Designing a Meaningful Life

After years of drawing cars and airplanes under his Grandmother’s sewing machine, Bill Burnett went off to the University and discovered, much to his surprise, that there were people in the world who did this kind of thing everyday (without the sewing machine) and they were called designers. 45 years, five companies, and a couple of thousand students later Bill is still drawing and building things, teaching others how to do the same, and quietly enjoying the fact that no one has discovered that he is having too much fun.

Bill Burnett is an Adjunct Professor and the Executive Director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford. He received his Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science in Product Design at Stanford and has worked in start-ups and Fortune 100 companies, including seven years at Apple designing award-winning laptops and a number of years in the toy industry designing Star Wars action toys. He holds a number of mechanical and design patents and design awards, and, in addition to his duties at Stanford, he advises several of his students’ startup companies.

From saving seals to tackling the energy crisis, from imagining the first computer mice to redefining software—Dave’s been on a mission, including helping others find theirs. He began at Stanford dreaming of following Jacques Cousteau as a marine biologist, but soon realized he was lousy at it and shifted to mechanical engineering. After four years in alternative energy, the idea’s time hadn’t come. On his way to biomedical engineering, he accepted an invitation to Apple, where he led product marketing for the mouse team and introduced laser printing to the masses. When his boss left to start Electronic Arts, Dave joined as the first VP of Talent, committed to making “software worthy of the minds that use it.” Having shaped cultures at Apple and EA, he saw his best work was helping organizations build environments where people could do great work and love doing it. He later went out on his own, working with start-ups, executives, non-profits, and young adults—all asking, “What should I do with my life?” That question took him to Stanford and remains his life’s work.