Saskia van der Geest

New year, blue sky The view from my office window this morning. There’s a mountain to climb, but the blue sky makes all the difference. A good adventure? New year, blue sky outside, rested. I love this time of the year. When it’s still unrushed. When all those good habits feel still entirely possible. It’s

Changing Your Life Won’t Change Your Life Or why changing your NPD won’t change your NPD  Joshua Fields Millburn, from the Minimalists, is on to something. This beautiful email just landed in my inbox: Human beings are infatuated with “habit change.” But changing one’s habits does not change one’s life. Because lasting change doesn’t work

Making a difference by design… “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only

Making a difference by design… Designing for the better This is something I’ve been wanting to get into for a long time, I just didn’t know where and how to start. We all know that how we’re currently living and using the planet is unsustainable and that we need to do something about it. And I’ve

A big thank you to Kivi and Professor Conny Bakker for a fantastic session prior to the Xmas break. Prof. Bakker presented a great introduction on the challenges of Designing for the Circular Economy. Being on Zoom meant I could join in from the other side of the world. It was such a treat to

Which week is this for you? For the kids it’s week 3 at school. It feels a bit like week 3 for me as well. Even though it isn’t. But there’s something about this time of the year (and maybe this year especially) that makes me want to start with a clean slate.  To clear

Making a difference by design… Happy holidays! Yay, the countdown is on, last few days! Time to take a break, relax and recharge. I want to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a relaxing summer break. Time to restore and be inspired. The best ideas pop up when you are relaxed and

Making a difference by design… I’m walking the talk… The irony of expertise…. It’s the taps in the plumbers house that leak. The website designer who hasn’t updated their own website in ages. The marketing expert not marketing themselves. Or the new product development specialist who hasn’t launched a new product… Ouch! … in like…a

Making a difference by design… Mike asked me a great question last week: “At what stage do I scope all the ideas I have for new products? Do I scope each idea first, work out the size of the opportunity, etc. And then rank all the ideas when I know which ones have potential? Or