regular contact fueled by our shared interest in cultivating organizational cultures and practices that inspire mindful innovation.

This conversation was prompted by my need for help in reflecting on the evolution of my curiosity and practice. I invited Michael to discuss emerging opportunities for applying my skills and wisdom in the post-COVID and post-generative AI world.

Our conversation led me to reflect on my Ikigai, a Japanese concept that provides a framework for exploring one’s ‘reason for being.’ Broadly, Ikigai guides you in discovering four key elements: what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.

From our conversation, I discovered the following patterns:

Throughout my career as a consultant, I have focused on helping corporate clients harness science and technology to enhance the lives of their customers. As a part of this work I spend very little time within the confines of corporate offices; instead, I immerse myself and my clients in the lives of the everyday people they seek to serve. Consequently, my strength lies in assisting teams within client companies in developing mindsets and a culture that prioritizes the well-being of their customers. I have observed that our clients who are normally driven primarily by bottom-line objectives find new meaning and purpose in their work when I help them expand their consciousness of the realities and aspirations of everyday people, communities, and society as a whole. I call this process of helping them develop a broader perspective and take responsibility for the consequences of business decisions on people, communities, and society “Mindfulness.”

I find immense satisfaction in challenging my clients’ preconceived beliefs about their customers’ realities, especially when these beliefs hinder their ability to adapt to the rapidly changing realities of the real world. Clients with whom I’ve maintained long-term relationships (ten years or more) have reported that they particularly value the learning experiences our engagements provide and the ripple effect of purposeful enthusiasm they create within their organizations.

The dire need for cultivating mindfulness among disruptive innovators became clear to me during my experience teaching a UX Design class for engineers pursuing product management careers. Through deep conversations with my students, I realized that engineers possess immense power to either help or harm society. Those who are solely obsessed with what technology can do without considering the human and ecological consequences of their creations are more likely to cause long-term harm. On the other hand, engineers who learn to make every design decision with consideration for its potential impact on human and ecological well-being will help harness technologies with guardrails of mindfulness.

Over the past five decades, my understanding of design has evolved significantly. I now believe that design extends beyond the creations of designers and is fundamentally about how people endeavor to improve their quality of life. In the latter three decades of my five-decade-long journey as a designer, I engaged in numerous ethnographic research studies worldwide. These opportunities allowed me to observe and inquire about the various aspects of people’s lives, including their daily struggles, meaningful rituals, and the activities and interactions that bring them joy and foster connections.

Through these studies, I discovered that, despite the ever-evolving technological landscape, human beings consistently seek to harness resources in their environment to fulfill foundational needs, as exemplified by Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I therefore contend that all human striving ultimately seeks a higher sense of being and belonging. Design as practiced by everyday people can be understood as an ongoing process of people tinkering with options to bring convenience, comfort and meaning to. their lives.

Regardless of our professional titles – designers, engineers, innovators, disruptors, or change-makers – our true purpose is to contribute to the pool of choices available to people for shaping their lives and environments. This role necessitates embracing community engagement and participatory mindsets to be able to learn what is convenient, comfortable and meaningful.

Until recently I used the term “catalyst” to describe my role in inspiring social imagination and change. However, my conversation with Michael led to a moment of epiphany. I realise that a metaphor that better defines the role I want to play in influencing change in the world is that of cross-pollinators in nature.

In nature, cross-pollination is primarily facilitated by various pollinators, such as insects, birds, mammals, and even wind or water. These pollinators play a crucial role in transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of another flower, enabling fertilization and the production of seeds.

Some of the key facilitators of cross-pollination in nature are:

1. Insects: Bees, butterflies, moths, flies, and beetles are some of the most common insect pollinators. As they collect nectar from flowers, pollen sticks to their bodies and is inadvertently transferred between flowers, aiding in cross-pollination.
2. Birds: Hummingbirds, sunbirds, and honeyeaters are some examples of avian pollinators. While feeding on nectar, these birds brush against the anthers, picking up pollen that is then transferred to other flowers as they continue feeding.
3. Mammals: Bats, possums, and some rodents can also be significant pollinators in certain ecosystems. Their fur collects pollen while they feed on nectar or other flower resources, facilitating cross-pollination as they move between plants.
4. Wind: Wind can carry pollen grains, especially from anemophilous plants (those adapted for wind pollination). Wind-pollinated plants often produce large amounts of lightweight pollen that can travel long distances and fertilize other plants of the same species.
5. Water: Aquatic plants can utilize water currents to disperse their pollen. The pollen floats on the water’s surface, traveling to other plants of the same species, leading to fertilization.

These pollinators and natural forces are vital to maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem health, as they promote genetic diversity by facilitating cross-pollination among plants.

In nature, various pollinators play a vital role in the intricate process of transferring genetic material between plants, ensuring their reproduction and maintaining a healthy ecosystem. These pollinators possess a common characteristic: they facilitate the connection between the different aspects of nature’s reproductive system. Here are some additional examples that showcase the interplay of complementary forces in nature:

1. Sperm and egg: In sexual reproduction, sperm and egg cells combine to create new life, merging the genetic material of two parents.
2. Stamen and pistil: The stamen, the male reproductive part of a flower, produces pollen, which is transferred to the pistil, the female reproductive part, to fertilize the plant.
3. Day and night: The cyclical nature of day and night, governed by the Earth’s rotation, influences the behavior and life cycles of various organisms.
4. Tides and shorelines: The gravitational forces between the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun cause tides that shape shoreline ecosystems, supporting a diverse array of marine life.
5. Rivers and deltas: Rivers carry sediments and nutrients downstream, shaping and nourishing the land, often forming rich delta ecosystems where they meet the sea.

In essence, these pollinators and natural phenomena bridge the gap between nature’s interconnected elements, maintaining the delicate balance of ecosystems and the intricate web of life.

If we consider designers as metaphorical pollinators, we play a vital role in facilitating the exchange of ideas, creativity, and innovation between various domains, industries, and communities. In this context, designers pollinate between:

1. Concepts and applications: Designers bridge the gap between abstract ideas and tangible applications, bringing innovative solutions to life.
2. People needs and product features: By empathizing with users, designers translate their needs and desires into functional and aesthetically pleasing products or services.
3. Different disciplines: Designers often draw inspiration from diverse fields such as art, science, technology, and sociology, cross-pollinating ideas and approaches to create holistic solutions.
4. Culture and commerce: Designers integrate cultural sensibilities with commercial feasibility, ensuring that products and services resonate with target audiences while remaining viable in the market.
5. Past and future: By learning from history and staying updated with emerging trends, designers weave together valuable insights and progressive visions, shaping the present and contributing to the future.

In essence, designers, as metaphorical pollinators, will nurture a continuous exchange of creativity and innovation within the communities they choose to join. Their contributions will help evolve ecological balance, enhance human experiences, shape the material world, and enrich culture and environments.

Reflecting on my conversation with Michael, I have distilled the following key takeaways:

1. It is crucial to encourage and cultivate mindful creativity in all individuals, empowering each of us to apply our imagination, energies, and mental and physical abilities to enhance the lives of those we care for.
2. In my vision of the future of mindful design, communities, rather than companies, will serve as the incubators for insights, imagination, and creative endeavors.
3. To foster creativity within communities, we should focus on contemporary rituals and social interactions that nurture and harness the wisdom of intercultural communities.
4. Intercultural dialogues and community events centered around art-making, collective storytelling, and debating will become valuable resources for curating creativity in the future.
5. Technocrats and business executives must practice humility, cultivate curiosity and compassion, and integrate community engagement and immersion in unfamiliar cultures as essential components of their business processes.

I hope that by embracing the concept of designers as pollinators of mindful design, we can encourage innovation that not only serves the needs of people and businesses but also nurtures the ecosystems in which they exist. By cultivating communities with organic innovation, we pave the way for a more sustainable and harmonious future.