“Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” - John F. Kennedy

The Lies of Linear Design (Have You Been Duped?)

We exist in a world that would have us live in linear. Education. Careers. Wellness. Relationships. Conventional wisdom teaches us that success in life requires a straight aim and fixed execution.

The problem is that such rigidness is unnatural. There are no straight lines in nature. So when did artificial thought and mindless action blind to change, feedback, and flow become a smart idea?

I call this default method of living Linear Design. It’s intolerant of fresh thinking. It’s dishonest about true human behavior. And it’s abusive of one’s talents, potential, and dreams. This mode of living is offensive and wrong. In short, it sucks.

Thankfully, there’s a better choice.

Welcome to Iterative Design.

Iterative Design is an agile operating system for life. That means it’s smart, lightweight, fast and responsive. From work to play to health and happiness, Iterative Design promotes the behaviors necessary to grow into your best self.

1. There is no certainty, only opportunity
Nothing is a given. Good health. Fulfilling careers. Uplifting relationships. All must be earned via courage, persistence, and urgency.

2. Steering > aiming
Aiming is guessing at an unknown future. That’s foolish. Be smart and steer, regularly checking progress and adjusting course.

3. Simplicity is everything
Maximize the amount of work not done. More ‘stuff’ is more waste, which is both pointless and harmful. Stay nimble by keeping it simple.

4. Learn by doing
Experience is the best teacher. So stop whining and making excuses. Go do something. Learn from it. Invite feedback. Evolve. Repeat.

5. Promote rework and reuse
Kill fast what doesn’t work. And exploit often what does. Never stop reworking, rewriting, and readjusting your approach.

6. Invest in emergence
Don’t fool yourself into thinking you know all the answers upfront. Allow them to emerge over time. Set up conditions in which to catch them.

7. Continuous improvement is king
Success in anything doesn’t come all at once. Incremental growth is required. Continuous improvement builds unstoppable momentum.

8. A sustainable pace is a smart pace
No human or machine can operate at 100%. Without excess capacity a system shuts down. Avoid maxing out to keep a sustainable pace.

9. Change = stability
Seth Godin says that “playing it safe is risky.” Similarly, embracing change breeds stability because change is constant. Leverage it well.

10. Embrace the art of possible
Don’t point out what cannot be done. Assume the problem can be solved. Then move quickly towards a solution by thinking without limits.

We’re now at the point where you have to make a choice.

You can choose to believe in the lies of Linear Design and continue on your merry way. I’ll admit, that’s the easier and more comfortable path. No hard feelings if go that route. Good luck to you.

But if you see as I see and feel as I feel, then you know that there’s truly only one choice. Iterative Design is a path to abundant opportunities all throughout life. It’s the choice for those that do great work, achieve grand success, make a difference, and enjoy the ride.

This site exists to show you that path and encourage you to take it. I want you to unleash your full potential as only Iterative Design can. Join me and the many others who share this vision and who get updates from me immediately when I publish.

“Plans let the past drive the future. They put blinders on you. That’s the problem: plans are inconsistent with improvisation.

And you have to be able to improvise. You have to be able to pick up opportunities that come along.” - Jason Fried, REWORK

Hey, I’m Matt. Welcome to my site.

Let me share a bit about me and what’s happening here.

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with health most of my life. Things got ugly back in 2002 when I dropped 30 lbs in three months. Note that I’m 6′ 3″ and, at the time, was a 19 year old multi-sport athlete. I crashed from 185 lbs to 155 lbs. That chaos sparked an avalanche of health problems.

Those were dark times. I wasn’t listening to my family, friends, or body. Doctors couldn’t help me. Drugs couldn’t cure me. I was alone with a choice – to persist in misery or fight my way out.

I chose to fight.

I evolved into a living health lab – conducting small, controlled experiments on myself using new nutrition programs, fitness regimens, wellness techniques, and more. I opened myself up to feedback. And I iterated quickly – killing what didn’t work, keeping what did, and tinkering with new ideas.

This was my first experience with Iterative Design. And it worked. It took seven years. (I had dug my ditch that deep.) But when I emerged I was stronger, faster, and most importantly healthier than I had ever been. I’m now a healthy lifestyle super geek.

Mid-way into my health revival, Iterative Design emerged in a second area of my life…my career.

I became a top digital strategist with a Fortune 100 company after graduating college. I had been an academic all-star and was on the fast track to corporate riches. The thing was, it never felt right

Then, in 2007, I was introduced to Agile Methodology. Agile is a progressive approach to software development. It’s highly unconventional in corporate cultures. I loved it, and had tremendous success using it.

Agile was the final piece to the puzzle. It solidified my raging thoughts about learning via small experiments, co-creating with others, evolving quickly, and pursuing continuous improvement. Being an entrepreneur at heart, I knew where Agile could take my career, and my life.

Enter the Internet and the start of this site.

I was so fascinated by the iterative models I’d experienced personally and professionally that I decided to write about them. I began writing in early 2010. Despite being a digital strategist, I had never established a personal brand on the web. That quickly changed thanks to you!

Tens of thousands of readers read my articles that first year. I wrote on health, creativity, ambition, working smart, and responsibility – all from an iterative perspective. The term Iterative Design didn’t come to me straight away; true to it’s form, this unifying concept emerged over time.

Venturing online has been an amazing journey, one that I’m still on today.

Thanks to my success on the web, I left my six-figure corporate career in mid-2011 to pursue life as an entrepreneur full-time. I now earn a living as a book editor for indie authors, freelance editorial strategist, and independent business consultant.

I’m proud to say that my new career is equally prosperous and much more gratifying.

The best part by far has been meeting extraordinary people. Many of my dearest friends are those I met online. I’m continually inspired by phenomenal thought leaders. And I relish the opportunity to influence aspiring change agents in the ways of Iterative Design.

Although Iterative Design encourages change, the purpose of this site will forever remain the same.

I write to help you realize that your discontent with linear thinking and living is valid, and that a better option exists. You do possess the ability to quickly improve your circumstances if you choose to operate iteratively. My field notes should help with that.

Most critically perhaps, I’ll call out the lies of Linear Design so that you don’t fall victim to them. Avoiding these pitfalls of ignorance, monotony, and propaganda is an evolutionary imperative. No one fancies going the way of the dodo – in work, play, health, or anything else.

If you like what you’re reading, I would love for you to subscribe for free updates via email (below) or RSS updates. You can also follow me on Twitter or contact me via email. Welcome to the party. I’m glad you’re here.

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