11 June 2009

Resistance is not futile… it is optimal.

Ever ridden down a steep hill at such a fast rate that you could not pedal? Your feet just can’t keep up. It’s an uncomfortable feeling… almost out of control. Riding the flats or uphill… with some resistance gives us the choice to go faster or to slow down.

An experienced salesperson lives for an objection. It is only at that point that they get to do their job. If you ever want to frustrate a salesperson, just smile and nod as they run out of things to say.

When I was a young designer I used to bristle at constraints. Constraints were definitely the things that held me back from doing great design. What I later discovered was that those very constraints that I loved to complain about, were the foundation of my work. They were the problems I solved, the edge that gave me grip, the launching point of discovery. I began to seek those challenges that afforded both opportunity and accomplishment. Learning to embrace constraints was possibly the single greatest lesson I ever learned in design.