Congratulations design leaders! With the popularity of Design Thinking, Design Sprints, Human-Centered Design, etc., and the business value design has created for companies like Apple, Intuit, Atlassian, Nike, Whirlpool, and Walt Disney, Design has earned its seat at the table. We made it!
But with great successes come greater expectations. As design leaders have taken their seats, business leaders continue to struggle with understanding the value design brings to everyday processes, funding decisions, resource allocations, and overall business viability. At this table, designers are often outmatched by counterparts in articulating the value of their work. Without being able to clearly articulate that value, design leaders run the risk of being pushed back into service line or peripheral entities.
In this talk, I review approaches to connect design success to business success, to use design skills to develop business potential, and to justify design keeping a seat at the table. Welcome to bSchool.
- Developing new perspectives of colleagues and stakeholders to overcome perceptions and bias
- Embracing a business lens to communicate more effectively
- Aligning desirability to business viability through numbers