I’m a designer based in Sydney, Australia. The title of the blog is inspired by Gordon MacKenzie’s book “Orbiting the Giant Hairball“. In that book, Mr. MacKenzie reminds us how easy it is to yield to success formulas.

Rote has nothing to do with creativity

In our work with clients, or when collaborating with other team members and partners, we can sometimes unwittingly open the door to what might be thought of as organisational entropy.

en’trô•py, n. [Gr. entropia, entrope, a turning toward] the degradation of matter and energy to an ultimate state of inert uniformity.

As a designer, I know how easy it is to refer to tried & tested processes and  toolboxes.

It is a common history of enterprises to begin in a state of naive groping, stumble onto success, milk the success with a vengeance and, in the process, generate systems that arrogantly turn away from the source of their original success: groping.

If an organisation is to chose vigour over “an ultimate state of inert uniformity,” it must honour and support both the rational exploitation of success and the nonrational art of groping.

Noted.