Blog

Taking action on a business strategy is something many people struggle with. Jennifer Riel, IDEO’s global director of strategy, shares how to know when you’re ready to put your strategy into action, three design tasks required to do so, and examples and tips to help you get started.

With every new year, we’re faced with excitement at the open slate ahead of us. If you’re thinking about the next steps in your career, we’ve collected some resources to help you achieve your goals—whether you’re trying to become a better leader, more creative thinker, or more compelling storyteller, we’re here to support you.

Social entrepreneur, artist, and author Chris Wilson worked hard to go from a life sentence to a life of purpose. He shares lessons on resilience, his principles for success against the odds, and tips for crafting your own master plan.

Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy, authors of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book No Hard Feelings, say embracing our emotions makes us better at our jobs. They outline a framework for making better decisions by tapping into our emotions and explain how to move from emotional intelligence to emotional agility.

The most impactful lessons and skills we’ve gained from our podcast guests, learners, and IDEO U instructors in 2020.

Tension is inevitable. IDEO Senior Director of Global Learning and Development, Heather Currier Hunt, reframes tension as a learning opportunity that can take ideas and teams to a better place and provides her favorite tips.

In a candid webinar hosted by the Design & Innovation Group, our own IDEO U Dean Suzanne Gibbs Howard spoke with her friend Robin Beers, Head of Customer Research and Experience Design at Wells Fargo, about the importance of representation of women in the design industry. They share insights and tips for how women can support each other and navigate challenges in the workplace.

Regardless of role, work can suck sometimes. Laszlo Bock, CEO and Co-Founder of Humu, a company that aims to make work better by encouraging people towards better habits and unlocking their potential, is focused on changing that. He’s dedicated the last decade of his career to bridging the gap between what we wish work was and what it actually is. In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, he shares insights and tips on how we can make work better by sending small behavioral nudges to cultivate more empathy, equity, and resilience in the office.

Now, as the founder and CEO of Milk Stork, the world’s first breast milk shipping solution, Kate is on a mission to prove that breastfeeding and work can coexist. In this episode, she shares her story of how one nightmare travel experience turned into a successful business and the lessons she’s learned about purpose, leadership, and motherhood along the way.

As a venture capital investor at Collaborative Fund and Kindred Ventures, Kanyi Maqubela has invested in dozens of companies—including Lyft, Kickstarter, Beyond Meat, and Blue Bottle Coffee—and evaluated hundreds more. He seeks out founders and businesses that are not only addressing a market need, but have the potential to reinvent our future. In this episode of our Creative Confidence Podcast, he shares the elements he looks for to signal a strong business idea, an impactful leader, and a collaborative team.

Sheryl O’Loughlin says there’s a dark side to entrepreneurship, but it’s possible to run a startup in a healthy, joyful way. In this conversation, we dive into Sheryl’s vast experience as a CEO, founder, mentor, and advisor to pull out key lessons she’s learned at critical moments in her career. Walk away with tips for launching and growing a successful business while maintaining a fulfilled life.