5 keys to creating a design led culture — in 500 words
Remember, this is *design* led, not designer led. There’s nothing that says a culture has to be led by, or even contain, designers for this to work.
I didn’t invent these keys; quite the opposite. They were taught to me over many, many years in successful, and unsuccessful, companies. Now I share them with you, in 500 words.
1. Rigidly customer backed
You have to be customer backed, in a big way. There has to be license and insistence that everyone in the company has the freedom to do right by the customer. Stop thinking you build products and start thinking you build relationships.
This means that people are empowered to talk to customers, to observe them, and to bring back qualitative data and empathy throughout the company. You stop what you’re working on and take a trip down the street to someone you’re seeking to serve.
2. Encourage exploration
Heads-down focus can be a crutch. Sometimes, you have to go heads-up and take a look around at all the possibilities that exist on how you can provide and perform service for the customers need.
No one ever “thought reeeeeeally hard” into innovation. See key 5.
3. Focus on customer benefits
Look at what you and your neighbor are working on. Can you clearly articulate in the moment what the customer benefit of what you’re working on is? If not, why not?
Without clear principles that everyone knows and adheres to about how what you do — and who you are — benefits the customer, why are you even in business?
4. Data guides; people lead
Data is great. This is an a priori fact. What is often overlooked is that there is a more important fact; yeah I said it, there’s something more important than data; the people you serve. They direct what you do.
Numbers rarely convey an emotional reaction. See key 1.
5. Understand the job to be done
JTBD. It’s a trend, and for good reason. People don’t want what you make. There is no debate. They want what you make gives them. The outcome to be had. Even if you don’t want to bring the JTBD vernacular to your company, at least know what that outcome to be had is. See key 2.
Bonus: Top-down support
Without some top-down support, at any level, building this culture going to be difficult. I won’t lie. I’ve been in places where a single intrepid designer tried to create this culture from the very bottom, where a director level manager did, and where a CEO did. I’ll let you guess at which company had the most success in doing so.
5 keys. Take them, leave them, adapt them, ignore them. I’m grateful to be at a place that has drilled this into my mind so deep I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget. We exist to serve humans, not sell products.
There. 500 words (including the title).
Banana.
But before you go…
You should give this article a recommend 💙, follow me Erik Flowers on Medium (and on Twitter — @erik_flowers).
