MAGICIAN'S MINDSET = DESIGNER'S MINDSET

My friend Scott Osman and his team are experiencing remarkable growth—new clients, new books in the works, new products and services.

With growth comes growing pains.?

How do you find a balance between productivity and well-being?

It’s a dilemma we’re all familiar with. I relate to it as a working mother, designer, author, and coach, and I know many of you do too.

I know interns, assistants, and junior staff who are CEOs of their households or their start-ups (Selin Sonmez, founder of OneRoof), CEOs and leaders who are mothering and fathering their parents (Richard Lui, MSNBC anchorman), parents who hold two to three jobs, chairs of college departments who are authors (Debbie Millman, chair of Branding at SVA), authors who are taxi drivers (Philip Glass, composer), and painters who are ambassadors (Ismet Birsel, ambassador). See their stories below, under Inspiration.?

_____________(add yours here.)

We fit multiple lives into one.

Scott notes, "When faced with the dilemma of making tough decisions or taking on everything, Jacquelyn and I recall the wisdom of Harry Kraemer: we all have the same?168 hours?in a week. If Steve Jobs could achieve what he did, surely we can accomplish a fraction of that. We need to embrace a?Magician's Mindset?to achieve our goals."

What Scott describes as the Magician's Mindset is the?Designer's Mindset.

We design and redesign our lives by thinking like designers, solving problems by putting people at the center of our thinking, making sense of the unknown or the complex by using metaphors, reframing our thinking by seeing the same things differently, being open to ideas, and generating multiple ideas without judgment or fear of failure until we find the one that is just right.?

It inspired me so much that I replaced The Magician's Mindset with The Designer's Mindset, with his permission,?as an experiment. Scott loved it.

I am sharing our experiment here but do also refer to Scott's original?Newsletter.

Amidst numerous potential?design?projects, the intricacies of each can be overwhelming. Each project has its unique requirements and contributions, and trying to force everything into a cohesive whole can feel like solving an overly complex puzzle. The?Designer's Mindset?revolves around the inherent energy of people and organizations rather than getting bogged down by tactical details. It's about tapping into potential rather than reacting to constraints.?Designers?empower clients to surpass perceived limitations and boundaries, creating a new reality for others to aspire to.?The Designer's Mindset is Essence-Focused.

In the early stages of?design concepts, the fully realized solution is seldom evident. The more ambitious the idea, the more elusive the answer seems.?Designers?communicate and think in metaphors to envision possibilities, recognizing alignments and patterns everywhere to make sense of the world. There's a strong belief that desired outcomes will unfold through deep immersion in the creative process, even if the path remains unclear. The future is manifested in the present.?The Designer's Mindset Operates in Metaphor.

Amidst numerous options and moving pieces, it may seem impossible for everything to fall into place.?Designers?refrain from prematurely making decisions by sharpening the pencil and attempting to draw out solutions. Walls and barriers may appear insurmountable, and rivers to forge may seem wide.?Designers?anticipate that perfect alignments will emerge to address needs. Seemingly problematic changes on the surface often turn out to be ideal solutions. Barriers related to finances, resources, and skills are viewed as immaterial from the realm of essence. These constraints do not dictate what's possible—the?Designer's Mindset Dematerializes Obstacles and Breathes Synchronicity.

Ultimately, the?Designer's Mindset?is about being unburdened by the material world to playfully engage with potentiality and trust in unfolding. It's a light, expansive, and creative orientation. While the practicalities of the material world will eventually come into play, during the dreaming phase of what's possible, reality should not interfere with our creative visions. In life and leadership, our most extraordinary growth and expansion often occur when our imagination is untethered. Reflect on centuries ago (or even decades) and consider all the things we take for granted today because someone imagined the impossible.?

To shape the world we desire for those we serve, we must occasionally allow ourselves to inhabit the?Designer's Mindset.”

Designer’s Mindset is Magical. There is no creativity without magic—without miracles, serendipity, inspiration, gut feeling, and intuition.

Thank you!

Ayse Birsel

INSPIRATION

Some so many unsung heroes live multiple lives in one. If you are reading this Newsletter, you are probably one of them. Kudos to you!

Here are some of my heroes to inspire you.

Selin Sonmez launched her first start-up while working with us as a junior designer. She is a serial entrepreneur. Read:?Founder Spotlight: Selin Sonmez,?Urban-X

Richard Lui ?took care of his aging parents. Read?MSNBC's Richard Lui shares lessons learned since becoming his father's caregiver, by?Yi-Jin Yu, Today.

Debbie Millman , the chair of the Branding Department at the School of Visual Arts and the host of?Design Matters, is also an author. Her latest book is?Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People.

Philip Glass?drove taxis in New York City. Read:?'I Expected to Have a Day Job for the Rest of My Life'?How Philip Glass went from driving taxis to becoming one of the most celebrated composers of our time, by?Lola Fadulu, The Atlantic.

Ismet Birsel?was the Turkish ambassador to La Hague, Hungary, and the Council of Europe. He was also a painter (and my beloved uncle). View his?work.?

Please click?here?if you are interested in coming to our next?Design the Work You Love?online?session. We will send you more information on tickets and dates.?

For our design programs, please email Leah Caplan, VP, Design and Project Planning, Birsel + Seck, at?leah@birselplusseck.com.

For coaching engagements, please email Jacquelyn Lane, President, 100 Coaches, at?jacquelyn@100coaches.com.

For speaking engagements, please email Nancy Aaronson at?nancya@leighbureau.com.