Today, I got a haircut. A big one. My summer chop-off. Buzzville, USA, Population: Me.

I also had a very entertaining barber, from the Bay Area. He regaled me with stories of pimped out Buicks, drug dealers, and a special summer drink his cousins used to make with equal parts Mickey’s and Gallo Sangria. Drink half a grenade, fill with sangria, and add ice. Sounds filthy, but he claimed “some very high class girls” loved it after getting over the initial hesitation. He also claimed the physical limit, “even for big dudes,” was 3 of these concoctions. I think I will take his word for it.

At any rate, before he started, he “triple-checked” that I wanted the buzz, a precaution he’s developed cutting women’s hair. But he also introduced me to a haircutting trick he called “the commitment cut.” After getting the affirmative to cut after the triple check, he does what he calls “The Commitment Cut,” whereby he immediately takes a drastic cut from a highly noticeable area, thereby commiting the cutter and cut-ee alike to the agreed-upon haircut.

I don’t think a lot of clients would go for this technique, but it’s something I think I’m going to start trying in design. With the “undo” key just a “Z” away and immense hard drives offering virtually unlimited versioning potential, I’ve seen designers that get hamstrung by safety. You can always tell a timid designer: his files end in all end with “v9-r12.” Designers like that are afraid to take risks, which I feel limits their creativity.

So I’m making a resolution. Do the “undo-able.” Make the risky design decision. Fail big, because if you’re not failing occasionally, you’re just not trying hard enough. Or, as the fine folks from Mickey’s Malt Beverages say, “Get stung.” I think it might just improve your work.