This Is DesignIntelligence

Ben Vickery, co-founder of Vickery Hyett, has 35 years of experience in the designing of sports venues and his experience has culminated in a great degree of knowledge of the standards and requirements for all sport building types. Charlie Jahnigen is a Vice President at SHP with broad experience in all facets of pre-planning, design, documentation and construction, specializing in work related to...

In the company of trusted others where deep and wide safety resides, leadership is best positioned to do what is right and good and true.  In such a context leadership does what is best for the most.

Founder and CEO of ds30, Volker Buscher is experienced in developing and implementing data and digital strategies. He has worked as project director on innovative projects including the London Olympics and developed a global digital service business with revenues of over £40m. He was a recent speaker at the DFC Leadership Summit on Technology and Innovation, where he sat down with Dave to talk abo...

What will always mark a speculator who believes their own distortions is the dynamic of extension. They will extend further and further out on the time horizon with their cobbled together case, and those who bought their story before will buy into the extended predictions.

Gavin Starks has founded, funded, and run over a dozen organizations including acting as CEO of the Open Data Institute. He is the founder of Icebreaker One, an independent, non-partisan non-profit with global reach that convenes organizations to understand how best to use data as a continuous flow of evidence that informs action. He was a recent speaker at the DFC Leadership Summit on Technology...

Erik Svendsen is Director of the Division of Environmental Health, Science, and Practice at the National Center for Environmental Health within the CDC. With more than 20 years of experience in research and public health, his focus is predominantly on environmentally induced illnesses. On this edition of This Is DesignIntelligence, he joins us to talk about what his division at the CDC does, what...

It's never a good or right idea to trash competitors. It will always come back to haunt you.

Dr. Mitchell Joachim is an Associate Professor of Practice at NYU and Co-Founder of Terreform ONE. He has co-authored 4 books and been featured in numerous articles, including “The Smart List: 15 People the Next President Should Listen To” in Wired and "The 100 People Who Are Changing America" by Rolling Stone. On this edition of This Is DesignIntelligence, he talks about promising innovation and...

Make the choice today to be the leader everyone needs you to be. Optimistic, strategic, realistic, and positively contagious. It just might turn everything around.

The hope for 2023 is that we will wake-up, set-aside the foolishness, forgive offenses and reconcile differences. That we will rediscover the common sense that we are better together than divided and that every problem we face is resolvable when we do so together.

“Resident Magnetism” is the organizational energy born out of purpose. It’s an energy that emanates from the center and pulses outward touching everyone who interacts with it. It has the power to alter perspectives and change lives.

On our recent series “Leading Creatives”, guest host Bob Fisher spoke to 4 leaders of organizations that live or die by the quality of their creativity. On this edition of This is DesignIntelligence, he shares what he learned with Dave Gilmore, including the absolute importance of relationships and culture within an organization, why diversity is key to creativity, and how conflict can either crea...

A new model for the profession and the business of the profession is critical.  A new resilience must be introduced as opposed to that of hopeful endurance.

Lauren Schmidt is a principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox and the youngest woman in KPF’s history to hold that title. During her time at KPF, Lauren has served as designer and manager for some of the firm's most notable and complex New York City projects. On this edition of This Is DesignIntelligence, she talks about the value and necessity of mentorship and learning on the job, the importance of relatio...

Central to the success of organizations are the twins of Purpose and Vision. Purposeful organizations envision where they desire to be.  They look into the future with purpose as their foundation and hope as their fuel.

Valerie Jacobs specializes in looking forward and is Chief Growth Officer at LPK – she is a futurist who helps clients reconcile the enduring and emergent to create meaningful brand experiences that help businesses adapt, excel and win. On this edition of This Is DesignIntelligence, she talks about what led her to trend forecasting, how to attract and retain diverse groups of thinkers, and why tre...

What are the ethical standards for your organization?  Who makes that decision?  Is it realistic to think that a collection of diverse individuals will all accept the stated standard and live together out of that standard?

Pete Johnson is an award winning Executive Creative Professional who has led creative teams at iconic and beloved brands such as Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and most recently, the Lego Group. On this edition of This Is DesignIntelligence, he talks about trajectory of his career, what he’s learned about leading creative teams and serving business needs without stifling creative drive, and why he...

Being a leader is often thankless, but it comes with the job.  If you’re in leadership to be thanked, affirmed, and recognized then it’s probably time to step down. 

Matthew Kahn is a leading educator in the field of environmental economics and Provost Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California. On this edition of This Is DesignIntelligence, he explains the discipline of microeconomics, discusses how the climate challenge is creating a huge market for solutions, and how the design profession is poised for innovation and success in this spa...

It is more often than not that rising leaders are dissatisfied with the leadership culture of the firm and desire to positively change it.  The caution here is that dissatisfaction too often leads to disrespectful criticism and divides and diminishes rather than unifies and strengthens. 

Richard Swett is a former Ambassador to Denmark and holds the distinction of being the only architect to serve in the U.S. Congress in the 20th century. On this edition of This Is DesignIntelligence, he talks to us about what he’s up to today, about the role architects must play in civic leadership, and the importance of design thinking in solving the social and environmental problems we face toda...

What most influences you? What are you allowing into your life that alters how you think and speak and behave? 

The most effective leadership seeks the balance of creative genius coupled with savvy business acumen.  The best leaders lead with open arms seeking to learn more, include more, and collaborate more.