You may know Debbie Millman from her podcast Design Matters—the world’s longest running podcast on design—or from her six books, two of which are collections of illustrated essays and poems. Named “one of the most creative people in business” by Fast Company, Debbie is a fierce figure in the world of design. She gravitated to a career in design because she realized that greatness could be achieved through design and ultimately, that’s what grounds her work. We caught up with Debbie in preparation for Dribble’s Hang Time Boston event this month.

Curious about what makes a successful, innovative team, Google led a two-year research project with 280 teams. They found only one distinction between innovative and non-innovative teams—psychological safety.

Ambiguity makes people feel uncomfortable—it’s a fear amplifier. The pace of change is fast, disruption is coming from many directions, and what worked in the past just doesn’t work anymore.

After years of writing about innovation, design, and creativity for publications like Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and The New York Times, Warren Berger became deeply curious about the importance of questions. He now studies questions—why people ask questions, what stops them from asking questions, and what kind of questions seem to be most powerful.

In our recent Creative Confidence webinar series, we talked with IDEO Partner Tom Kelley about scaling creativity and unlocking creative potential throughout an organization. Here are a few of our favorite highlights.



It happens to the best of us. You’ve got a great idea and you’re excited to make it happen. But when you introduce this brilliant gem to the organization—wham! Up go the roadblocks. Obstacles to innovation can creep up when you least expect them.

We’re inspired by people who take action and learn by doing. Courageous doing is a theme for us at IDEO U and part of the definition of what it means to be creatively confident.

As a 20 year Food Network veteran and classically trained chef, Tyler Florence constantly spurs the evolution of the food & lifestyle industry. From launching the successful San Francisco restaurant Wayfare Tavern and becoming an award-winning winemaker to founding the social recipe sharing app Yumavore, Tyler’s entrepreneurial spirit enables him and his team to consistently innovate in a variety of business endeavors.

Claudia Fry, VP of People Operations at FiveStars shared with us how she goes beyond the conventional HR model and how the fresh mindset and insights she gained from IDEO U help her team shape the employee experience and enable the FiveStars team to do their best work.

As Partner Emeritus and an Executive Design Director at IDEO, Jane Fulton Suri continues to advance design insight and inspiration and develop future creative leaders.