Products and services have to obey the laws of nature. Some laws, like Newton’s Laws, can not be avoided. Ignore them at your own risk.
Then there are those Laws that aren’t physical, but are no less real. These are laws that deal with how people behave. They are embedded in who we are by nature, and/or are continually being transformed and modified through cultures and relationships between people and the Cosmos. These laws are more elusive and difficult to characterize. They are being observed, and deciphered, by psychologists, ethnographers, behavioral economists, poets and others.
One of these, is the Law of Love.
…the Law of Love is the deepest law of our nature, not something extraneous and alien to our nature. Our nature itself inclines us to love, and to love freely. -Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
If, as Merton says, this law is the deepest law in our nature, shouldn’t it be the most prevalent law guiding our innovation efforts?
Yet, how often do we see design briefs, or product specifications stating, “Must incorporate Love.”?
Oh sure, it’s often inferred. After all, we don’t want to hurt anyone, right? We don’t want to pollute the world, right?
But still, there are people who use Chinese sweatshops to create magical products. There are people who create novel materials at the expense of effluents that taint the environment.
Love of others shouldn’t be inferred. It should be active and visible in innovations.
During this holiday season, the word, “love”, gets used prolifically. But, why can’t Love guide what we do, all the time? What if we asked, “What would this product look like if I loved the person it’s being made for, and the place where she lives and the people making it and the places they live?”
In this day and age, innovation with L.O.V.E. shouldn’t be optional.
If it’s part of our nature, it should be imperative.
