Name: Brainstorm Design 2019: Lessons from the Battlefield
Uploaded: 2019-03-21
Duration: 13 min 55 s
Description: Innovation, radical transformation, change. You willingly run into the company chaos, then ask yourself: “Why is it so hard to get anything done here? What’s the best way to collaborate with my peers? Why is my organization afraid to take risks?”

So in 2015 I joined ododesk to tackle a large scale problem for a worthy course, to unify and build a strong global design practice, to improve product experiences across the board And to help shift that company's culture from being technology centered to becoming much more human centered. Now as I embarked on my new job, I didn't truly appreciate the scale and magnitude that is needed to create cultural change at scale. And am not quite sure other [ UNKNOWN ] they were getting into either when they had somebody like me [ UNKNOWN ] founder of [ UNKNOWN ] believes that we are in the middle of a painful but necessary historical transition the rate of change continues to increase at record base And we are living in difficult times. We need people who can solve problems based on evolving circumstances. Bill Drayton defines these new types of leaders as change makers. His definition, is people who can see the patterns around them. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Identify the problems in any situation. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]. Figure out ways to solve the problem. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Organized fluid teams. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Lead collective action. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] And then continually adapt as situations arise. This sounds an awful lot like what we do for a living isn't it? Because change is fundamentally a design problem. Embracers of design- driven culture are change makers. No matter where they sit in the hierarchy of an organization. And you don't need to have the title, " Designer ", in your job title to be one. You just need to think like one. I've used my own design instincts to manage my way through change at global scale. And along the way, I found other change makers who are doing exactly the same thing. So today I'm gonna share six lessons that we all have learned along the way. First major insight, silos in organizations are innovation killers. Now, silos or organizationally necessary in large companies, but they seem to create fiefdoms and self interested parties. It's like a bit of mad max. Many companies intentionally set them up to compete against one another. The price, money, resources, power, don't buy into these pulse notion. The competition is good for teams inside companies. It also feels a little bit like mob bosses defending their territory. Everyone is motivated to stay in their lane and no one can lead the family. No one is interested in sharing power. The end results maintain the status quo. So, first order of business is you have to burst the silos, you have to find your tribe and build a coalition of the willing. I asked John Maeda what it was like to manage change at the Rhode Island School of Design, and he told me that he channeled Mr. Rogers from Mr. Rogers's neighborhood saying I always looked for the helpers So instead, work across the entire organization, there is safety in numbers. And when you find those like- minded people who share the same hopes and dreams that you do, you can build a large coalition of people who believe in your mission, get things done, and could put pressure on status quo. This can positively impact company culture, So build your influence, Influence is power and power is company currency, Number two executive support is required, Dog Powell DPA of IBM DPA designer IBM who was here yesterday He told me that one of the reasons why he been so successful over a number of years at IBM, is because he had executive support all the way up to the CEO. Executive support is essential in order for design leaders to thrive. Now, designed leadership is still very new to executives who think of design as this tactical non strategic task. Continuous education, evangelism and support is needed by enlightened leaders And in large corporations, you will be surrounded by people will be threatened by you, and will resist change at all costs especially from those in power, and quite often from your own peer group. You need air cover, you do not fit in a box, you need a runway. So look up who do you see who has your back its not worth your time and effort if your executive team does not support the mission it will feel like pushing water a pill. Number three Align YOUR WORK TO CUSTOMER NEEDS AND BUSINESS GOALS Jennifer Kilian is a design partner in Mckinsey and she has had her share of challenges convincing business executives about the value of design. She told me that me she starts every client engagement with quantifiable customer data and always ties that back to the business goals. This is how decisions get made and prioritized. Remember we are still a minority in large organizations. You will most likely be surrounded by people who don't speak design. So try to find common ground with your stakeholders and your detractors by doing things that will be jointly beneficial to them. Their success is your success. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Number four get it done. Thomas Edison once said, vision without execution is hallucination. And some stakeholders get stuck in what I call today land, we got a ship, right here, right now, today. On the other hand, thinking to find the future can scare people, so don't get stuck in vision land either, were system thinkers and it's important to look ahead have a clear strategy and develop a clear path way to execute. Continuously demonstrate measurable progress by executing in milestones. Amar Hanspal, he's CEO bright machines and he taught me that you have to go for the small wins in order to get the big change and in order to drive lasting change It has to be broken down into three or four steps. Small wins making feel like your progress today while tying it to a future goal. Small wins the team see their impact and small wins motivate that team to keep going. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Oops. Number five, you cannot win them all. [ UNKNOWN ] is the director of UX at Google, and She's had a lot of experience working with multidisciplinary teams, which, let's just say have very strong opinions. I don't know how many people have experienced that. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]. Telling me, sometimes you have to try their way first. And then when their way fails, that's when you get your turn. Sometimes, you just have to let things go. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Sometimes, the timing isn't right. Former CEO of Autodesk, Carl Bass, wisely told me, sometimes, no means not yet. We all suffer from the battle of prioritization. Prioritize what's worth fighting for. And sometimes, it's worth to finding good enough criteria. Determinant advance what you're willing to compromise on and what you, umm, and what you won't compromise on. And understand the difference between irreversible change Versus hitting the undo button, and then ask yourself what battles can I win over time? Finally number six, stay true to yourself. I don't know who many of you have been told at one time in your life, that's now how we do things over here? Or fake it till you make it, or fake a TV comment, very tempting. And actually, there's many articles out there that support this strategy. However, I just couldn't do it. A good short- term coping strategy perhaps but misguided advice. Because eventually, your true self will emerge. And it's better for people to know who they're dealing with right out of the gate. So embrace your authenticity and show your vulnerability in all it's imperfect glory. Don't bait and switch, it is not fun to pretend at work And if you feel like you have to walk around pretending who you really are then it's probably not the right place for you to be in anyway. So instead stay true to your values because honesty is both liberating and empowering. And you should have nothing to hide. So, when you join a company as a change maker and you have been given a clear path to lead, done well, you could expect your path to look like this. You are making progress. You are on a roll. You are optimistic. What can possibly go wrong? But then reality sets in, and your journey looks more like this. That shiny glow of [ UNKNOWN ] will wear off and you will experience bumps on the road. And about two years in, you will start to experience deep depths. And that imposter syndrome is gonna come at you really strong. And when we're in a deep, we have basically three choices. We could quit. We could fight through or we can stay and hide somewhere in a corner until it gets better. Most people quit prematurely. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] The reality is that failure is inevitable, and it hurts. And it takes time to recover. And if you haven't failed in business, then perhaps you haven't taken enough risks. Muhammad Ali once said, if I didn't experience loss, I would never what I'm capable of. And the higher up you're going in organization, the harder you will fall. So be courageous. Thank you, be courageous. Bouncing back from failure will only make you stronger. Based on personal experiences, when you hit your lowest point and the pain is almost intolerable, You would be getting to experience moments of clarity that will breath new opportunities in life. So embrace those low points as painful as they are because once you hit the bottom, once you clear up the noises in your head, that's when creativity can flourish Then it's time to iterate and evolve. It is time to redesign. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Dear Changemakers and other rebels, change is hard. Change is messy, and change is uncomfortable. And in some cases, it might not be worth the fight. But if you believe the change is worth fighting for, find the inner motivation to keep going especially when it gets hard because life is short. My mom used to tell me what doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger. So my challenge for you today Is to share your stories. Share your successes, and share your glorious failures. Because when we share our lessons with others, we realize that we are not alone. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] And so we can build upon these lessons and go into the battlefield together as a coalition of the willing. So, get up, put on that uniform and wear the battle scars proudly because after all we earned them. Thank you very much. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Brainstorm Design 2019: Lessons from the Battlefield

Design

Innovation, radical transformation, change. You willingly run into the company chaos, then ask yourself: “Why is it so hard to get anything done here? What’s the best way to collaborate with my peers? Why is my organization afraid to take risks?” 