It’s very common for leaders in the consulting world to prescribe treatment for the problems and challenges of others—and be fully qualified and effective in doing so—while continuing to fly by the seat of their pants when it comes to their own teams and/or organizations. Since it’s the expressed job of consultants to provide expert advice (that you’d therefore assume they’re implementing themselves), the dichotomy here is especially glaring, but in reality, this scenario is present regardless of industry, product, or service. “Do as I say, not as I do.” Consultants to clients. Managers to reports. Elected officials to constituents. … Read more of the post How Design Thinking Can Make You a Better Leader

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of speaking to the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University. The fine folks at Temple, along with support from Leonard and Melinda Mazur, have started a program to help Liberal Arts students explore opportunities where their skills apply that may not be obvious. I was really excited for this talk—one of my passions is helping young professionals get seated in their career. Years ago, I wrote a blog post offering advice to those seeking a career in UX.  It’s one of my favorite pieces, so every once-in-a-while I go back and re-read it … Read more of the post Advice for Liberal Arts Majors: Consider a Career in UX

Ask yourself these three questions… Do poor people deserve nice things as much as rich people? Do poor people work as hard as rich people? Do people who work hard deserve nice things? If you answered “yes” to questions two and three, then you should have answered “yes” to question one as well. But odds are you didn’t. Our attitudes about money in this country conflate wealth with virtue. If someone is rich, it’s because they deserve to be. Maybe ’cause they’re smarter. Maybe ’cause they’re more talented. But something about them makes them worthy of wealth. Luck doesn’t enter … Read more of the post Why the Poor Deserve Good UX

Earlier this year, Chris, Greg, TJ and I attended the Lead Developer Conference in New York. This conference surprised and impressed me in many ways—so many that now, months later, I’m still both processing what I learned and feeling the positive energy I found there. The Conference Experience A conference, in my view, is a necessary evil. Like airlines and ISPs, conferences are both the conduit to what I really want, and the obstacle to be cleared before I can get it. What I really want is to learn something new and meet people who do what I do and … Read more of the post Great Conference Experiences: The Lead Developer Conference

In 2015, the percentage of people in the U.S. with disabilities was 12.6%. To put it another way, nearly 40 million people out of roughly 317.5 million individuals in the United States reported one or more disabilities.* How do these millions of people interact with technology? What’s being done for them? I had the opportunity to learn more about accessibility when I attended this year’s CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. CSUN, as it’s known, is held by California State University’s Northridge Center on Disabilities. For over 30 years, the Center on Disabilities “has provided an inclusive setting for researchers, practitioners, exhibitors, end … Read more of the post Reflecting on Assistive Technology and Advocating for Accessibility