Post written by Christa Avampato. You can follow Christa on Twitter and read more about what she’s up to on her blog.

The biggest risk that companies face today is not the work of their competitors; it’s the loss of employee engagement and loyalty.

The cultures of many large companies are literally rotting from the inside out. Cultures that took decades to create have descended into ruins in a matter of 18 months. CEOs need to look inward at who’s still around in their corridors; they need to make re-building trust and loyalty among their people their number 1 priority if they are to survive in this new economy.

It’s through the lens of these corporate survivors that I considered the Rotman School Design Thinking Experts Series, hosted by Thomson Reuters. My former boss, Bob, invited me because of my interest in innovation and change makers. Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, Bruce Nussbaum, Design and Innovation Columnist at Business Week, Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School, and Will Setlief, VP of Marketing at Target, were panelists and shared their experience with design thinking and their outlook on the future of business.

I took away 5 main points from the talk that have been racing around in my mind ever since. As I was on vacation, I thought a lot about how I can take these five principle and encourage them in the large corporation where I currently work.

Here they are as food for thought:

1.)   The scientific method is about deductive reasoning. Design thinking is about expansive thinking. In companies, people need to receive training in design thinking, regardless of whether or not they are designers. Everything is subject to design and creativity. In our education system, children need to have the opportunity to create something new, not just analyze what’s already known.

2.)   See what’s really around us. Don’t think, strategize, and plan in your cubicle or conference room. There are no answers in your own four walls. The answers are walking around, living. Go out into the world, talk to customers, and watch them. Genius is in the doing.

3.)   Culture is derivative. You cannot change culture. You can change behavior, language, communications, and space. By creating new rituals, you can transform culture.

4.)   A well-crafted question is as valuable as a solution. Tim Brown talked about the black hole of design think – “where do the questions come from?” He advocates for spending most of our time on asking questions in many different ways. Every problem has its own solution baked in and it takes a lot of time, effort, and patience, to peel away a question’s layers to get to the solution.

5.)   Design thinking is never done. It is a process, not a goal or destination. It is a tool. Use it often.

Extra Reading For The Curious:

- To learn more, check out Tim Brown’s book Change by Design and Roger Martin’s book The Design of Business.

- Download IDEO’s Human Center Design toolkit and field guide free of charge at http://www.ideo.com/work/item/human-centered-design-toolkit/

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A guest post by Jennifer Monahan-Searles.

I recently took my first trip to Japan. The country was beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the many shrines, temples and museums while I was there.

However, what impressed me most about Japan was the consistent level of personal pride each person I interacted with took in what he or she did. Here are some example snapshots:

Snapshot 1: Every cab that I took was incredibly clean. In fact, the back seat in each was covered with a white lace slipcover. The drivers wear white gloves and open and shut the door for you (you never have to touch the door handle). They are courteous and polite. And – here’s the kicker – they do not accept tips. You pay the fare amount only. When I tried to tip one driver that had been especially helpful, he adamantly refused the tip.

Snapshot 2: Shopkeepers greet you with a “good morning” or a “good afternoon” when you walk in. In fact, any store staff member that walks by greets you. When you leave – regardless of whether or not you purchased something – you are politely thanked. When I did purchase something, the item was carefully wrapped and then put in a bag. The cashier showed respect for every item purchased, even if that item cost only a couple dollars.

Snapshot 3: About 8 grammar school-aged children stopped me one day to ask me where I lived and why I was visiting. They wanted to practice speaking English and each asked me one question. (Their English was a lot better than my Japanese!) When we had finished talking, they presented me with a couple origami cranes and an origami sword as a thank you for my time. The little boy that made the sword carefully took it out of the envelope and showed me how to remove the paper sword from its paper sheath. He obviously was very proud of his work and wanted to make sure I knew how to use the sword.

Snapshot 4: The CEO of a company that I did a sales presentation to while in Tokyo took the time to meet with me individually prior to my presentation to his team. He not only made sure that I had everything I needed, but also expressed his gratitude – before the meeting – for the time I was spending with his organization (even though I was pitching business to him and his organization) and said that he was sure that his team would learn a lot from our meeting.

Snapshot 5: A wonderful woman that I stopped to ask directions of went above and beyond. She was waiting at a bus stop and pointed me in the direction I needed to go. I walked about 2 blocks and realized that I had somehow made a mistake. I had just turned around to backtrack my steps when I heard a woman’s voice calling out – it was the same woman that I had asked directions of. She had watched me walk, saw that I had made a wrong turn, and came running after me in the pouring rain to show me the right way to go.

She missed her bus to make sure that I got to where I was going. At another point during my trip, a high-school aged young man saw me looking at a map and asked me where I was trying to go. When I told him I was trying to find a specific subway station, he not only told me how to get there, but walked the 20 minutes to make sure I found it okay, and then waited to make sure I got on the right train.

None of these people expected anything more than a thank you. They found personal pleasure in doing something well, and that was reward enough. And, as a result, I had an incredible time and am looking forward to going back to Japan.

My experience got me thinking about personal pride and how much of an impact it can have not only on yourself but also on the people you come into contact with. What an impact just saying “thank you” can have.

Think what a different world we would live in if people were consistently respectful and courteous to each other and took pride in every action they took, regardless whether they were the CEO of a large company or a second-grader who had just made a paper sword as a gift.

I personally have started “amping up” the level of pride I take in everything I do and expressing gratitude as frequently as possible. I challenge each of you to do the same — let me know the results.

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Jennifer Monahan-Searles spends her days (and occasional evenings and weekends!) helping organizations understand their customers, using that insight to create better customer experiences and relationships. She has just started a blog on customer strategy.

When not working, you can usually find her exploring her favorite city, San Francisco.

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A guest post by Dani, author and creator of Positively Present.

Did you know that even if you hate your job you can still be happy?

Yep, it’s true! I know it might seem nearly impossible to be happy when you’re spending most of your life in a time-sucking, life-draining, absolutely miserable line of work (or even a job that’s just not all that great), but it is possible to happy even when you’re doing a job you dislike. Hard as it might seem, you can still enjoy your life without enjoying your work.

I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that times are tough. Many of us might dislike our jobs but feel reluctant to search for something new. After all, in an economy like this one, a paycheck is a paycheck. Some of us might feel trapped. We might be taking on more work but without proper compensation. We might even be working harder but making less money.

We might be miserable and then feeling guilty because, hey, at least we have jobs. No matter what your situation, if you don’t like your job you don’t like your job. If you can’t (for whatever reason) get a new job, you might feel stuck, but don’t. You might not be able to change your job, but you can change the way you think about it.

Attitude and perception are so important in every life situation. When it comes to your job, your attitude and your perception can have a huge impact on your work life. I’ve come up with a list of questions to ask yourself about your job that I believe can really transform the way you see your life at work. Working in a job you hate is far from ideal, but if you cannot change it, you’re better off making the best of it. So ask yourself…

What is awesome about my job?
Okay, at first glance your job sucks. You can’t come up with anything you think you like about it, let alone anything that you think is awesome about it. It’s not easy to find the good things in something you automatically think of as bad, but it is possible. There has to be something good about your job. There are things that might be small, but there are things that are good about it. Take some time to consider what the good things are and do your best to focus on those things. When you’re feeling bad about your work life, think about those things and remind yourself that it’s not all bad.

Can I make any friends here?
Friends are fun, right? Who doesn’t like friends? At most places you work, you can find someone to befriend. Even if that person is only a work friend, that individual is likely to make your life at work a lot better. I have a great friend at work and every day she’s not there I definitely feel like work isn’t as good. It’s wonderful to have someone to bond with, to talk about coworkers and work situations with, and to share in the good and bad of working for your company. If you don’t have any friends at work, take some time to reach out to your coworkers. Knowing you have a buddy at the office will make coming to work a lot better.

Can I incorporate what love doing into my job?
Depending on what it is you love to do, you might be able to incorporate that into your working experience. For example, I really love to organize things so I’ve often asked colleagues or bosses if I could help them organize their offices. Also, I love to write and edit documents, so I always let my employers know that and they usually give me writing or editing tasks. Think about what you love to do. Can you incorporate it into your work? I’ll admit that the things I love to do are pretty work friendly so I know this might not work for everyone, but give it a shot and try to think outside the box.

Who can I learn from at my company?
I know it’s tempting to think everyone at your office is a total idiot when you hate your job, but when you think about it logically, you know that can’t be true. There have to be some people in your work that have some insights to offer you. Spend some time thinking about how you can get to know the people at your job who know the most about your industry or about what you’re interested in. Also, figure out what people like outside of work. You might find that a coworker is a big fan of music just like you and you can learn about new bands from him or her. For me, learning is so important and there are so many different ways you can learn. Figure out what you can learn from those around you at work and you’ll probably have a more enjoyable experience every day.

Can I take away any lessons from this job?
Yes, your tasks might seem mindless and repetitive, but in most cases you can learn something from what you’re doing. When you start to think about it, there’s probably something you’re learning or perfecting every time you do a routine task. You’re getting better at something or, if you’re lucky, you’re given the opportunity to learn new things. Think about what you can take away from this job and take with you to the next one. When you realize that the things you are doing can help you at another job (or maybe even in other aspects of your life), you’re likely to be more interested and excited about them. If your tasks are completely miserable, look around and see if there’s anything else you can help out with that might interest you.

Am I focusing on the negative here?
No matter what the situation, if you continue to focus on what’s bad about it, you’re going to keep seeing what’s bad about it. When I first started my job, I always whining about how bored I was, how much I hated the work. I would bitch about how I’d gone to college for six years in order to work as an assistant, filing and answering phones and scheduling meetings. I was completely negative about everything, which, of course, made everything worse. Now I’m working at the same place and I’ve moved up. I’m doing things that interest me more and, even when I have to do things I don’t want to do, I try to focus on the positive. And you know what? It works. I’m a lot happier at work now and I know it’s 100% due to my attitude change.

How can I act happier?
It’s not easy to act happy when you’re not feeling happy but studies have shown (sorry, I don’t recall which studies, but if you’re interested in learning more about this, check out The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want) if you pretend to be happy—force yourself to smile, be nice to others, etc.—you actually start to feel happier. Yes, I know this isn’t easy for most people to do. When I’m not happy it’s generally pretty obvious (even to complete strangers!) so I get that it’s not all that easy to be happy at work when you’re really miserable and seething inside, but give it a shot. It’s worth a try to smile and see if forcing it makes it any better. It just might work!

What can I improve outside of work?
So you’ve done everything you can think of to improve your work life and it’s still not ideal. What now? My advice would be to focus on what you’re doing outside of work. Even if you work a lot, there are still times when you’re not at work. What are you doing with that time? Are you spending it doing the things you really love to do? I know it
’s tempting after a long day of work to just veg out on the couch (trust me, this is one of my favorite post-work pastimes), but don’t. If you spend the time you’re not at work doing the things you love to do, you’ll be a lot less bitter when you’re at the office.

Instead of thinking, “I could be doing something else instead of sitting in this miserable cubicle,” you’ll be thinking, “Man, I’m looking forward to doing that thing I love to do after work today!” Make the most of your non-work time and your work time will be a lot less unhappy.

Anyone who doesn’t have their dream job (a.k.a. most of us) knows that sometimes it can be a real drag to go to work. The tasks can be boring, the boss can be a pain, and the hours can drag endlessly, but if you have to be there thinking about your job negatively isn’t going to make the experience any better.

For many lucky people, there are opportunities to change careers or to start up a business, but for the rest of us—those who have to stay in our jobs, at least for right now—work can be a really big pain. However, if you think negatively and you choose not to focus on the positive, you’re only making it worse for yourself. Do you want to make it worse or make it better? Yeah, that’s what I thought. We all want to enjoy work more, and I really do believe—after having experienced a personal attitude change myself—that it’s possible. As the old adage goes, “attitude is everything.” You may not be able to change your tasks, your job, or your career path, but you can change your attitude.

Try, even just for a little bit, to have a positive attitude when you go to the office. Try your hardest to be positive and to remember that just because you hate your job doesn’t mean you have to hate your life.

–

Dani is a twenty-something who, after years of living under a dark cloud of woe-is-me, has decided this will be the year she learns to live positively in the present moment. Through the creation of her blog, Positively Present (along with some pretty awesome therapy and the help from family and friends), Dani, a self-proclaimed former Eeyore, is working to spend more time living in the present and making her life more positively aware.

Dani’s blog embraces the idea of “living happily ever after now” by focusing on all things positive— quotes, books, stories, songs, situations, people, blogs, websites, ideas, images, notions, emotions.

Dani is also the creator and author of Hope Springs Internal, a blog focusing on the positive representations of women in the media. You also find Dani on Twitter @positivepresent and on Facebook as Positively Present.

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