EVANGELIZING DESIGN LEADERSHIP

with Alan Schwegler

AGENDA‣ Drone on about myself for a little bit.‣ Start painting the picture of what a design leader is.‣ Take a look at some case studies and numbers.‣ Influence the crap outta the audience.‣ Finalize the painting mentioned above.‣ Drink beer.

BACKGROUND‣ 2010 - Creighton University (Graphic Design)‣ 2011 - UX Designer at Johnson Controls‣ 2016 - Milwaukee School of Engineering (MBA)

INSPIRATION FOR THIS TALK‣ Designer… MBA… WTF?‣ Commoditization of technology and design.‣ MBA Capstone Project

‣ Design ≠ Success?‣ Who are design leaders?‣ What makes them successful?

THE ATTRIBUTES

“Design leaders are catalysts that influence sparks of transformation and bring about conditions for change. In order for innovation to truly take place, it is important for current organizations to create an innovative atmosphere in which employees have some autonomy to build and create.

-Maria Giudice, VP, XD at Autodesk

ATTRIBUTES OF DESIGN LEADERS‣ Provide a rhythmic exchange between divergent and

convergent thinking.‣ Will to adapt shifts in business reason towards

innovation.‣ Creative, managerial and operational focus.‣ Cultivate cultures of optimism throughout the

organization.

CULTURE‣ Optimistic culture versus cynical culture‣ Enablers of innovation and design.

THE FOCUS

FOCUS OF A DESIGN LEADER‣ Fosters collaborative environments.‣ Provides checks and balances necessary to sustain

design maturity.‣ Creates a vision for the entire organization not just

design teams.‣ Challenges all aspects of an organization to integrate

design thinking.

INTUIT‣ Drivers of Delight

‣ Less functionality, more emotional payoff.‣ Lets get everyone thinking about design?

‣ Finance?‣ HR?

NUMBERS‣ 333 Million increase in net income

over four years (Smith, 2015).‣ Over a billion dollar increase in

revenue over four years (Smith, 2015).

“Talking and thinking about design wouldn’t accomplish much if it didn't show up in our products.

-Brad Smith, CEO at Intuit

MISMANAGEMENT

SIDE-EFFECTS OF MISMANAGING DESIGN‣ Communicating negative emotions through products.‣ Creating a culture of no.‣ Falling into the illusion of innovation.

LEGO‣ Full spectrum of innovation under Poul Plougmann.

‣ Siloed departments and created the illusion of innovation.

‣ Drove up manufacturing costs.‣ Created $255 million deficit (Robertson, 2013).

CONSIDERATIONS OF DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION1. Do not enter a new market before understanding it.2. Do not demand young technology deliver a perfect

experience.3. Insulate the product from demands of other business

units.4. Make the product for customers not managers.5. Price the product to meet what the market will bear

(Robertson, 2013).

NUMBERS‣ 5.4 billion net revenue in

2015.‣ Surpassed Mattel as the

world's largest toymaker by sales in the first half of 2014.

“Nobody at LEGO is measured on sales because the most important thing is that kids and retailers return for more in the future.

-Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO at LEGO

WHY DESIGN LEADERSHIP MATTERS‣ Design generates new business value. When done

correctly…‣ Design is cheaper when vetted up-front.‣ More qualified leads based on empathy.‣ The experience is the product.

“We’re not here to just make it pretty. Through empathy, we ensure meaning and utility. With craft, we elicit understanding and desire. We wrangle the complexity of our offering to deliver a clear, coherent, and satisfying experience.

-Peter Merholz, XD and PDM Consultant

KEY TAKEAWAYS‣ Squeezing more efficiency has run its course (Merholz,

2015). ‣ The generative qualities of design are means to new

business value (Merholz, 2015).‣ “Making it pretty” is the tip of the iceberg (Merholz,

2015).‣ There really is no single definition for design.‣ Design leaders are enablers.

SPREAD THE SEED

QUESTIONS?

REFERENCESBrown, Tim. (2009). Change by design: How design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation. HarperCollins

Publishers.

Giudice, Maria. Ireland, Christopher. (2014). Rise of the DEO: Leadership by Design (Voices that matter). New Riders.

Merholz, Peter. (2015). Design can be so much more than problem-solving. peterme.com Retrieved from:

http://www.peterme.com

Robertson, David C. (2013). Brick by Brick: How Lego rewrote the rules of innovation and conquered the global toy industry.

Crown Business.

Smith, Brad. (2015). Intuit’s CEO on building a design driven company. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from:

https://hbr.org/2015/01/intuits-ceo-on-building-a-design-driven-company