Bill Shander is an author, educator, and information designer. His courses in data storytelling, information design, and data visualization are on LinkedIn Learning and workshops around the world. He is a keynote speaker and has lectured for graduate and undergraduate students and staff at Harvard, Northeastern, Stanford, and more. In this interview, we have a conversation around his book, Stakeholder Whispering: Uncover What People Need Before Doing What They Ask, published earli...

Stronghold is a mindset that prisons our growth mindset and forces us to believe that the current situation cannot be changed. A stronghold refers to a self-limiting belief system shaped by upbringing, culture, and past experiences. It becomes a cognitive prison—a mindset that worked before but now blocks our growth, discourages risk-taking, and reinforces the idea that “things can't change” even though it is not true. The truth is, you can be changed. The problem is that you aren't awa...

You are in the darkness. You don't know where to go. You feel stuck. You want to find a way out. No one cares about what you are doing. You are always being ignored or put aside. It is one of the best moments in your life. This is because no one cares about your work. You have the freedom to create something new. While no one has expectations and goal setting for you, you have plenty of time to review your work and reinvent what you can do next. In this episode, we will see how we creat...

Silent Pitching is the art of creating influence without confrontation, guiding others without forcing them, and letting ideas grow in their hearts rather than forcing them into their ears. In this episode, we will discuss how silent pitchers pitch new mindsets to people staying in their comfort zone. We used a quadrant approach to discuss our topic. You can download the Quadrant diagram through this link so that you can use the new approach to tackle your problems. If you find it useful, ple...

You want people to follow your ideas, become part of your creations, and form a larger community. Instead of a push, you should learn to serve. So, the simple question we should ask is, How should we serve to multiply our creations and expand our influence? We used a quadrant approach to discuss our topic. You can download the Quadrant diagram through this link so that you can use the new approach to tackle your problems. If you find it useful, please share it with those you care about:...

You are very busy at work, but you don't know what you are doing. You cannot tell others what your job is about. You passively react to people's demands. You are not creating something at your work that you can proudly tell your family or friends. You are surviving but not thriving. Your passion for your job is gone, and your vision to contribute to your job by what you are good at is left behind. As said above, we call this situation a Ruin. Today's episode is called, Become an Identit...

In the last episode, we have discussed the first half of the topic: Become a Forager: Crossing the Four Lands of Growth Today, we will go through the second part of the episode. Become a Forager is a mindset that we do not settle in the current situation. We actively and iteratively explore, create, and learn to produce a better future than today. We used a quadrant approach to discuss our topic. You can download the Quadrant diagram through this link so that you can u...

Today, we will look into this problem from the mentality of Forager. Forager definition: a person or animal that goes from place to place searching for things that they can eat or use. Forager is like a hunter, gardener, adventurer, explorer, builder, consumer,...These multiple characteristics of Forager become interesting when we use it as a metaphor for our different stages of work and life. We used a quadrant approach to discuss our topic. You can download the Quadrant diagram...

Do you have an experience where you are not moving forward? We may have worked very hard, but gained no reward. You tried to create a breakthrough, but you don't know which direction to go. You don't have a map. You don't have a compass. And the worst is that the direction of the next step is so uncertain, like being covered by a thick layer of fog. In this episode, we will explore how we can design a personalized growth journey by our curiosities rather than relying solely on relations...

Have you ever experienced a period of time when you were being isolated and your works were idled? You felt like you could not move forward. You might be very busy at work, but nothing valuable was created. You were struggling with different relationships without any progress. You were just wandering in the same spot. What made it worse was that you were pushed backward and could not show any improvement. We call this period the "Wilderness" What should we do in the time of the "Wildern...

Our identity in our career life may have been once destroyed. It can be due to external forces - your role was being rejected as what we discussed in the last episode. Or you are being fired from current position. Maybe your new supervision changed all your job duties overnight and get rid of all you have done for years. When your old identity have been destroyed, you have to rebuild it. Rebuilding does not mean building something the same as before. Rebuilding is creating something new...

At some point in your life, you may be rejected. We are not talking about your proposal being rejected by your boss or your pitch is rejected by your client. We are talking about your role being rejected. Being rejected means you are being ignored or put aside. No one cares what you are doing. Today, we will discuss how to rebuild your identity, and your work when opportunity comes, when you have a chance to get out of your rejected zone. We are deeply grateful if you could take a momen...

You think you are building something solid. But somewhere along the way, something else has quietly crumbled. So, what have been broken down and left behind? Your passion - which you have traded for security when you were young. Your identity – which is shaped more by people’s expectations rather than yourself. Your vision - which is nearly forgotten in the rush to climb. We have a general term to describe this situation. It’s called, a ruin. You’...

Our success is often built on what we’ve done in the past. The things we repeat—our habits, strategies, and ways of thinking. These will help us succeed by offering us proven formulas. They create a sense of certainty in an uncertain world. But here's the hard truth: What brought you here may not get you there. It means that your previous successful formula, thinking, and methods may not be able to create new success in future. This is because the context and nature of the problem...

In a rapidly changing world shaped by longer lifespans and the rise of AI, defining your future solely by connecting the dots of your past limits your potential. True adaptability and innovation come from embracing the "white space" — the unmarked areas of your experience that hold unrealized possibilities. In this episode, we will get inspiration from Chinese Calligrapher in handling the "white space". Join the journey to become a design thinker to receive regular updates of insights...

How rocket scientists faced failure? While every small failure may cause fatal consequences. Rocket scientists living in a world of uncertainty, using the limited knowledge about the universe, keep testing the limits to send humans to space. We love certainty. But our world has become more uncertain than before. We have to find a way to live with uncertainty, even dance with it. What inspiration we can get from rocket scientists, who keep falling, failing, and sending people to sp...

Join us in this special bonus episode of "Become a Design Thinker" podcast as we dive into the world of community engagement with Jake McKee. Learn how Jake has helped globally renowned brands like Lego and Southwest Airlines integrate customer voices into their product development. Discover the principles of community-driven product development, the importance of storytelling, and how to build meaningful connections with your audience. Whether you're aiming to boost customer loya...

When we are breaking our comfort zone - our career reinvention, identity shifts, and burnout, the loneliness of solo work, loss of focus, disorientation, and fast-changing work contexts require others’ support. We need communities that embrace risk-taking—especially in learning something new or exploring new terrain — because our growth, transformation, and creativity all begin at the edge of uncertainty. Without an environment that normalizes risk, we default to conformity and sa...

Many people may struggle with how to start solving a problem. It may be a problem at work, a tension in your family or a self-doubt in personal growth. You may feel overwhelmed. There are so many pathways in front of you. But you simply don’t know how to start. The overwhelming nature of the situation makes it feel gigantic—too big to tackle. We are overwhelmed by the problems ahead. It is not just the size of the problem. It’s something deeper In this episode, we will discuss the real ...

We are working in a very fluid global business environment. Many of us may have the self-awareness that the knowledge we have learnt in school and the experience we have earned in the first half of our career life may not be sufficient to carry on in the remaining part of our career. We may struggle that we don’t have enough time to learn something new. Or we may struggle that the learning journey is very difficult, which you go two steps forward and one step backwards. Today, we will d...