when I was younger I did what I think a
lot of people do I look to my heroes to
define who I was going to be or at least
who I was going to tell others I was
going to be and when I was sixteen I
want it to be a 60s rock star I remember
one day I went to a thrift store and I
got a Nehru jacket think the album cover
of Sargent peppers only my jacket was
Paisley and it swirled with pink and
gold and purple and black it was
incredible just like any teenager I
couldn’t wait to wear my new jacket I
remember was right around Easter and I
decided to debut my new look
at an Easter egg hunt that I was going
to with my little brother
I stood by the sidelines filled with
pride just knowing that everyone would
know that I was a 16 year old rock god
and just like my heroes I would change
the world
I remember just standing there taking it
all in
when a woman walked up to me put her arm
around and said I’m so proud of you
you dressed like an Easter Egg for the
little kids you’re such a good boy it
was a really tough moment for my teenage
pride but at the same time it was an
incredible moment in my life because it
was the first time I began to think
about context culture and a shared
vision context was the first thing that
I learned for my Easter egg jacket
moment the idea that things have to be
relevant in order to be believable
I hadn’t created any relevance for my
jacket I hadn’t written songs that would
change a generation I hadn’t played
amazing guitar I’d simply purchased
something and put it on this idea really
when I
decided to move across the United States
after 15 years of working in creative
agencies in Portland Oregon my wife and
I packed up a truck and DRI drove to
Central Florida along the way we stopped
in a number of cities and in each city I
heard a very similar statement our
community is growing we’re gonna be the
next somewhere else and not only were
they planning on being somewhere else
but the value of that other place were
the things in it the buildings the
social activities sustainability
initiatives walkability the idea that
these solutions were not being designed
for the people who lived in the
community but for other people in other
places at other times
amazed me as a designer when I arrived
in my new home on the Space Coast in
Florida about an hour east of Orlando I
began to hear the same kinds of stories
you’re so lucky to be here it’s the
perfect time our community is growing
and we’re going to be the next somewhere
else
I also heard about initiatives to build
new things in the area Innovation
Centers maker spaces even better bars
the difference between the stories that
I heard on the Space Coast and all the
other cities were only that I had time
to ask for context I began to learn that
fifteen point five percent of the people
on the Space Coast work in the high-tech
industry that makes it the fifth largest
tech Center in the United States a fact
that not many people know even on the
Space Coast I also learned that people
in this community have invented and
created and built amazing things
rockets that took a man to the moon and
back all the way to critical components
on smartphones that we use every day but
the area also has a challenge in some
companies as much as 70% of new
employees leave within the first three
years and that fact costs the community
tens of millions of dollars every year
not just for the companies who are
bringing in new employees and training
them but for the government and
community itself as they try to build
new initiatives in order to retain
people and make the area more desirable
as a designer I believe that we need to
understand these journeys and so I began
to ask people what their experience was
like coming to the Space Coast and one
story was incredibly meaningful to me it
was the story of my friend Pawan Pawan
Xindian he’s an engineer and an
innovator and Pawan dreamed of coming to
the United States
one day he receives a job offer and he
gets that opportunity I asked Paul want
to walk me through his experience and
what he told me was that he began by
researching his new home and what he
found was that there were articles about
the history of the space program there
were stories about tourist attractions
and beaches but what was missing were
the actual stories of the people who
lived in that community their hopes
their dreams their aspirations as a
community and really for Pawan what was
missing was how he fit into his new home
Pawan began his journey with a flight
halfway across the world and when he
arrives in Orlando International Airport
he walks off the jet way and it hits him
he’s alone he’s just another face in the
crowd he makes its way through the busy
building and gets to a cab to begin the
trip to the hotel and pawan told me that
in that moment his anxiety was at an
all-time high who was he going to meet
what would the community be like how
would he contribute would he fit in he
arrives at his hotel room puts down his
bag and begins to watch TV I can only
imagine that this was a hard night for
Pawan Pawan eventually starts his new
job he meets new people and everything’s
pretty good but he doesn’t feel like he
belongs to this community he doesn’t
feel any sense of home Pawan begins to
explore other places in the country that
he might be a better fit and just by
chance during the same time he finds a
startup incubator called groundswell and
in groundswell he finds a community of
people dedicated to growing new
businesses they’re interested in finding
innovative ways to work and new
solutions to problems
Pollan finds a home and he attributes
this home with a sense of belonging and
retaining him within the community which
brings me to the second point I learned
during my Easter a jacket moment a
shared vision when people believe they
can contribute and so I began to ask
Pollan what a vision of the future would
look like how that experience could be
different for other people coming to the
Space Coast and in just a couple of
hours
Pawan and I co-created a vision of what
could be we began to ask questions like
what if what if when Pawan had started
to research his new home
instead of just seeing the beaches and
tourists attractions he saw stories
unmoderated of the challenges and the
triumphs of the people who live in his
community
what if Pawan could start to picture
what it would be like to live in that
community and how he might contribute to
it what if when Pawan had arrived at the
airport there was a sign that said the
Space Coast welcomes all innovators and
showed a powerful picture of disruptors
of the past and innovators of the
present what if when Pawan had gotten
into the cab he had seen a display that
said the Space Coast is the fifth
largest tech Center in the United States
and we invite you to become part of our
innovative future what if when Pawan had
gotten to his hotel room he had had a
personalized invitation from his new
employer to participate in community
activities not just work-related but art
and sports and culture and innovation
I believe that Pawan would have been
able to plug into the community much
sooner begin to contribute much sooner
which brings me to the last point that I
learned during my easter-egg jacket
moment context an understanding of what
people’s real needs are plus a shared
vision co-created by many different
groups creates a culture and those
cultures are able to adapt and change
and react to the world around us in much
greater speed than any one group or one
person can so what does this all mean
it’s simple things are great
my neighbor jacket was incredible but
things are just containers for our
culture once we have context and a
shared vision
we can fill our containers with cultures
that can change adapt and continue to
meet the needs of our communities in
better and better ways so as designers
of our community I hope we will all ask
questions co-create shared visions of
the future with diverse groups and begin
to build containers that hold our
culture and better meet the needs of our
community thank you
[Applause]
lot of people do I look to my heroes to
define who I was going to be or at least
who I was going to tell others I was
going to be and when I was sixteen I
want it to be a 60s rock star I remember
one day I went to a thrift store and I
got a Nehru jacket think the album cover
of Sargent peppers only my jacket was
Paisley and it swirled with pink and
gold and purple and black it was
incredible just like any teenager I
couldn’t wait to wear my new jacket I
remember was right around Easter and I
decided to debut my new look
at an Easter egg hunt that I was going
to with my little brother
I stood by the sidelines filled with
pride just knowing that everyone would
know that I was a 16 year old rock god
and just like my heroes I would change
the world
I remember just standing there taking it
all in
when a woman walked up to me put her arm
around and said I’m so proud of you
you dressed like an Easter Egg for the
little kids you’re such a good boy it
was a really tough moment for my teenage
pride but at the same time it was an
incredible moment in my life because it
was the first time I began to think
about context culture and a shared
vision context was the first thing that
I learned for my Easter egg jacket
moment the idea that things have to be
relevant in order to be believable
I hadn’t created any relevance for my
jacket I hadn’t written songs that would
change a generation I hadn’t played
amazing guitar I’d simply purchased
something and put it on this idea really
when I
decided to move across the United States
after 15 years of working in creative
agencies in Portland Oregon my wife and
I packed up a truck and DRI drove to
Central Florida along the way we stopped
in a number of cities and in each city I
heard a very similar statement our
community is growing we’re gonna be the
next somewhere else and not only were
they planning on being somewhere else
but the value of that other place were
the things in it the buildings the
social activities sustainability
initiatives walkability the idea that
these solutions were not being designed
for the people who lived in the
community but for other people in other
places at other times
amazed me as a designer when I arrived
in my new home on the Space Coast in
Florida about an hour east of Orlando I
began to hear the same kinds of stories
you’re so lucky to be here it’s the
perfect time our community is growing
and we’re going to be the next somewhere
else
I also heard about initiatives to build
new things in the area Innovation
Centers maker spaces even better bars
the difference between the stories that
I heard on the Space Coast and all the
other cities were only that I had time
to ask for context I began to learn that
fifteen point five percent of the people
on the Space Coast work in the high-tech
industry that makes it the fifth largest
tech Center in the United States a fact
that not many people know even on the
Space Coast I also learned that people
in this community have invented and
created and built amazing things
rockets that took a man to the moon and
back all the way to critical components
on smartphones that we use every day but
the area also has a challenge in some
companies as much as 70% of new
employees leave within the first three
years and that fact costs the community
tens of millions of dollars every year
not just for the companies who are
bringing in new employees and training
them but for the government and
community itself as they try to build
new initiatives in order to retain
people and make the area more desirable
as a designer I believe that we need to
understand these journeys and so I began
to ask people what their experience was
like coming to the Space Coast and one
story was incredibly meaningful to me it
was the story of my friend Pawan Pawan
Xindian he’s an engineer and an
innovator and Pawan dreamed of coming to
the United States
one day he receives a job offer and he
gets that opportunity I asked Paul want
to walk me through his experience and
what he told me was that he began by
researching his new home and what he
found was that there were articles about
the history of the space program there
were stories about tourist attractions
and beaches but what was missing were
the actual stories of the people who
lived in that community their hopes
their dreams their aspirations as a
community and really for Pawan what was
missing was how he fit into his new home
Pawan began his journey with a flight
halfway across the world and when he
arrives in Orlando International Airport
he walks off the jet way and it hits him
he’s alone he’s just another face in the
crowd he makes its way through the busy
building and gets to a cab to begin the
trip to the hotel and pawan told me that
in that moment his anxiety was at an
all-time high who was he going to meet
what would the community be like how
would he contribute would he fit in he
arrives at his hotel room puts down his
bag and begins to watch TV I can only
imagine that this was a hard night for
Pawan Pawan eventually starts his new
job he meets new people and everything’s
pretty good but he doesn’t feel like he
belongs to this community he doesn’t
feel any sense of home Pawan begins to
explore other places in the country that
he might be a better fit and just by
chance during the same time he finds a
startup incubator called groundswell and
in groundswell he finds a community of
people dedicated to growing new
businesses they’re interested in finding
innovative ways to work and new
solutions to problems
Pollan finds a home and he attributes
this home with a sense of belonging and
retaining him within the community which
brings me to the second point I learned
during my Easter a jacket moment a
shared vision when people believe they
can contribute and so I began to ask
Pollan what a vision of the future would
look like how that experience could be
different for other people coming to the
Space Coast and in just a couple of
hours
Pawan and I co-created a vision of what
could be we began to ask questions like
what if what if when Pawan had started
to research his new home
instead of just seeing the beaches and
tourists attractions he saw stories
unmoderated of the challenges and the
triumphs of the people who live in his
community
what if Pawan could start to picture
what it would be like to live in that
community and how he might contribute to
it what if when Pawan had arrived at the
airport there was a sign that said the
Space Coast welcomes all innovators and
showed a powerful picture of disruptors
of the past and innovators of the
present what if when Pawan had gotten
into the cab he had seen a display that
said the Space Coast is the fifth
largest tech Center in the United States
and we invite you to become part of our
innovative future what if when Pawan had
gotten to his hotel room he had had a
personalized invitation from his new
employer to participate in community
activities not just work-related but art
and sports and culture and innovation
I believe that Pawan would have been
able to plug into the community much
sooner begin to contribute much sooner
which brings me to the last point that I
learned during my easter-egg jacket
moment context an understanding of what
people’s real needs are plus a shared
vision co-created by many different
groups creates a culture and those
cultures are able to adapt and change
and react to the world around us in much
greater speed than any one group or one
person can so what does this all mean
it’s simple things are great
my neighbor jacket was incredible but
things are just containers for our
culture once we have context and a
shared vision
we can fill our containers with cultures
that can change adapt and continue to
meet the needs of our communities in
better and better ways so as designers
of our community I hope we will all ask
questions co-create shared visions of
the future with diverse groups and begin
to build containers that hold our
culture and better meet the needs of our
community thank you
[Applause]
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