Eighth in a series of tributes.
Bruce Mau is a design visionary, author, educator, and the chief executive officer of Massive Change Network (MCN). He is the only guy I know personally whose genius has been recognized by the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt museum. When I first heard Bruce talk about his design perspective, I knew his insight could change the way we approach event design. So, I made it a point to open a dialog that eventually brought him to speak at our 2014 Freeman Leadership Conference. He invited us to think like designers, regardless of discipline. He blew me away when he pointed out, with a characteristic laugh, that “anything we don’t do by design happens by accident.” And I was gratified to hear him declare that “Freeman values are design values,” especially empathy. Because to fully serve our customers, we have to first walk in their shoes, understand their needs, and only then begin designing a solution.
We eventually convinced Bruce to take on the role of Chief Design Officer to help us establish a learning methodology based on his design principles. Bruce showed me that once you embrace these design fundamentals, you can’t help but reframe your approach to everything. We looked at our strategic opportunities, we considered various scenario-planning outcomes, and we even navigated a pandemic based on that framework.
Bruce continues to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges/opportunities through his work with MCN. I miss our casual chats, which were often as insightful as our more strategic planning sessions. But I continue to apply what he taught me—that design influences not just the shape of objects but the trajectory of human behavior. And that’s why I love Bruce Mau.
