Design, Leadership and Business
Estimated reading time: < 2 minutes. Readability: Grade 8 (source: HemingwayApp.com)
“Good design is good business”
In a 1973 lecture at University of Pennsylvania, Thomas J. Watson declared, “Good design is good business.” This writing explores the intersection of design, business and leadership. Such an exploration presents an opportunity to strengthen each function.
Design: There is a large overlap between design, leadership and business. LUMA-Institute and others identify qualities of a good designer. They include empathy, humility, collaboration, imagination, iteration and curiosity.
Leadership: Prof. Harry Kraemer identifies qualities of effective leadership. These include genuine humility, self reflection, true self confidence and balance. Other explorations on good leadership mention humility, curiosity, collaboration and imagination.
Business: Business exist to make money. Customer pay money for value derived from products or services. You drive value by understanding your customer’s needs, wants and desires. Then you meet or exceed their expectations. Empathy and curiosity help develop a deep understanding of your customer. Iteration helps you refine and improve a concept or idea.
Case study: In the creation of the first mac, Steve Jobs did not do market research. He said, customers "do not know what they want until you show them." Instead, Jobs imagined a future that did not yet exist. His understanding of people and technology inspired the vision. An understanding driven by curiosity. He listened and observed. Finally, he inspired his teams with a mission to deliver the experience. He used his favorite maxim—The Journey is the Reward—to inspire the team. This drove collaboration. Inspired by these design mindsets, the Mac was born.
The creation of the iPhone presents another valuable case study. The team rode the wave of success of the iPod. They decided to build on that. They built an iPod that could make calls. They tried it out and it did not feel right. They demonstrated empathy for the user. They scrapped the iPod inspired phone and started from scratch. They demonstrated humility and iteration. Following this process, the first iPhone was born. At every step, the process the team embraced mindsets of a good designer.
Takeaway: The Apple story presents interesting discourse. Some Product Owners and Entrepreneurs cite Job’s stance on market research. And they proceed to disregard market and/or user research. This argument challenges some designers. Their response? They double down on emphasizing market or user research. Instead, a designer is well served if they refer to Job's and Apple’s adoption of various design mindsets. The mindsets of empathy, curiosity, humility, collaboration, iteration. These are subtle aspects of the Apple story. They are often not noticed.
The overlap between design, leadership and business presents untapped potential. Both for designers and the business. When we understand this overlap we tap into this potential.