2018 — A Year in Design
The best design in Asia, going all in on a product role and finding a coach. It’s been a year of embracing change.
I’ve loved things in threes for as long as I remember. I counted steps in groups of three when walking to school. I ate Maltesers in threes. I once even made an app that asked people to share three links.
When thinking about recapping this past year, it’s only natural that three things come to mind:
- I took a break from work to explore Asia
- I moved from a broad design role into a product role
- I prioritized finding a coach to support my development
The year didn’t start with this much clarity, though. After moving from New York to London at the end of last year, the only plan my wife and I had in 2018 was to fly to Mumbai on January 1st. From there, we were going to figure out our path along the way.
Taking a Break to Explore Asia
It began with Vijay. He was in his late 50s, silver hair, matching grey pants and shirt. He was our tour guide who kindly picked us up at 4 a.m. to take us through the markets of Mumbai. We took in the sights as the bartering for flowers, vegetables and fish happened around us. Our introduction to one of the world’s busiest and most populated cities concluded by drinking a Masala chai at the side road — a sweet and spicy taste that set us up for the day ahead.
From January to the end of March we traveled from India to Japan, visiting a handful of countries in between. You’re welcome to come over for a slideshow. I’d tell you about waking up in a coffee plantation in Wayanad, the hikes and home cooking in the hills of Ella, to the floating villages on Inle Lake and our daily Piña coladas in Phú Quốc. From here I’d note the most impressive design in Asia was actually Hong Kong’s in-town check-in, an MTR subway service that saved us the hassle of dragging our luggage around on our last day in the city. I’d likely finish our tale by confirming we tried to recreate the karaoke scene in Lost in Translation whilst in Tokyo.
What was taking a break like? It felt like I was making good on a long-standing promise to feed my curiosity about the culture of the east. As a result, the world feels slightly smaller, in a way where I have greater appreciation what shapes the lives of others. Whilst being on the road for so long was physically harder than I imagined, the trip allowed me to disconnect from the always-on routine I had created in New York. In our downtime, I challenged myself to re-evaluate how I wanted to use my energy. I found myself reading about how people like David Bowie changed gears throughout his career and how the people of Okinawa make every day meaningful. I took this inspiration to my journal where I began to feel out how I would reconnect with my passion for design and my home country after working in the U.S. for nearly eight years.
Going Deeper on Product
I arrived back in London armed with a list of people I wanted to speak with to help me find my path. Fortunately for me, people accepted my invitations, and the Americano-fuelled chats began. My main goal was to better understand the London scene. What distinguished the service offerings of agencies? How were in-house teams building products? These learnings helped me picture how I could best contribute and how these environments would shape my future development. To help me to get to know teams better, I started working on new projects.
It was my fourth project when I turned up at a WeWork on Chancery Lane, an area of the city I hadn’t experienced until now. I’d arrived to help a sports startup called Let’s Do This. Put simply, the company lists and sells tickets for endurance sports events — anything from 5k runs in London to Tough Mudder obstacle races in Los Angeles to Ironman events in Sydney. My job was to look at the structure and approach of the product team and introduce user-centered practices to help identify where and how we could create value for customers. The team was open and trusting as we tested new approaches to kicking off projects and planning exercises. We also opened up the discovery phase and collaborated with a diverse cast of customers new and old to understand their motivations and behaviors when considering events.
The more we worked together, the more I started thinking about pursuing a product focused role. Beyond the excitement of building an early stage company, there were a few lessons I had learned previously that gave me confidence in this decision. During my time at Percolate, I developed a broad range of skills in shaping the brand, product and employee experience. On reflection, I became a generalist in a world where I am most excited about how we can use technology to improve our communities and the services around us. Secondly, I saw firsthand the value of product management’s business orientation when partnering with design and engineering to create software. To build on these learnings, it was time for me to take on a role where I could develop the skills needed to bridge product management and design. The good news for me was that the team supported my plan and I joined full-time in October. To support my transition from design to product, I looked outside of the company for someone who could guide my growth.
Finding a Coach
I was on a flight back to London after a couple of days in Dublin when I noticed the woman sitting next to me was reading a book on product development. I knew at some point I was going to ask her whether the book was worth reading. I bided my time, most likely with the support of pretzels and a gin and tonic. Then we had a chat. I can’t recall her take on the book, but she was a consultant on her way home after being at a conference. It turned out she was working on a project with my friend Rob Boyett. After I told her Rob’s secrets, we spoke about my situation and what I was looking for in my next role. This led her to introduce me to Kate Leto.
I was keen to meet Kate. Her experience at companies like Yahoo! and Moo and more recently as a coach and consultant seemed too good to be true. We started with lunch at Morito on Exmouth Market. Over a few small plates, we swapped New York and London stories and Kate asked me a few questions about why I decided to move into a product role and what I hoped to get out of working with a coach. I felt this was the chemistry test. Would our motivations align? Do we share a common view on how cross-functional teams best work together? I first spoke about my passion for technological change and interest in developing a better understanding of how to connect product strategy to business growth. I also shared a lesson learned from my time at Percolate. I explained that on reflection I believe I would have benefited from an external perspective to help me navigate the opportunities and obstacles I encountered as we grew our product and business. Moving forward, it was important for me to find someone who could not only coach the new skills I aspired to develop, but also someone without bias who could challenge the decisions we would be making. After a few follow-up questions, I’m pleased to report we started planning our schedule.
We meet once a month to do a working session and then discuss topics in the weeks in between over email. We’ve dissected my previous experience with the product wheel framework to see where my strengths lie and the areas we can work on. This helped zoom into topics that include moving from a product feature mindset to running experiments, how to measure user behavior and understanding how essential intent can help us take a more disciplined approach. Finding a coach is something I wish I had done sooner. Whilst our partnership is only a few months in the making, having access to Kate’s wisdom and counsel makes me feel much richer than any salary could.
2018 was a year of embracing change as we moved from the U.S. and set up home in London. Reconnecting with the design and technology community felt familiar at times, but alien at others as I figured out the new landscape. It was a year of introspection as I assessed what was important to take through to my next chapter, and what to leave behind. As someone who has been known to select a running route in order to illustrate a loop around Manhattan, it may be no surprise to you that I fell for the Let’s Do This team and their mission. I have a feeling I’ll reflect on the past year as a time when things changed for me as a designer. By moving into a product role, my journey forward will now take a different path.
It’s also been a year of new voices in my life. From the books I’ve read to the friends whose advice has helped me take on new challenges. I’m enjoying working with my team and Kate to tackle new topics of learning, from our marketplace business model to an experimental approach to product development. Central to this has been getting my head around how best to leverage my past experiences whilst remaining open to new ways of thinking and working.
Ray Dalio talks to his experience of change as he reflects on his personal and professional journey in Principles — “Evolution is the single greatest force in the universe; it is the only thing that is permanent and it drives everything.” I’m looking forward to the new challenges that 2019 will bring — challenges that will help myself and our company evolve. I’m also planning to make some time in the new year to enjoy English delicacies such as shandy drinking and riding on red buses. Have a great year everyone.
This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +405,714 people.
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