When each of us thrive, we all thrive, and from this spirit my Sprint For Good program was born. The program is a way to bring deserving organizations and missions a chance to meaningfully move their business, product and/or service forward. That includes the opportunity to participate in full-blown Design Sprints, Strategic Planning Sessions, and more.

What do purpose, adult friendships, languishing and Barack Obama have in common? My latest reading list, as a matter of fact. This installment explores themes across community and relationship building, as well as examining present-day problem solving.

Time for reflection, recharging, and independent play are top of my priority list this summer, along with some offline projects that require hands-on labor. In order to create space for these, I’ve had to practice setting boundaries and saying “no” to some things, which is challenging, but the overall result is that I have more control over my capacity and can focus on the non-work activities that are a priority for me this summer. Here’s a list of the practices that help me navigate this balance.

I can’t help but draw on my experience as a facilitator to examine how the methods I use when leading Design Sprints and workshops might be helpful in navigating life with a child, and creating more communication pathways for us. I’ve found a handful of things work really well for our family and give our daughter more agency to participate in creating plans, communicate with us, and keep us present with one another.

There’s something adults can learn from kids to allow us to explore and create more freely. These three behaviors are worth taking note of, and might pay dividends personally and professionally.

I believe we can be the architects of the future we want, and that often means swapping a passive manifestation mindset for a more proactive approach. When I think back to the time I felt ready to do something new, I moved from uncertainty to a clear “yes” after taking an active role in the 3-step process, which looked something like this.

This reading-list installment features four women authors who each bring a little something different to the table (or the nightstand, depending on where you like to do your reading).

Whether you’re leading an hourlong workshop or a five-day Design Sprint, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself from feeling emotionally drained and completely exhausted. My hope in sharing these 3 steps — which are my own learnings that I practice every day— is that they save you from feeling burnt out and get you back to the things you love.

I am often asked to have coffee with people who are thinking about starting their own thing. They want to go solo, fly free, run their own show. Sometimes they are interested in focusing on Design Sprints, but often they are interested in something adjacent: digital strategy, digital transformation, product leadership, brand strategy, etc. Here’s my advice.

Busy is a great avoidance technique. Just like any other; alcohol, drugs, video games, tv, interpersonal dramas. Busy distracts us and helps us to avoid the hard work of being present. The first step to recovery is to put down our screens and stop stacking our calendars. The second step is to get comfortable with the uncomfortable feeling of being present and doing the work; on our lives, in our relationships, at work.

Five weeks after the birth of my daughter, I woke up with a funny sensation in my right ear — like I was underwater. Things were muffled and strange. I needed an MRI. I didn’t know exactly what to expect other than that I would be inside of a small space for an hour. Here’s the playlist I listened to during the process.

The following products have helped me care for my baby AND myself, and have delighted me along the way: The SNOO, Hatch Baby, Amazon Alexa, Magnetic Me’s & Vava Light. This is great product design.

How to push yourself to be your best using the Self journal as your personal trainer.

You only have so much capacity. You can only do so much. If you do not consider your physical + mental capacity and get real about the maximum that you can accommodate, you run the risk of planning for more than you can handle. The results are worth avoiding.

Upon rejection, a quick inventory will do. No need to spend more time than the time needed to assess and learn. Then, move on. Just show up and be better, stronger and more focused the next time.

If you are excited about something, jealous of someone or have a desire to say no so that you can say yes to something else, ask yourself: “How you are standing in your own way?” I’m out on my own running collaborative design sprints for clients to solve problems and come up with new ideas for products, services or experiences in the world.

As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” That’s a powerful idea, and it’s one any inventor or creative person needs pushing them onward. There are risks, however, to blindly thinking you can do something and proceeding into dangerous territory. On the other side, there is risk in thinking you can’t do something and limiting possibility before you’ve even begun.

Time spent in nature gives me confidence that patterns will emerge from even the toughest problems — and beautiful things will grow from the mud.

Have you ever been in a meeting with a bunch of people and felt like everyone is holding back? You hear people making statements, but the statements have no soul. Their bodies are in the room, but they are not authentically present. As a result, you end up with a bunch of stale, careful statements about what someone thinks someone else wants to hear. Here are a few tips to avoid these scenarios and be your most authentic self at work.

A meditation on sameness, snowflakes & nothingness. I went this weekend to a place in the woods called Pacem in Terris. One hour north of the city of Minneapolis. This is a place where you can spend time in solitude. Uninterrupted. For as long as you like. I thought just under 2 days would be about right for me this time.