Watches Tell More Than Time: Product Design, Information, and the Quest for Elegance

Del Coates is a professor of design in the world famous San Jose State University design department. He has worked as an industrial designer, on corporate staffs, and as a consultant on a broad range of products, including consumer products, furniture (as a member of the renowned Herman Miller design team), automobiles (he coined the product strategy and the name for the Nissan Maxima), and computers (applying his methods, he contributed to the design of the only the second computer to be added to the MOMA's permanent collection). Del lectures often and widely around the world, most recently this summer as an invited guest for DaimlerChrysler AG's research and development group, at the University of Sunderland in England, and at the ISATA Conference on Automotive Technology in Vienna. He teaches each summer at the University of Michigan's Human Factors Engineering Conference and chairs product design sessions at the Silicon Valley Ergonomics Institute's meetings. He writes a regular column for IDSA journal and has published a number of seminal articles in a variety of journals and professional publications. In addition to his teaching and speaking, Del consults to many of the world's top companies including Unisys, Daewoo, Mooney Aircraft, Nissan, General Motors, Peterbilt, Hewlett Packard, Rockwell International, Tandy, Black & Decker, Kodak, General Electric, NCR, Owens-Corning, Pitney Bowes, and Xerox.

How to use this book Introduction Section One - Personal Competence Self awareness, Self confidence, Integrity, Belief systems, Accepting responsibility, Understanding your values, Emotional control, Integrity, Self Motivation, Conscientiousness, Ability to handle change, Stress management, Locus of control Section Two - Relationship Competence Empathy, Rapport and Influencing skills, Listening skills, Conflict Management, Relationship Maintenance, Control and Trust Section Three - Management Competence Inspirational Leadership, The politics of control in the workplace, Change, Coaching, Motivating others, Giving feedback, Learning from criticism, Delegating, Flexibility, Creativity, Goal setting, Section Four - Future Competence Using SMART goals for future professional development, Personal motivation, The benefits of networking, Silencing the internal critic, Passing on skills / coaching others, Continuous feedback, The work/life balance.