Bernard Roth

Using design principles to lead a more satisfying and productive life

Bernie Roth is the Rodney H. Adams Professor of Engineering at Stanford University. A longtime veteran of the Stanford design scene, he first came to the Stanford Design Division faculty in 1962. He arrived from New York City, his birthplace, with a wife, two children, a proper haircut, a sports jacket and a very traditional background in Mechanical Engineering and liberal New York politics. The experience of the Vietnam-War protest movement, the Human Potential Movement, and the other social upheavals centered in San Francisco Bay area, totally changed his life as an educator. It added a missing dimension, the explicit concern for his students’ education and growth beyond simply developing their technical expertise. His recent activities have moved him into experiences that enhance peoples’ creative potential through the educational process. His primary intention as an educator and person is to empower his students, colleagues and friends to have fulfilling lives.

Author Website

Philosopher's Notes on Bernard Roth's Books

LockedPhilosopher's Notes

The Achievement Habit

by Bernard Roth

Bernard Roth has been a Professor of Engineering at Stanford for over FIFTY (!!) years. A pioneer in the field of robotics, Bernie is one of the founders of the famed school at Stanford. In this great book, he brings the concepts of design thinking to life in the context of our most important design project: designing our optimal lives. Big Ideas we explore include the 5 elements of design thinking, doing vs. trying, ignoring odds, and being the cause.

Quotes by Bernard Roth

Quote

Achievement *can* be learned. It is a muscle, and once you learn to flex it, there’s no end to what you can accomplish in life.

Bernard Roth

Quote

‘The only thing to fear is fear itself,’ said Franklin D. Roosevelt, and I say the only thing to fear is not learning from your mistakes.

Bernard Roth

Quote

A system that punishes failure rather than accepting that they occur on the road to success squelches creativity.

Bernard Roth

Quote

We also focus on action—doing rather than overthinking.

Bernard Roth

Quote

At the d.school, one of the basic principles is a bias toward action: that is, it is better to start to do something and fail than it is to do nothing and wait for the correct path of action to appear. Failure is part of the result to expect if you have a bias toward action.

Bernard Roth

Quote

When you hold yourself in high esteem and keep a positive outlook on your future, others usually follow suit. By choosing the meaning we give to the people and things in our environment, ultimately we control our own experiences, no matter what work we are doing.

Bernard Roth

Quote

Nobody wants to fail, and yet we all do. Don’t be afraid of failure. It is part of the price you pay for action; there’s no need to sweep it under the rug and pretend it does not exist. The most liberating way to acknowledge failure is to celebrate it.

Bernard Roth