The challenge was to bring out an illustrated book on sex, which the publishers feared would not be accepted by the prevailing social consciousness of Europe.
The story has all the necessary ingredients and the intrigue that make up a thrilling story for a Design Thinker providing the necessary excitement to continue in his/her professional journey. I think it is a great story of how the publisher and the author overcame the challenges of the day to bring out something that was not only desirable but also needed to improve quality of life.
I feel this might be a good case study for Design Thinkers to ponder over and learn from.
Insights to be gained:
The important points on Design Thinking, well illustrated by the story, are the following:
1. Design and Design Thinking start out by challenging to change the existing reality. The manner in which it is done is 'counter-intuitive'.
2. It does so by understanding the present context and the constraints inherent in the context. It attempts to answer the question why.
Well it is not everything but it has an insidious way of seeping into anything around us as we are, so to say, completely dependent on the 'designed' world of ours. Even if we were to go back thousands of years to our simplistic way of living,which is a quite unlikely possibility, to save ourselves from premature extinction we would need to design that world too!
Whatever we might choose to do, designers who are basically problem solvers would need 'software' or a 'mantra' to inform, drive and remind them of the task ahead and how best it might be done.
To me the simplest possible 'software' or 'mantra' may be captured by three Indian words, as said in India, 'Satyam, Shivam Sundaram'.
While 'Satyam' stands for truth, 'Shivam' symbolizes unification of the male and female energies to create something new and Sundaram represents anything that is both beautiful and useful.
That can be a fine 'mantra' for design and designers since it first asks us to 'see' the reality to find out what exactly is to made 'right' and then use our creative energies that lends expression to some form of artifact that would be both beautiful and useful to people.
Not only the mantra is simple to remember but also captures the essence and purpose of design to continually 'right' things.
"...design at its best is the process of making things right. That is designers, at their best, create things and places that work. But things often do not work. And making things right is not just a generative but a corrective process - a way of righting things of straigtening them out and holding them together coherently."
In other words, it is a continual effort to correct problems or 'solve them' as they crop up, which they, for some strange reasons, come up every minute.
That is what the term Design Thinking is all about. It can be applied to 'right' anything we do as human beings.
Though the creative ability to 'right things' lies in every one of us we often don't get to see it being applied to make things 'right'.
There was a recent and still on-going discussion on a Linkedin forum on "Pursue Design Kata" initiated by Paula Thornton, the owner of the Design Thinking group on Linkedin.
It tells very clearly what a 'kata' is. It is not a technique but a way of life for an organization to remain adaptive to constantly changing social and business environment.
In the video she refers to I wanted to portray this 'way of life' for an organization, which in this case shows a factory.
The case depicts the way in which people pursue a 'wicked problem' which in this case was that of a repetitive customer complaint. Wicked problems are not very easy to crack since these can't be defined and don't have very straightforward solutions or any single right answers.
Usually, in such cases industries try to resolve such problems by amending their 'check sheets' to include more inspections and precautions. Some of them would go a step further by simply reviewing and augmenting their existing systems without really finding out the real answers to the problem, which would generally call for a change in design -- of processes, products, design and existing practices much of which would be challenged especially the tacit assumptions that get woven into our daily work.
It is probably clear from viewing the video why finding answers to wicked problems, which every organization faces, are difficult to figure out. They are so because of the interdependent nature of various things that go into making and shipping of the products and services.The advantage of cracking such 'wicked' problem is enormous -- it opens up great opportunities to solve many problems and issues simulataneously. I would like to compare solving such 'wicked' problems with the resonnance phenomenon -- we get the maximum work done for a small amount of effort.
Confidentiality terms prevent me from delving any deeper into this case. However, the educational intent and content, which form the worth of this video artifact have not been sacrificed or comprised with. Hopefully, it would not disappoint you in any way. Rather you may enjoy viewing a 'new way of life' in organizations that accept 'complexity' and 'chaos' as natural emergent phenomenon and visually determine the interactions between things and people that produce 'wicked' or 'vexing' problems so as to 'balance' their systems and continously amend their way of working for the benefit of the society at large.
It helps organizations to be adaptive and innovative and at the same time helps them hone and maintain their creative leadership edge.
The more I am delving into Gregory Bateson's life and work I increasing find how his ideas were shaped in many ways by the Eastern concepts and processes. One of the symbols he used and wrote about was that of Shiva.
Shiva embodies the angle to the nature of aesthetics - It is summed up by the slogan -- Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram -- meaning -- Truth --> Shivam --> Aesthetics. The word Shivam is a bit special. It means the proper alignment of the male energy (expression) and female energy (containment) and turning on the mind (internally) that the Hindus and the Buddhists believe produces beauty (Sundaram). Now for some fun -- the word Shiva has two parts --> 'Shi' and 'Va'. When you pronounce 'Shi' loudly you would invariably notice that the left side of your body vibrates (the female side -- connected to the right side of the brain). And then when you pronounce 'Va' loudly you would notice the vibration of the right side of the body -- connected to the left side of the brain). Well you probably get the hang of it. Bateson's understanding of Shiva is great. As inside so outside symbolized by the famous Cosmic Dance in the form of Nataraj.
So the beauty a designer creates or the beauty of a decison any leader takes comes from the inner beauty of a designer's or a leader's mind that is the ability of achieving the 'no mind' state just before thinking. Leave it at that for the time being.
In the video that follows, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar shares with us three great stories of Creative Leadership for creating ultra low cost products.
He also shares the philosophy of designing and creating such great products.
It starts with a clear Intention.
The next step is to Question the Unquestionable.
And then it is all about combing Innovation + Compassion + Passion.
This appears to be the 3 step magic formula behind all the innovative products that have motivated the house of Tatas - one of the most respected business houses of India.
There is of course a great surprise that comes up towards the end of the video clip. I leave it to you to find it out -- a novel perspective on teamwork and how it motivated the life of Dr. Mashelkar.
In India, the word 'Dharma' occupies a special place. However, the meaning of this word is greatly misunderstood.
Some take it to mean religious beliefs, which it is not. Some take it to mean a 'calling' in life, which it is not. Some take it for integrity, honesty ethical values, which it is not. Some take it to stand for justice, which it is not.
The Sanskrit word, Dharma is all about empathy and wisdom. It is about looking deep into ourselves and winning the raging war that goes on inside every human mind and spirit. It is about new ways to do something in a new situation.
This is central to anything we choose to do in life. It is the starting point of Designing and Creativity. It is the end point of Thinking It is the starting point of Decision making. It is the starting point of Personal Mastery.
All great leaders in our world, now and in the past, have adhered to the path of Dharma to be successful and do good to others. Examples are countless in every field of human activity -- Krishna, Moses, Christ, Mohammad, Buddha, Gandhi, Mandela, King, Tagore, Shakespeare, Kalidas, Mother Teresa, Newton, Einstien, Bohm, Bateson... They were against rituals and established orders. They understood reality and the aspiration of their people well. They were creative. They helped people. Touched their lives and hearts. And moved them and nations or their fields of activities to ever increasing greatness.
How might the golden traits of empathy and wisdom be developed?
It might be developed through critical thinking. It might be developed through practices of problem solving or questioning meaningless rituals. It might be developed through listening to stories and developing imagination. It might be developed through the practice of achieving balance in anything we experience or choose to do.
Generally, it is best to have a bit of all four paths or ways incorporated in our daily lives to have a balanced but accelerated process of self development in empathy and wisdom.
Without these two fluxes to envelope us we are badly stuck in life. But mastery in these would certainly help us to become Creative Leaders to lead our societies in this new century.
Creative Leadership based on Dharma is not only about the way we think, do, manage and organize our organizations and societies but also how we choose to lead our own lives in the most productive fashion that ensures joy and satisfaction in whatever we do opening the way to enjoy the expanding experience of freedom.
The continuing Global Economic meltdown and Japan's nuclear mishap are clearly man made disasters that caused lot of pain and agony to humanity as a whole.
How are we to come out of this crisis? Do we find a new way to survive? How do we stop environmental degradation? How do we build sustainable societies?
These important questions are not new. Even Neil Bohr expressed concerns on such issues back in 1950. Of course people did not care to listen then. They could afford not to listen. However, such questions were vigorously followed up by many activists and serious champions for the past 30 years or so.
Most predicted doom for the earth and humanity. Some thought that nothing might possibly be done unless individual consciousness or the way we think and act change for the better.
Nothing happened. Perhaps there was no need to. Critics were harsh when they sneered by saying that more than 95% of humanity suffers the 'boiled frog' syndrome. Others were frustrated and almost gave up. Still some wanted to find the culprits and punish them.
But there are new signs of change. Harsh economic reality has rudely shaken us up from our deep slumber. It is like pouring ice cold water on our face on a winter morning.
What are these signs? More visible of these that catch our attention is the dramatic and swift wave of revolt sweeping over Middle East. People can't go hungry for sure.
However, there is another vital sign that is virtually going unnoticed -- sort of happening very quietly away from the glare of the media. And that is Culture Based Design (CBD) as I would like to call it.
In essence it is simple indeed. Look around what is unique in the culture of the land. Build up the economy through products and services based on the uniqueness of such culture. This is indeed a far cry from the standardized offerings being pushed around the globe by fairly large corporations who have no other business but to grow and keep growing richer at the expense of everything (champions of the old Industrial age thinking) only to flatten the earth.
Now this small but vital sign of Culture Based Design (CBD) might be a clue to greater unfolding possibilities to answer those serious unresolved questions humanity has been asking for the past 60 years.
Some examples might be in order:
1. Chinese are deeply studying the culture of India to design products that match the cultural traditions of India and her sensitivity. Recently during Holi (a spring festival in India) they did care to provide the accessories needed for the event -- designed and manufactured in China and sold in India at affordable prices. A win win situation for both countries.
2. Iceland whose economy was virtually wiped off by the Great Recession in a matter of days is hobbling back on its feet through intense design activity. They have tapped into the country's Nordic/Viking cultural heritage for their economic revival. As of now Iceland occupies the number 1 slot as the innovation champion displacing the mighty USA (as per ISEAD)
3. India is yet to leverage this idea as Chinese and Icelanders have done. But a new generation of entrepreneurs, mostly trained in the West, is successfully exploiting traditional culture and techniques coupled with narrative marketing (good old storytelling) in areas like jewelry and ornaments.
What possibilities might unfold from this new phenomenon?
1. A paradigm shift from globally imported cultural criteria to more local home grown products and services based on traditional culture.
2. A sustainable economy that would look more distributed than unified and based on local needs and aspirations.
3. More job creation. People would have a choice to either work as laborers in dark and damp factories or in more exciting fields touched by the glow of human creativity. Education and knowledge gained through the traditional environment would be enough to create most jobs -- a far cry from Obama's urgent plea of 'go to college again or starve'.
4. Solve the nagging problems of environmental crisis since such efforts are not energy intensive and have been around for centuries when issues of global warming were nonexistent.
5. Cultural preservation is also ensured.
Hence Culture Based Design would need more serious attention and development if it were to become a part of the integral solution to sustainable livelihood and economy. New internet based social learning technologies would surely come to great help in this endeavor.This would be closely coupled to the Observation Based Learning (OBL) as proposed in my earlier posts. My guess is that CBD along with OBL would be evident in every sphere of a local economy even worming its way into traditional brick and motar companies barring major infrastructural activities.
A seriously inward looking world is unfolding its still rough and jagged edges poised to draw in lots of creative energy to throw up possibilities that would impact the way we live and think.
We shall live by design -- by the people, of the people and for the people!
Sheila catches the 7.06 train every morning to Kolkata from Krishnanagar --- a small town in Nadia district of West Bengal. Her father was a jute mill worker. He has been retrenched. Now days jute selling is not a good business proposition. The mill owners have closed their unit. They have started to produce mobile phones instead.
Sending his only grown up daughter to earn some money was not to his liking. He wanted to marry off his daughter.Marrying off would mean they would die in poverty. Marriage proposals were coming for Shiela. Why not? Shiela is educated, fair skinned, strikingly attractive though poverty has taken away the sheen.
Sheila was good at sewing clothes. She used to fashion her own “salwar suits” and also used to stitch clothes for other neighborhood girls. But of course at a price. Her earnings used to rise during the festive seasons. Sheila once had a dream of going for a fashion designing course. But it remained a dream. Now she only dreams of owning a boutique. Her family will not be able to afford the fees. To supplement their family income Sheila started to stitch shopping jute bags which the shop owners give it to their customers on “heavy purchases”. Every morning she goes to the different shopping malls and collects orders for the number of bags to be stitched.
Today also she rushed to catch the 7.06 train. She had a bundle of jute bags with her, ready to be delivered to the different shops. As the local train gathered its momentum Sheila got lost in her thoughts. How much she owed and the amount she has to give to her raw material supplier. She was woken up from her make believe dream world by the sound of a crying baby. She saw a woman trying to pacify her one year old child. The compartment was packed and the weather was hot and humid. Everything was so discomforting. Sheila saw the baby crying profusely. The baby was wearing diapers and a hooded jacket. She smiled and thought --- “the woman is so stupid to dress the baby in a hooded jacket and put on a diaper--- just imitating from the western world. “ The hot humid weather in India which last for eight months in a year makes life miserable for grown ups leave alone the babies. She got her next business idea.
She started stitching triangular shaped cotton diapers for babies. These cotton made diapers could be locked by strings or by Velcro tapes. This became an instant hit. Sheila was flooded with orders. Bulk orders came around from hospitals, nursing homes, maternity centres, individual young mothers and shop owners selling infant garments.
Sheila now has two bank accounts. Her father is now free from depression. Her mother now wears silk sarees. They have fish everyday for lunch. Sheila got back her sheen but she still wants to complete a course on fashion designing.
This video of around 27 minutes gave me a great insight about how we would be living in the future and what type of design would shape it.
The video talk offers two central concepts, which are the emergence of 'distributed energy' and 'distributed information'.
This two when coupled forms a new emerging social pattern. That means that we are slowly and steadly drifting towards a new state.
How is that?
So long large electricity companies held the monopoly over energy. They produced it and then distributed it to thousands and millions of people. So we had a small group of producers and a large base of consumers. And consumers paid for their consumption whatever the producers demanded from time to time.
Similarly, schools, universities, publishers, newspapers, television companies and large organizations produced information and then distributed it to the public for consumption. The schools, universities and other organizations that held exclusive rights to the information decided on how such information would be distributed, when it would be distributed, how would it be distributed and how would people pay for consumption of such privilaged information.
All this is about to change. Changes are taking place in the way we are now creating and distributing information. Now individuals create information and share them with others who return the favor through their own contribution to the general pool of available information resources for the consumption of others. It is needless to mention that internet and social media brought about such dramatic changes in our modern lives. And it is has worked wonders. It has virtually wiped out all traditional newspapers in the US and elsewhere. We no longer look up an Encyclopedia for information. We click on Wikipedia for information. And most of the information is free, easily available and mostly accurate. I have virtually stopped visiting my favorite library for quite some time. I get what I want to know on the net. And if needed, buy books through online portals just with the same effort and ease I take to book my air, train and movie tickets.
Post offices are no longer important source of distribution of information. We exchange information at the click of a button and email them all over the world in seconds. We are slowly making landline phones redundant. Mobile phones are now being used more for data usage & transfer rather than as a phone devices. We can now do all that talking for free through Skype and other similar platforms.
The power of individual leadership is now unleashed. One can choose whom to follow, whom to have a discussion with, whom to turn to for advice in case of need and whose articles are worth the wait, time and effort. In short we can choose our teachers and choose what to learn. We are no longer dependent on old archaic structures that try to shove down our throats information which we care least about.
The power to do something now rests on the consumer not the producer.
If we choose to look carefully the same thing is happening in the energy sector. Centralized energy production and distribution are giving way to consumer driven energy production and distribution. First in the line were the industries. They went off the grid to have their own source of power. And they had a good reason to do that. It costs them lot cheaper than taking power from the grid. They did not stop at that. If they were left with any excess power they wheeled it back into the grid and sold the units they contributed. This further lowered the energy cost of manufacturing. Just to give an idea most were producing and consuming electricity at half the cost. With such an arrangement the consumer now becomes the producer and the consumer at the same time.
Others have been quick to follow. Individual homes are setting up their own power back up sources. At the lower end they store power in batteries and use it during power cuts. At the higher end consumers are producing their own electricity from alternative sources of energy -- wind, sun, tides and wastes. It covers almost the entire requirement.
We see similar changes taking place in the water supply systems. Earlier it was the Government's responsibility to provide its citizens with fresh, clean potable water. In many countries like India the system is broken. The onus or responsibility can no longer be taken care of by Government authorities. Hence people are now having their own water supply systems that provide them with clean potable water. The consumer has taken up the responsibility. And it is no longer centralized.
Where is all this leading to?
We are moving away from centralized systems to decentralized or distributed systems. The inherent contradiction between the producer and the consumer has automatically paved the way for people to assume the role of being both a producer and consumer at the same time. And there is something more. After consuming whatever is needed the excess is shared with other consumers in exchange for things others are willing to contribute and potential consumer are willing to accept.
Now we have a formidable combination of three important emergences, which are a) distributed energy b) distributed information c) contribution economy.
As we combine these three emergent properties new design possibilities open up that would have the potential to change the way we choose to live in the near future.
I would like to draw a potential scenario as follows:
1. Individual houses would give way to high-rise landscaped building complexes almost resembling a 'village' of yesteryears but far better and more complex.
2. Such complexes would produce their own energy from alternative sources -- solar, wind, waste, hydrogen cells, tidal and geothermal depending on the location and the circumstances.
3. And they would produce their own information -- for building or supporting education systems, training and developing others and offer services to others.
4. They would create and maintain their own water sources and harvest whatever is available to make their system self sustaining.
5. They might choose to produce their own food sources and means of entertainment.
6. They would take support of effective alternative health systems that are way cheaper than traditional systems.
7. They would create their own local economies to make their 'villages' sustainable.
8. The occupants would produce and consume their own energy, information, water, food etc and combine them in novel ways to sustain their economies.
9. They would share the excess of what they consume with other neighboring 'villages' and also borrow from them what they need.
10. The possibilities are endless... a whole new world would open up.
The possibility of such new design is emerging. And the advantages of such designs are many, some of which would be the following;
a. Carbon free. It is estimated that 60% of the energy a nation consumes goes in housing and transportation.
b. Sustainable and more natural living under more natural habitats.
c. Save the bother and expenses to commute to work.
d. Moving away from monopolistic economies
e. The common man decides the way they live, produce, consume and work.
f. Act local and think global -- drawing on resources all over the world to meet specific local needs of the economy.
g. Contribution economy -- something quite different to both capitalistic and socialist forms of production and consumption.
h. Other advantages would be evident as we go along.
The best thing such designs offer would be to create self-sustaining societies that would primarily be sustained through social contribution of distributed energy and distributed information and sharing of resources. That is probably the beginning of a viable 'Contribution Economy'. An appropriate term for all these put together might be 'distributed living'.
However it is also evident that all societies would not progress towards this concept of 'distributed living' simultaneously. It definitely depends on the present conditions and the collective consciousness of our existing societies that grossly differ in terms of their social behavior that arises from their individual social context.
The first baby steps towards such design for a new way of distributed living is underway in some European societies (I just shy away from using the word 'nations' since this concept is becoming redundant in the modern context of distributed living). Such baby steps would set the trend for others to follow suit.
This is truly the century that throws up the distinct possibility of architects, designers, engineers, design thinkers, system thinkers and leaders to join hands to create a Brave New World.
It remains to be seen how we grab this upcoming opportunity and go forward to save us from natural extinction as human species towards which we are now headed for.
But I am sure of one thing. We now need more leaders at small group levels than ever before.
This video of around 27 minutes gave me a great insight about how we would be living in the future and what type of design would shape it.
The video talk offers two central concepts, which are the emergence of 'distributed energy' and 'distributed information'.
This two when coupled forms a new emerging social pattern. That means that we are slowly and steadly drifting towards a new state.
How is that?
So long large electricity companies held the monopoly over energy. They produced it and then distributed it to thousands and millions of people. So we had a small group of producers and a large base of consumers. And consumers paid for their consumption whatever the producers demanded from time to time.
Similarly, schools, universities, publishers, newspapers, television companies and large organizations produced information and then distributed it to the public for consumption. The schools, universities and other organizations that held exclusive rights to the information decided on how such information would be distributed, when it would be distributed, how would it be distributed and how would people pay for consumption of such privilaged information.
All this is about to change. Changes are taking place in the way we are now creating and distributing information. Now individuals create information and share them with others who return the favor through their own contribution to the general pool of available information resources for the consumption of others. It is needless to mention that internet and social media brought about such dramatic changes in our modern lives. And it is has worked wonders. It has virtually wiped out all traditional newspapers in the US and elsewhere. We no longer look up an Encyclopedia for information. We click on Wikipedia for information. And most of the information is free, easily available and mostly accurate. I have virtually stopped visiting my favorite library for quite some time. I get what I want to know on the net. And if needed, buy books through online portals just with the same effort and ease I take to book my air, train and movie tickets.
Post offices are no longer important source of distribution of information. We exchange information at the click of a button and email them all over the world in seconds. We are slowly making landline phones redundant. Mobile phones are now being used more for data usage & transfer rather than as a phone devices. We can now do all that talking for free through Skype and other similar platforms.
The power of individual leadership is now unleashed. One can choose whom to follow, whom to have a discussion with, whom to turn to for advice in case of need and whose articles are worth the wait, time and effort. In short we can choose our teachers and choose what to learn. We are no longer dependent on old archaic structures that try to shove down our throats information which we care least about.
The power to do something now rests on the consumer not the producer.
If we choose to look carefully the same thing is happening in the energy sector. Centralized energy production and distribution are giving way to consumer driven energy production and distribution. First in the line were the industries. They went off the grid to have their own source of power. And they had a good reason to do that. It costs them lot cheaper than taking power from the grid. They did not stop at that. If they were left with any excess power they wheeled it back into the grid and sold the units they contributed. This further lowered the energy cost of manufacturing. Just to give an idea most were producing and consuming electricity at half the cost. With such an arrangement the consumer now becomes the producer and the consumer at the same time.
Others have been quick to follow. Individual homes are setting up their own power back up sources. At the lower end they store power in batteries and use it during power cuts. At the higher end consumers are producing their own electricity from alternative sources of energy -- wind, sun, tides and wastes. It covers almost the entire requirement.
We see similar changes taking place in the water supply systems. Earlier it was the Government's responsibility to provide its citizens with fresh, clean potable water. In many countries like India the system is broken. The onus or responsibility can no longer be taken care of by Government authorities. Hence people are now having their own water supply systems that provide them with clean potable water. The consumer has taken up the responsibility. And it is no longer centralized.
Where is all this leading to?
We are moving away from centralized systems to decentralized or distributed systems. The inherent contradiction between the producer and the consumer has automatically paved the way for people to assume the role of being both a producer and consumer at the same time. And there is something more. After consuming whatever is needed the excess is shared with other consumers in exchange for things others are willing to contribute and potential consumer are willing to accept.
Now we have a formidable combination of three important emergences, which are a) distributed energy b) distributed information c) contribution economy.
As we combine these three emergent properties new design possibilities open up that would have the potential to change the way we choose to live in the near future.
I would like to draw a potential scenario as follows:
1. Individual houses would give way to high-rise landscaped building complexes almost resembling a 'village' of yesteryears but far better and more complex.
2. Such complexes would produce their own energy from alternative sources -- solar, wind, waste, hydrogen cells, tidal and geothermal depending on the location and the circumstances.
3. And they would produce their own information -- for building or supporting education systems, training and developing others and offer services to others.
4. They would create and maintain their own water sources and harvest whatever is available to make their system self sustaining.
5. They might choose to produce their own food sources and means of entertainment.
6. They would take support of effective alternative health systems that are way cheaper than traditional systems.
7. They would create their own local economies to make their 'villages' sustainable.
8. The occupants would produce and consume their own energy, information, water, food etc and combine them in novel ways to sustain their economies.
9. They would share the excess of what they consume with other neighboring 'villages' and also borrow from them what they need.
10. The possibilities are endless... a whole new world would open up.
The possibility of such new design is emerging. And the advantages of such designs are many, some of which would be the following;
a. Carbon free. It is estimated that 60% of the energy a nation consumes goes in housing and transportation.
b. Sustainable and more natural living under more natural habitats.
c. Save the bother and expenses to commute to work.
d. Moving away from monopolistic economies
e. The common man decides the way they live, produce, consume and work.
f. Act local and think global -- drawing on resources all over the world to meet specific local needs of the economy.
g. Contribution economy -- something quite different to both capitalistic and socialist forms of production and consumption.
h. Other advantages would be evident as we go along.
The best thing such designs offer would be to create self-sustaining societies that would primarily be sustained through social contribution of distributed energy and distributed information and sharing of resources. That is probably the beginning of a viable 'Contribution Economy'. An appropriate term for all these put together might be 'distributed living'.
However it is also evident that all societies would not progress towards this concept of 'distributed living' simultaneously. It definitely depends on the present conditions and the collective consciousness of our existing societies that grossly differ in terms of their social behavior that arises from their individual social context.
The first baby steps towards such design for a new way of distributed living is underway in some European societies (I just shy away from using the word 'nations' since this concept is becoming redundant in the modern context of distributed living). Such baby steps would set the trend for others to follow suit.
This is truly the century that throws up the distinct possibility of architects, designers, engineers, design thinkers, system thinkers and leaders to join hands to create a Brave New World.
It remains to be seen how we grab this upcoming opportunity and go forward to save us from natural extinction as human species towards which we are now headed for.
But I am sure of one thing. We now need more leaders at small group levels than ever before.
I think Design Innovation matters in everything we do as human beings. In fact, Design Innovation Rules the World!
It is the fundamental tool we have to create competitive impacts, improve the performance of companies, create wealth, create jobs and improve the society as a whole.
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