This Is DesignIntelligence

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 relationships built on trust, respect, and good communication, and how balancing uniqueness and consistency is key to successful projects and careers.

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 trends, in the absence of strategy, are not really all that valuable.

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 thinks there is no such thing as a dream job.

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 space.

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 today.

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