Goonies always make mistakes:

Embracing failure and learning from it

Six weeks into the CMCI Studio program and I am getting good at failing. Learning how to fail in the beginning of the design process helps get ideas flowing and are just part of the processes. From a practical prospect it is also a lot cheaper to fail in the early stages of a project too.

The sooner you embed a culture of smart failure into your workflows and teams, the faster you will design useful solutions for the people you serve.
–– IDEO

So what do The Goonies have to do with design and failing? In the first couple of weeks we learned about IDEO’s Design Thinking and FourSight. Taking a mix of different types of thinkers and using them in a team setting to get the best play of strengths and weaknesses. The Goonies as a group had different skill sets and social circles but were able to find One Eyed Willy’ ship when the “Pros” could not.

Andi, it is okay to make mistakes. We all do. Just do not make any more.
–– Mikey Walsh

The three core elements of design thinking are: Ideation, Inspiration, and Implementation. FourSight brakes-up people into strengths: Clarifiers, Ideators, Implementors, and Integrators.

A letterpress printed poster I made and hang by my desk as a reminder

As I continue my journey in this program I keep the mantra “Goonies never say die to” above my desk. Remember that design is a practice and that failure is part of the process as long as you gain insight from it.