The Four ‘Sights’ and Leadership.

Humanity has long passed the age of thinking linear and has now begun to develop projects with circularity systems in mind. This more complex system has its foundation on the idea that there is no end to it. The system utilizes the last step to develop the next one, making it a continuous cycle.

I believe this new model of thinking is related to the inclusion of designer-minds in the production cycle. The only logical explanation for changing from a linear system to a circular one is through thinking creatively. This new circular-process can be simplified to four stages that are in constant sequence: understand, define, make and, release.

It is necessary to have a proper assessment of what needs to change to improve the system. It takes different skills to analyze the whole process, not only as a general concept but as a detailed one, switching from zooming in and out to get both, the big picture and the small picture.

To comprehend all of these changes, designers have to adjust their way of looking and evaluating processes and, in this case, systems. There are four different ways of “seeing” information that can help us grasp what happened, what could happen, what will happen and, what was missing. We know them more commonly as hindsight, insight, foresight and, oversight.

To properly think in circularity, leaders of a design group have to employ these four “sights” to deliver a better product or service the next time the process goes through that stage of the system. After doing the proper design process, a capable leader will determine what needs to change in the design for the service or product to be more circular. A complex process of going back for the system to move forward with more ease.