I was camping in Acadia National Park when I got the news. As we pulled onto the highway, I regained cell service for the first time in two days and my phone buzzed with incoming emails. I had promised myself a week away from email, but scrolled through them quickly just to make sure there [Keep Reading…]
Archives for 2013
5 Years of Independence
Happy anniversary to me! Today marks five years since I left my full-time job to go indie — and what a hell of a ride it’s been. I want to thank all my clients who have valued what I could contribute to their organizations and the countless friends, colleagues and strangers who pointed them my [Keep Reading…]
Minor in Tech
When I was 13 and about to finish the 8th grade, a teacher I hardly knew approached me in the hall. “Whitney, I’d like to talk to you about next year.” “What about next year?” “Well you’ll be entering high school next year, and you’ll be asked to pick your electives soon. I think you [Keep Reading…]
The First Four Episodes of Designing Yourself
It’s been a whole month since Paul McAleer and I started our podcast Designing Yourself and we’ve already launched four hour-long episodes. Whoa. We pick a topic each week, usually one word, and just start talking. No script, no outline, just impromptu, fluid conversation. If you’ve listened, you’ve probably noticed how candid and personal we [Keep Reading…]
Give Us the Answer
“You are an expert,” he told me. “We want you to give us the answer.” “Then I’m not for you.” I guess I could have just taken the money, but it would have cost me my integrity. Many companies don’t believe they have time to learn a new way to work. They just want someone [Keep Reading…]
The Evolution of User Experience
When I started my career in user experience, my purpose was to make digital products easier and more pleasurable to use. Interfaces were poorly organized, poorly labeled, and took forever to learn—and I wanted to fix them all. I applied my knowledge of best practices and emerging trends. I used design patterns and standard elements [Keep Reading…]
Empathy is Not a Buzzword
Empathy is not a buzzword; it’s a life pursuit. The wings of wisdom and compassion have been taught by Buddhism for 2500 years. This isn’t new. What’s new is the movement to integrate compassionate practices into business. Particularly in the tech industry which is often so dehumanizing. Left unchecked, technology turns people into proxies. That’s [Keep Reading…]
Designing Yourself
At some point along the way, I realized I was putting so much energy into growing my business that I was stunting my own growth. All of the decisions I made were to benefit the work, not the woman. I’ve designed hundreds of digital experiences, I’ve designed dozens of organizational experiences, but what effort have [Keep Reading…]
Connecting and Disconnecting
We have become a society of people who avoid each other. Our instinct is no longer to extend ourselves to help a fellow human being in need, but rather to protect ourselves, our feelings, our time. We hide. We prefer to be alone. We prefer to sit back and observe. We prefer to climb inside [Keep Reading…]
Email is People
We all complain about too much email. We just can’t find the time to get to it all. Too many emails, too much to read through. We already have too much to do. Inbox Zero. GTD. Three sentences. Email bankruptcy. We keep telling each other that email is stress, it’s a necessary evil, it is [Keep Reading…]
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