In the spring of 2020 I helped my organization go virtual as we were left no choice with the Pandemic ramping up. I had been teaching junior and senior industrial design studio for many years (mostly at Wentworth University) and had been exploring virtual collaboration tools. I wasn’t doing this because I thought they were better than being in person, but because I had to given my schedule as a Principle Designer in a multinational corporation with eighty thousand employees. The way this worked was that I had a co-professor who was an alum of the program and is a very talented designer. He would be in the studio and I would video in when needed using the collaboration platform to run the entire class, augmenting what was going on in the studio. We were successfully collaborating in a hybrid fashion. This worked really well and then COVID came to our neck of the woods. Students had the choice of staying in their dorms or coming to class which was a five minute walk away. They stayed in their dorms, leaving my co-teacher in the studio alone and making our class virtual.

Being customer facing and working almost exclusively with the Market was interesting during this time. For people who are used to traveling to be in front of customers every week this was an attack to some’s identity. I was able to apply what I had been doing with virtual platforms in education to our commercial work with great success. We were able to collaborate more given the time we saved not flying, we were welcomed in to our customer’s homes (on screen) and gained Empathy. Doctors were human and venders were parents. Both parties might have the occasional visit from a furry colleague or a child in mid tantrum from remote learning. We found that we were as effective virtually as we were in person, but we missed being with people and felt isolated sometimes. I remember reflecting at the end of 2020 that we had grown more efficient and effective, but we didn’t develop any new deep relationships or have as much fun. Then I got a text from a new customer who I considered to be a friend an realized that although we had augmented each other’s designs teams throughout the year (and had a lot of fun) we had never met in person. I’m not sure how this happened and I haven’t been able to replicate it consistently, but they weren’t the first close colleague I made throughout this journey. These were strange days and we were confident that we could deliver being all virtual or all in person, but a mix of the two remains a challenge. I have continued to experiment with hybrid sessions in the corporate environment both real time and asynchronously and have had some success, but not consistently.

Now it seems that I am in a world of bad behavior. I remember sitting in board rooms and seeing a colleague excuse themselves to go take a quick call in the hall to return after a few minutes apologetically. Now I see people on two or three meetings at the same time. Some don’t even bother turning off their camera as they take another call while everyone on the original call is left to watch as if they have gone mad talking to themselves. I kind of miss the days when people would loom next to my desk waiting until I was done with whatever to discuss something on their mind. Now I have one colleague who will call, chat, email and text all at the same time to get me to ping them. I used to be able to tell who had drifted in a room and could course correct ,getting everyone back to the present. Last week I was on several video calls with colleagues who were driving!

It was always necessary to set expectations that design collaboration was active, engaging and that one needed to make the time and space to be present. This was also true when we went all virtual however we learned many little best practices. With hybrid work the need for self awareness, kindness to others, kindness to self and Empathy are more necessary than ever. As a reflection a friend of mine likes to ask the question, “during this time how did you experience me and how did you experience yourself”? I think given more time we will figure ourselves out with this hybrid thing.

1. Always do the work. If you aren’t present your work should make its way to where it needs to be without you.
2. Always go. Tell yourself your appointments start ten minutes before they actually do. Give yourself enough time to get set up and collect your thoughts. Actively participate with your colleagues. Eliminate your distractions. This could mean putting your phone on airplane mode and logging off of Facebook.
3. If you are only entertained when you are in class then you are doing it wrong. Learning can be fun, but often it’s a struggle — embrace this. Getting an education isn’t like shopping and teacher evaluations aren’t customer reviews.
4. There’s a big difference between being able to access information and having knowledge. When figuring something out always consider your sources.
5. Sit in a different place or next to a different person each day. Routine can be a great thing, but can also harm perspective.
6. Always bring all of your materials. If you don’t have the tools for the job making your own can lead to something good, but always being prepared is better.
7. If you can’t write a convincing argument seek professional help.
8. Use spell check and read over your work.
9. Don’t complete your work the night before it’s due. Give yourself a fake deadline. Give yourself time to sit with it and time to fail.
10. Embrace failure. This is part of the learning process. Taking risks and falling down is easier when you have the support of a class.
11. Write emails in a professional manner. Use greetings, salutations, and complete sentences. Use spell check. Don’t write in all caps. (This is the equivalent of shouting.) Read your writing over before you send it. Teachers might be friendly, but that doesn’t mean they are your friends. Be professional. Be nice.
12. Be critical. Ask questions. Constructive criticism is helpful to the learning process. Critiques in the classroom should be in-depth and supportive while also being honest. Competition is useful, but it’s good to remember that the person sitting next to you could turn into a long-term professional colleague. We are all on the same team. This isn’t America’s Got Talent.
13. There is a difference between a critical environment and a hostile one. Avoid the latter. There is a difference between being critical and being opinionated. Strive for the former.
14. Read the directions. Pushing the boundaries can lead to greatness, but do this intelligently.
15. Doing everything that you are asked to is average. Personalizing your work and doing more than simply what is asked of you is above average. Changing people’s perspective is revolutionary. C’s are average, B’s are above average and A’s are revolutionary.
16. Organization sets you free.
17. Always label your work. Make sure your craft is seamless and your presentation is put together well. If you don’t take your work seriously, no one else will.
18. There is no formula for great art and design. While there are guides and work can be assessed, there are no simple equations. Embrace this exploration.

Matt Templeton, Senior Director of Innovation, Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts

Painters, poets, educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, designers, strategists, researchers and developers; these are some of the various backgrounds innovators have and share on the innovation team at Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts. The common thread through these backgrounds is the ability to see and understand the landscape we are playing in and the ability to make something new and useful out of these parts. Maybe this creation will even bring beauty into this new experience for someone.

Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Human Centered Design, Agile, User Experience Design, Service Design and Customer Experience; these are some of the various processes used to innovate. A common thread in these processes are mindsets such as understanding user needs, rapidly validating assumptions, and making something to show which can then be iterated and built at scale.

It’s a great time to be a maker. My training as an artist and a designer prepared me for the business world. I didn’t know going into it that I would end up with business skills in addition to learning how to make things really well. I learned about the romantic fallacy of the lone wolf artist, alone in their studio, working at their canvas in isolation. Most artists don’t work like this and those that do probably don’t become successful through their own volition. Artists and Designers work best collaboratively and are great storytellers in not only making their creations, but also finding a place for them in the world. These skills are shared by those trained in business. This is different from marketing, although that is important and necessary once something has been made.

We aren’t making jeans here. (Don’t get me wrong — I like jeans. I wear them often and I appreciate their design.) What’s so cool about working in an industry like healthcare or financial services is that when our users need us they really need us. Someone is going to be born, someone is going to die, someone has been injured, or someone is planning for college. These are some of the examples where we might enter people’s lives. It is a great responsibility and privilege to be a designer in these moments.

Design Thinking has become a very popular term and a popular approach to doing business. It is deceivingly simple and fun upon introduction. If you look closely when you are first exposed to it, you will see the skills that take years to master and are hard to teach. These skills of need-finding, synthesis and making are mastered over years of experience. We like to say that it’s not just about building the thing right, it’s first about building the right thing. Not everyone on an Innovation team needs to be a an expert in everything, but a key is to have a radically collaborative team with players from different backgrounds who share passion around their cause.

Design can be dangerous. I like to say when design is done poorly people can get hurt. When design is done right it can save lives. (First, do no harm.) It’s an invisible art. When done right, the user doesn’t consider the people who created this experience. You take the correct medication at the time you are supposed to take it. Designers love hard, messy problems. Organization sets us free. We love bringing order to chaos and creating great experiences and products that improve lives.

It is an honor and a joy to be on the innovation team at BCBSMA and to be creating beautiful experiences for our members with our “limited medium” of health insurance. It really is a great time to be a maker.

Originally published at medium.com on August 29, 2018.