Hasta La Ideas

“Wired to Care“, a recent book by Jump’s Dev Patnaik, is the response that came to a young grad student’s lips after she heard my answer to her question yesterday on how I was liking being in Finland. Her explanation was that the book talked about small companies that grew around really really wanting to meet and exceed their customer’s expectations but facing the challenge of holding on to this quality after growing beyond a particular size. Yes, that can be a problem but the topic on hand was the Finnish bureaucracy.

Let me explain: My answer to her question led me to expound on the biggest difference I’ve found here in Helsinki compared to living in a few ‘hotspots’ around the world (San Francisco, Singapore, Bangalore etc) What stands above and beyond any experience I’ve had elsewhere has been my interactions with the local government or public services. Call it service design, customer or user experience, the fact remains that the Finns have somehow managed to find an answer that works when it comes to leaving the end user feeling on top of the world. Yes, I may digress into hyperbole here but as any of you who have faced the experience of dealing with customer service that’s so regimented according to prescripted interactions that if you miss some required paper or information you’re instantly incapable of being assisted would recognize, the opposite is bound to be a pleasure.

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Swissmiss points to a really good video of Michael Bierut discussing design and the economy, prior to his AIGA Philly lecture. Pretty short, and pretty great.

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Chrysler’s new design chief, Brandon L. Faurote, is only 38! As The Motor Report reports,

REFLECTING the design and branding organisation of its Italian partner Fiat, Chrysler has given each of its three brands – Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep – their own design bosses, reporting to Senior Vice President of Product Design, Ralph Gilles. The new design heads are Brandon Faurote at Chrysler, Joseph Dehner at Dodge, and Mark Allen for Jeep. Faurote, the youngest of the trio at 37 [sic], was previously Vice President of advance design for international models, with the Dodge Neon, Chrysler PT Cruiser and the 1999 Jeep Cherokee in his folio.

(TMR lists Faurote’s age at 37, though our records indicate he’s actually 38.)

Previously Faurote has not been the subject of heavy press, though we were able to piece together bits and pieces from a now-defunct Chrysler website and various other sources:

Brandon L. Faurote was born Aug. 30, 1970 in Canton, Ohio. He grew up loving to sketch and with an avid enthusiasm for cars. Faurote joined the Chrysler Group in 1993 after receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Mich. From June, 1993 to Jan., 1997, Faurote worked in Jeep design, working on all Jeep models but most notably, the 1999 Grand Cherokee.

He then transferred to Passenger Car Design from Jan., 1997- April, 2000, working to design the 2001 Chrysler and Dodge Minivans.

In April, 2002 Faurote was named to manage the Small Car mid-cycle development on vehicles that included the Dodge Neon, the Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus coupes.

Faurote was Chief Designer – Advanced Product Design from Feb., 2003, leading the advanced design team to complete a series of concept vehicles and future products. He led the team that completed the Chrysler Firepower and Chrysler Imperial concept vehicles, both debuted at the North American International Auto Show. He was appointed Director – Advanced Product Design in Dec., 2004.

The key to coming up with good ideas is to stay current, says Faurote, who tries to keep up with the latest stuff. “Looking at trends in society, such as music, architecture and fashion, helps me keep on the cutting edge of design.” From a design standpoint, Faurote predicts vehicles will become a blend of the organic and the crisp. “The focus will be on fit and finish quality and cleanliness of design.”

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The Reflexive Generation: Young Professionals’ Perspectives on Work, Career and Gender
London Business School’s Centre for Women in Business

Organisations know they do not yet understand the needs and perspectives of Generation Y and need to know how this generation can be managed. In a time when old structures like jobs for life are breaking down or disappearing for good the individual is increasingly in charge of shaping his or her own career, skill set and financial planning. In this research we find that Generation Y are in a ‘feedback loop’ where their past influences their present and future experiences. The ‘feedback loop’ allows them to re-invent themselves. Consequently we have called them the “Reflexive Generation”.

>> Download publication
>> Listen to Dr Elisabeth Kelan – Lead Researcher on Gen Y “The Reflexive Generation” project

via 50-Plus Marketing and FutureLab

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Core contributor Alissa Walker moderates a panel discussion of (Fast) Company Men as they discuss the future and impact of the holy cell phone. Here’s a good bit courtesy of Robert Fabricant:

How have cell phones changed our behavior? It is remarkable to me how it has taken the iPhone to create this momentum in the U.S. market: to get people to engage with mobile experiences outside of basic communication. When I travel outside the U.S., particularly in the developing world, the engagement with mobile devices is so much higher. Mobile minutes are quickly becoming the most liquid currency in Africa and other emerging markets. Even in very remote regions, you see people using their devices to transact and fulfill a broader range of needs than we see here in the U.S. And that is with the most basic Nokia phone. Forget multi-touch.

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