A renowned Christian theologian, Ignatius of Loyola, developed a discipline of prayer for the religious community he founded — the Jesuits — called “The Spiritual Exercises.”  There is a nearly perceptible magnetic pull, for some of us anyway, toward a system, a framework, a set of useful exercises.

As the end of the year draws near, one exercise I would recommend is pondering two directions — backward and forward. And what a wonderful exercise it is to look back on the recent past, and to look forward to the immediate future. This exercise, in many ways a spiritual one, bestows a great gift to us… the gift of perspective.

There are some who would contend that nearly every significant decision error humans can make is really an error of perspective.

‘Tis the season to look back, and look ahead… to enrich our perspective.

It isn’t just design thinking that requires the rigor of discipline. It’s simply good business.

Steve Jobs has said of his company, Apple Inc. “We don’t know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk.”

Especially in demanding economic conditions, it takes rigorous discipline to not cave, to stay true to your essence, your brand. The temptation to cut prices, to lower standards, to sacrifice fair margins is intense. It requires disciplined leadership, not merely in design, but in every corner of the business.

Jim Collins calls it the ‘discipline to discard.’ Jonathan Ivie calls it ‘knowing what to leave out.’ Matthew May says ‘have something missing.’

No matter what you call it, all the current talk about design thinking and using design as a platform for ‘non-design’ pursuits comes down to a discipline. It’s so tempting to not want to miss out on an opportunity, that we’re fond, it seems, of throwing even the kitchen sink into the mix.

The discipline to exclude in order to achieve design excellence is really an act of confidence and courage. The confidence that our solution is the right solution, the courage to advance it into the unknown of public critique.