“Think like a traveler” is a mindset in the field of design thinking. For example, Tom and David Kelley share in Creative Confidence:

Ever travel to a foreign city? We've all heard that "Travel broadens the mind." But beneath this cliché lies a deep truth. Things stand out because they're different, so we notice every detail, from street signs to mailboxes to how you pay at a restaurant. We learn a lot when we travel not because we are any smarter on the road, but because we pay such close attention…Too often, we go through day-to-day life on cruise control, oblivious to huge swaths of our surroundings. 

This summer, our daughters’ activities (mis)aligned so that we had only a week available for travel (to the grandparents, of course!). So, for once, we haven't traveled anywhere new this summer. A little part of me relished the closer-to-home adventures and time for book writing.

But as I enjoyed a piece of White Rabbit candy from Shanghai, gifted to me by a summer research student, it took me on a little trip. The graphic design of the outer wrapper, the edible inner rice paper wrapper, and the milky candy each felt so distinct from what we find in the US.

This trip was partly a trip back—to my six months working at IDEO Shanghai. 

How are you designing and experimenting with educational experiences this year?

The wonderful team from Kyiv School of Economics is partnering with Olin College, where I am an Academic Partner, to apply student-centered design as they build out a new undergraduate engineering program. It was an honor to work with Daniel Koff of Olin and Nastasia Klen of KSE to create a half-day Compass-based workshop for them.

Though it was late in their time at Olin (with many late nights), Georgiy Shevchenko, Vice Rector of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Computer Science Department, brought incredible energy to the day. And he brought Innovators’ Compass home with him to KSE, which he describes as having a “growth environment: ambitious goals, high standards, vibes of experimentation and disruption.”

I’m always grateful to hear where people have taken Innovators’ Compass and where it’s taken them.




Hi Ela,

Just wanted to thank you for Innovators' Compass! We've used it already to facilitate our discussion of the Theoretical Computer Science minor, and I'm using it in my course 'Once upon a Syllabus' for innovations and micro (small, low-risk, reversible) experiments in course design...

When my publisher suggested explicitly aligning these tools with “decisions”—an essential but often implicit part of all the challenges I’ve navigated, led, and coached—I knew I couldn’t make that decision without exploring it!

I’m deeply grateful to three remarkable young women who reached out to contribute a bit of their time this summer. They formed a formidable team that not only helped ease my mind about fitting this research in, but stretched my mind with their approaches and insights.

A Fresh Look Across the Fields of Decision-Making and Problem-Solving

• Ziqi (Kiki) Cheng used AI-assisted analysis to extend the range of my personal synthesis to-date, looking across dozens of decision-making and problem-solving tools and practices across disciplines
  
• Melissa Anthony explored decision research, including major branches around predicting probabilities of risks and outcomes, and detailing ways where, in natural decision-making, “people disagree with the math.”
  
• Nina Mindel suggested we compare the established fields of “decision making” and “problem-solving.” 
  
• With their work above, I took windows away from writing to explore further—intrigued by practices across cultures and history.