My personal 10 year review

Unlike many people looking forward to what they expect of the future, I want to look backwards to see what I’ve learned and achieved in the past ten years. These past ten years have been really life changing for me, and it’s a combination of personal and professional stories that have got me to what and where I am now in 2021.

In 2010, I was still in Peru started my own soul searching after some “bumps” i got during the previous year trying to get back to student life. In 2010 I decided to quit my 10-year career as a marketing guy, quit my job as a Brand Portfolio Manager and started seeing what could be possible. I even started exploring my entrepreneurial blood with a tiny start of a Yelp-type of service with my friend Ana Sofia. Learning from Jose Luis and Yolanda on how they took every startup was enlightening. I learned that I need to be surrounded by entrepreneurs to know what it feels. Having the stability of a full time job for a company sort of blocked my entrepreneurial spirit, which didn’t go that far because I stumbled upon new opportunities.

It was still early 2010 when I read a Fast Company article on how Tom Kelly (founder of IDEO) dealt with cancer. In that article I learned about Patrick Whitney, who was the dean of IIT Institute of Design in Chicago at that time. I googled it and thought it was the program I was looking for. After applying, being accepted, a short visit to Chicago (I didn’t even know where in the US it was!), getting a loan (still paying it!) and a visa, this guy from Chiclayo was ready to move from Chiclayo to Lima to Chicago.

My masters degree at ID was supposed to make me a better marketer. It led me to quit marketing instead and opened new spaces I never thought I would explore. From social aspects of living “on the go”; to understanding food addicts; to thinking of the future of a newspaper in Columbus, Ohio; to redefining retirement planning for the boomers; to understanding remote work, and creating an app to make a better world, among other projects and clients I worked with. It taught me something I had to learn while making an effort to unlearn from my past: Users are People, not markets. And under this perspective is how I go on now. A conversation with Tom made me focus on my strengths rather than on my weaknesses (“I don’t have a design background”) and a conversation with Larry made me believe I am a designer and that I need a portfolio even if my focus is on design strategy. This conversation also encouraged me to extend the program one more semester (taking less credits) so I could absorb and digest all the new information I was getting. Oh, and will never forget Patrick's patience when I was frustrated with the design approach: "are you an engineer or a business person? - Ok, let's take a seat".

Extending the program took me to apply for internships and to learn #whynot - and during the spring/summer 2011, after evaluating a couple options, I decided to take one in Madrid, at Telefonica R&D. It also took me to India to work in the first version of the India Immersion Program in Mumbai, working at Godrej Ltd. in defining the future of living in Mumbai. It also took me to Sao Paulo to see the design scene there and prove the powerful network the ID was.

2010-2011 were not only the years I made new friends but also the years I got back in touch with old friends from Peru living in Europe. 2012 was the time to explore new things, freelancing with ID (with Marilee) and Roots (with Cath and Brian), applying for a work visa in Spain and finally, moving to Madrid.

Moving to Madrid was a choice I took. Having some options of going back to Peru, moving to Brazil, or even staying in the US I thought “What’s the option that will give me more stories to tell?” - And Madrid seemed to be the answer. Conversations with Hugh, Kim and Tomoko were also helpful in making a decision. While I waited for the visa I learned how Spanish bureaucracy is and also how welcoming some (not all) people from Spain were.

Getting to Madrid in 2012 was overall great. Working with a team I knew from my internships made the transition and onboarding easier. It was in Spain, in a random bar conversation where I faced my first of many contacts with racism: “So you came from Peru already with a job?” - “well, no precisely. I just came from Chicago” - “ah ok, now I get it” (sic)

Getting to the Telefonica R&D team in Madrid represented a triple jump as some friend told me: new career, new industry, new geography. And it was fun and rewarding. Having the chance to bring user and business perspective in topics such as social innovation in Brazil, financial services for merchants, new TV services, exploring the beginnings of wearables, understanding the world of insurance telematics, giving smart cities a new perspective, exploring intrapreneurship or making sense of IoT. That was enriching. And also getting my first opportunities to speak in international and local conferences, volunteering to find the value of design in Business with DMI, and to teach in several schools was something I would have never expected. I couldn’t have achieved all these with the colleagues I had that now I can call my friends. And a boss who was caring enough to ask all the time “how are you? are you having fun?”

It was five years at Telefonica honing my design research and strategy skills while learning a little bit more of technology. Always with the idea of making technology that is more human and that makes sense. After those five years I got the chance to explore the world of design consulting at Fjord. Something I’d never had the chance to work for (besides school work with real clients). I can say that despite the ups and downs, the net result is still positive. Learning from big corporations from different industries and facing many people’s obsession of technology for the sake of technology are challenges I still deal with. Bringing user perspective is the activity I enjoy the most. Making clients understand what people think and challenge clients’ own orthodoxies are key to bring new ideas. I’m also learning from the industries I work with and the clients as individuals with their own goals, aspirations and frustrations. Being surrounded by some brilliant designers is always encouraging. Being supported by them, leading some teams and also being able to share my experience with them is an honor I’m really proud of.

In the personal side, I’ve learned more about the fragility of life, the tricks our mind play to ourselves, and to appreciate the moments of joy and the importance of work life balance. I met and married a person that makes me laugh and shows me what matters every day. I’ve reaffirmed the importance of good friends and a good network. I tried new sports, new flavors, fresh feelings…

What would I like to achieve in the next ten years? I have some clear thoughts in my mind. And I’ll share them over a conversation.

These are some of the names that came to my mind while writing this. I might be missing many people but I want to thank them all. Juan Diego, Alejandro, Juani, Dante, Paola, Ana Sofia, Jose Luis, Yolanda, Marilee, Tom, Tomoko, Kim, David, Vijay, Brianna, Anijo, Patrick, Cath, Brian, Leticia, Reena, Sajid, Mr. Rid, Jus, Jess, Stef, Luis, Jose, Jose Manuel, Paloma, Ana, Aitor, Pablo, Sandra, Antonio, Paco, Marco, Ricardo, Ana, Remko, Oscar, Carlos, Javier, Rafa, Paula, Susana, Pamela, Lucho, Ana, Paola, Bea, Sergio, David, Andy, George, Roberto, Danilo, Carlos, Blanca

2020 my year to keep "in mind" / 2020 mi año a tener "en mente"

This is the moment of the year when many start making a summary of the year. Lessons learned, wishes for the coming new year.

This has been a special (and tough) year for many of us. Friends and family we’ve lost. And friends that lost family and friends. New work configurations (which I appreciate) and above all, it’s been a year to consider what really matters and to care about it. One thing that has been salient for me (besides family and loved ones) has been mental health. Often considered a taboo or even a sign of weakness.

At the beginning of the lockdown, after an anxiety crisis I was diagnosed mild depression. Sleepless days, unable to focus, and a hardly explainable sadness. It was the first time I took sleep pills and fortunately I had the right person next to me, plus professional help and friends. Now it’s part of the past, I’m better. I’m grateful that my loved ones also asked for help and we are all moving forward. Being aware that are things that you can't control but also things you do control is liberating.

I’m grateful that I’m surrounded by people who care. I hope this coming 2021 is surrounded by those people I have around and those I couldn’t see during the year.

And hope more of us can keep in mind that
asking for help doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re human.
Don’t take your mental health for granted.

Luis

(Español)

Llega el momento de hacer el resumen del año, de lo que aprendimos y de las resoluciones de año nuevo.

Éste ha sido especial y duro, muy duro. No solo para mi, sino para muchos de mi familia y amigos. Amigos que perdimos y amigos que perdieron familia y amigos. Muchos hemos tenido que adaptarnos a nuevas formas de trabajo (que me encantan). Pero para mí ha sido el año de considerar y valorar lo que realmente importa y cuidar de ello. Una de las cosas que resalta además de familia y amigos es tel tema de la salud mental. Hablar de salud mental es tabú para muchos o incluso un síntoma de debilidad o falta de personalidad.

A inicios del confinamiento, luego de una crisis de ansiedad me diagnosticaron un cuadro de depresión leve. Imposible concentrarme y una tristeza infinita que sabía que no era normal. Busqué ayuda y entre pastillas para dormir y mi sicóloga de toda la vida lo he superado. Aprendiendo que hay cosas que no puedes controlar y que debes dejar pasar, y haciéndote dueño de las cosas que puedes controlar. Tener a mi lado a la persona correcta, ayuda profesional y el cariño de amigos y familia que supieron de esto (muy pocos), puedo decir que es parte del pasado. Pero queda la conciencia de que te puede pasar en cualquier momento y…es normal. Más aún en estos tiempos.

Para el 2021 solo espero poder estar con los que me importan y con los que no pude ver este año. Y espero que todos aprendamos que la salud mental debe cuidarse.
Y que pedir ayuda no te hace débil, te hace humano.

Luis

On purposeful, calm companies

After my post during the first weeks of the confinement, there are still many questions without answers. But the observed behaviors of people, businesses and governments make me think that we need to work even harder to make change possible (not to say that I’m less optimistic than during the confinement).

I keep asking myself how might we redefine success?

I think that question is key as answering it could totally change how we all behave. We are stuck in the past and what most people, companies, governments want for the “new normal” is to be as similar to the past as possible. That is insane.

After talking to many of friends and contacts around the world, my guess is that very few changes happened. Some companies “quickly adapted” to remote work, but what they actually did was just moving all the vices of the offline world to the online world. Same endless, full of people meetings that end up in planning the next meeting. Same sales goals and pressure. Just moving everything online and expecting “normal” results in these ”everything but normal” times.

I still have hope. But to be honest, I see that “putting people in the center” has become popular among many teams just because this way they can advance in their business/area goals, and not because of an honest intention to care about customers, employees, or the environment we live in.

But even if they try, we are locked in a system that is focused on growth and optimizing gains and minimizing costs. Commercial teams are incentivized to focus on selling more, no matter what; HR, IT, Finance, Procurement teams are incentivized to focus on savings, no matter what. And when we push back, we are always told “this is how the real world is” or “you don’t understand life”. But despite that, some of us still want companies to become more purposeful and to consider benefits beyond financial ones. But how could companies be more purposeful and think beyond financial benefits if they are focused on short-term results and increasing “shareholder” value?

I was about to give up, but thanks to a book recommendation by the good Pablo, I’ve found "It Doesn't have to be crazy at work" the idea of a “calm company” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hanson founders of Basecamp. And seems there’s hope. So here are a few questions that might lead us to more calm and perhaps purposeful company:

If we want to start a change revolution, what if we consider companies as a product? do you know how to use it? does it have bugs? is it useful? usable? is it simple or complex?

What if we stop pursuing goals, but clear outcomes that matter instead? Goals tend to be fake numbers for the sake of setting targets. Plus as we know, pursuing “ambitious” goals might lead to the “no matter what” actions that go against our own interests of becoming people-centered: Have you tried leaving your telephone company when the customer service reps have customer retention targets? Or have you seen a project that is scoped to meet the financial targets but implies exhausting all the team? - As Jason and David say, goals could be as simple as staying in business, or serving your customers well, or having a delightful place to work. Just because “goals that matter are hard to quantify doesn't mean they are not important”

What if we stop considering “commitment” as the amount of hours and part of your personal time you dedicate to work? We need to stop those “work ethics” that celebrate presence, few hours of sleep, etc. What if commitment is being able to have a proper work-life balance?

What if instead of requiring more hours of work, we focus on having less waste of time? Many of the people I speak to end up working longer hours because they can’t work at work hours. Meetings, interruptions, calls, continuous updates, you tell me!

What if we remove all incentives and reward systems that lead to a toxic and exhausting environment?

A former boss told me once, “Do the right things right and results will follow”.

And, as a usual, these are just thoughts to provoke conversations. And I have a couple of questions for you:

• Do you know any company that focuses equally in their customers, their employees and the environment? Which one is that? (besides Patagonia!)

• Could a company like these thrive sustainably? If so, why do you think there are not many of them?

• What would your company have to do to become a purposeful, calm company?

Hope to hear back from you,

Luis

@luiseduardodejo

Questions, questions and more questions for what’s possible after COVID19

It’s been almost a month a month of confinement here in Spain. And a bit more than a couple months of thinking of how things could change (or I would like them to change) after all the COVID19 and signs of pandemia go away. I have been telling my friends that I really hope we don’t get back to the same mistakes, attitudes, mindsets, and stupidity that brought us to the era before the pandemia. I really hope things change in a positive way, despite there are signs that many things, could turn even worse in terms of political extremism, racism, intolerance and other non-easy-to-treat maladies that are killing ourselves as a global society.

I hope things don’t get back to what they used to be. I hope, we can drive positive change. So after some inspiration captured in readings and conversations with Ana, Bea, Carlos, David, Marco, Oscar, Paola, Pilar, Rafa, Ricardo and Sergio, I wanted to share some questions and speculations of what could be possible. My goal? Start a conversation, and…why not a movement?

It’s hard to start pointing out topics without thinking in systemic consequences and implications, so I will give it a try by asking questions first.

A higher awareness of antisepsis and our relationships with people and objects?

• How could social interactions look like?

  How will displays of affection and care change? How could we maintain an intense social engagement while keeping in mind social distancing? How will social conventions adapt? Im thinking of how people greet in different cultures, from vows to hand shakes to hugs to one kiss, two kisses, three kisses… :). How will parties, and social life be in the near future?

• How could our interaction with public objects and services that require “contact” change?
  That is ATMs that require pins and touching screens; vending machines where we need to grab objects from; public transport that needs handles that are touched by everyone and even some spaces like gyms and companies, that installed fingerprint readers as a second authentication factor. So, is this the moment for a more intense application of sensors? Will this (finally) be the moment to add new factors like behavioral authentication? (Bert, Pamela, wink, wink). If so, how might we balance the effects of surveillance with privacy and freedom?

• How could transport systems change?
  Think of airports and waiting rooms. What’s the proper distance to place chairs to provide rest and social distancing? How will boarding lines be? How should planes and buses lay out be rethought to keep distances? Could this end the focus on efficiency (squeezing as many seats as possible) of low-cost airlines? Will air travel become more expensive but also a less polluting industry, given a lower frequency of flights? How should the air travel business models adapt?

• As this situation is not just a first world problem, let’s think of how could we ensure that basic services are available to all? Not just public health, but even more basic services such as access to clean, drinkable water, electricity and communications?

A new understanding of doing business, company purpose, work and humane behaviors?

It’s been hard for me to digest the tension between staying healthy and safe, while keeping the economy going. It’s been great to experience what’s essential and what’s not. And how we can live without many things that consumerism has led us to think as essentials. It’s being harder for me to not to empathize with micro, small and medium businesses (my dad used to have one) and how complicated their situation is. But then, it’s also harder for me to think how will companies survive in a new era, keeping the same orthodoxies and metrics that made them successful in the past. Some questions that come to my mind are :

• How will companies change their way of measuring success? How could they move into a more sustainable and planet conscious growth? What if we change the measure of success, both corporate and personal? What if we rethink what profitable means? What if people only purchase to companies that have a serious commitment towards life quality of their customers, their employees and not just shareholder financial profitability?

• Now that we are proving remote work is possible (for some of the fortunate ones). What’s the workplace like? How could we build home spaces that set the right boundaries between work and life? Will we be able to work with any company from anywhere? How should tax and payment policies adapt? How could employers guarantee a decent internet connection and proper ergonomic health in this new workplace? How could work insurance policies work for this way of work? And more importantly, around company culture, how could companies ensure a proper set of rituals and perks that make “organizational cultures” and employee brand unique?

• Will we keep falling into the traps of consumerism, fast fashion and planned obsolescences? Do we really need to buy stuff while we don’t do anything positive to reuse, refurbish, repurpose or discard effectively? This makes me think of how companies communicate and instigate an endless model of consumerism. And how many of them focus on the insecurities of people to make them consume more? (hello consumption influencers, who have made a way of living out of this).

• Who will we buy to? Will this be the time when we as consumers go back to the mom-and-pop and medium-size shops?

• How could we include those in the hidden economies that move whole sectors and bring daily income to their households? I’m thinking of LatinAmerica and its informal economy.

• Lastly, I think these weeks have been also the moment to show our appreciation for those heroes that have allowed many of us to live in a more than decent way. Those heroes are not only the health care professionals and carers, but also those working in public transport, drugstores, taxi drivers, the riders in the delivery services of the so called "gig economy", the ones working in restaurants, police officers and other professionals. How could we create a long lasting, tangible recognition for those anonymous heroes working in different services?

I know I might sound naïve for many. But I believe, we have an opportunity to start differently. To think on people first. To redefine what success and profitability means. And to believe that change is possible.

Thoughts and comments are always welcome and hey, this is just a conversation starter!

Luis

@luiseduardodejo