According to PepsiCo’s award-winning, and first, Chief Design Officer, Mauro Porcini, “our world is radically changing, and is forcing us to innovate as never before. And, we are entering a new, modern renaissance fueled by the reborn, humanistic necessity of putting people at the center of everything.”

And when Porcini says, “put people at the center of everything,” he’s not just referring to the human beings (consumers) for whom companies design products and services, but also explicitly for all of the human beings who lead and participate in the innovation process – (an organization’s employees).

Porcini, who also was the first ever Chief Design Officer at 3M – one of the most innovative companies in the world – has just published, “The Human Side Of Innovation: The Power Of People In Love With People,” where he makes the uncommon assertion that:

“Innovation is an act of love.
It is a gesture of empathy, respect, generosity, of one human being’s devotion to another.” 

And, recognizing that humans have all of the ideas that make innovation happen, he’s an advocate for loving employees as a condition for drawing out their greatest creativity.

When hiring people to work on his design team, Porcini not only focuses on finding candidates who “are in love with people” – and who have a genuine fire in them to create meaningful solutions for actual human beings – but people who also possess the specific traits of kindness, optimism, curiosity, and humility. Leading any team of human beings, he believes, inherently requires managers possess these exact same qualities.

We don’t often think about how a company’s culture will impact its ability to drive change, transform product offerings or reimagine processes; but one of the world’s top design thinkers believes any leader who fails to see the direct connection will fall by the wayside – transcended by people, and organizations, who do.

Mauro Porcini isn’t just inspiring in this conversation. His philosophy and leadership thinking will likely transform you.

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