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November 25, 2025 61 mins

From kitchen tables to self-driving cars, everything around us was designed to solve a problem. Bill Burnett, award-winning Silicon Valley designer, believes we can use the same approach to design careers that bring fulfillment and joy. By using curiosity, reframing, collaboration, and other tools, Bill shows how to enjoy the present while shaping a better future. In this revisited episode, Dart and Bill discuss how to adopt a design mindset for life and work, tackle the sunk-cost fallacy, rethink work-life balance, and share practical management advice.

Bill is an award-winning designer, New York Times bestselling author, adjunct professor, and Executive Director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University. Throughout his career, Bill has designed everything from the first slate computer to Hasbro Star Wars action figures, assisting and advising Fortune 100 companies and start-ups alike.

In this episode, Dart and Bill discuss:
- The design mindset you need to build the life you want
- The problem with hyper-focusing on one goal
- How to reframe problems to discover new solutions
- Avoiding the sunk-cost fallacy
- Enjoying what you have while building a brighter future
- Management advice for interviewing and hiring adaptable employees
- An antidote for the work-life balance problem
- And other topics…

Bill Burnett is an award-winning Silicon Valley designer and New York Times best-selling author. He currently serves as the Adjunct Professor and Executive Director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University, and over 350 universities now use his curriculum on how to design your life. Throughout his career, he has designed everything from the first slate computer to Hasbro Star Wars action figures in the toy industry, assisting and advising Fortune 100 companies and start-ups alike.

Bill is the co-author of the bestselling book Designing Your Life and recently published Designing Your New Work Life, both of which have garnered significant acclaim. His impact on design, education, and professional development continues to shape industries and inspire aspiring designers worldwide.

Resources Mentioned:
Designing Your New Work Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans: https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Your-Work-Life-Happiness/dp/0593467450
Designing Your Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans: https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Your-Life-Well-Lived-Joyful/dp/1101875321

Connect with Bill:
www.DesigningYour.Life

Work with Dart:
Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.

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