Leading Business by Design

Dr Pietro MicheliAssociate Professor of Organizational Performance Warwick Business School

Why this research?

Evidence of impact of design on business performance, but not conclusive>Quantitative studies don’t say much about how design impacts performance>If design and (radical) innovation are connected, we’d better pay attention!>

48 interviews in 12 private companies - services and product-based.

What did we do?

Large

SMEs

Interviews (average 60 minutes) with employees in both senior and more operational positions working in different functional areas – design, marketing, general management and finance. Data collected between March and July 2013; all interviews recorded, transcribed, and analysed by two researchers. Draft reports sent to the case companies for validation.

Focus of the interviews:

What did we do?

>Roles of design

>Investment in design

>Impact of design.

1. Design is customer-centred – Benefit is greatest when design is intimately related to solving problems, especially customers’ problems.

What did we find?

2. Design is most powerful when culturally embedded – It works best when it has strong support in the organisation, especially from senior management.

3. Design can add value to any organisation – Design can benefit manufacturing and service-based organisations, small, medium or large.

Stereotype 1: Design is not customer-centred“Apple don’t co-create with the customers, because it is not their culture. … We haven’t got a preciousness here… You can’t get precious about design. We are trying to do the right thing for customers.” (Interviewee A)

Is this new?

1. Design is customer-centred – Benefit is greatest when design is intimately related to solving problems, especially customers’ problems.

Stereotype 2: Designers are ‘emotional artists’ who don’t understand business“Designers are the people that enjoy having a creative career and that’s why they chose to go in to the business, but it’s a lot of art for art’s sake” (Interviewee B)The Design Director “is a real baby. … He’s just a creative guy. His bark is much worse than his bite.” (Interviewee C)Designers “talk of things like “the big idea”; but they’re talking about something that isn’t a big idea. … they don’t know what brand equity is, they don’t know what a brand promise means or they don’t know how to write an advertising brief” (Interviewee D)

Is this new?

2. Design is most powerful when culturally embedded – It works best when it has strong support in the organisation, especially from senior management.

Impact of design1.as a ‘service’2.as a key perspective in the development process 3.as a strategic perspective.

What did we find?

Strategic role of design?

What did we find?

Presence of a sponsor among senior management (CEO / founder in the case of an SME) >Design Director / Manager crucial, especially when leadership support is lacking >Rigorous documentation and review of successes. >

Driving innovation and opening up uncontested market spaces>Differentiating products and services to attract customers>Strengthening branding, embodying a company’s values and improving recognition.>

Design can add value by:

Benefits

FinancialSales

Market share Operations cost

(reduction) Customer

Consistency in the company’s portfolioBrand recognition

Customer satisfaction and

advocacyProduct launch

success

ProcessConsistent approach to product / service

development Project failure

(lower)Time to market

PeopleInterdepartmental

collaborationTeamwork

Working practices

Enhanced…

Recommendations

8. Don’t let the designer’s role be a straitjacket

1. Don’t limit the context in which design can operate2. Use design to differentiate

3. Integrate design and branding4. Introduce a design process

5. Trust and support your design talent6. Embed design in your organisational culture

7. Design your work environment

Design in business?Designers ‘listen, interpret and address’ (Verganti, 2009)

In management, today, are we getting a good signal?

Dr Pietro MicheliAssociate Professor of Organizational PerformanceWarwick Business SchoolUniversity of WarwickCoventry CV4 7ALUnited KingdomTel: +44 (0)24 7615 0882

E-mail:pietro.micheli@wbs.ac.uk

Contact Information

Design :Boardroom Cinderella?

Disclaimers…..• Not a designer!

• Interest dates back 6-7 years

• Passionate about design ever since

The RB experience• Was it easy?

• How comprehensive was the vision?

• Lessons learnt

Agree with the research findings

Focus : What holds Design back?

Barrier # 1 : Success!

Why should I change something that works?

Barrier # 2: Half Hearted Support

• Fashionable box to tick vs deep conviction

Barrier #3: Focus on Product / Service

• Forgetting that the only thing that matters is

USER EXPERIENCE

Barrier #4: Thinking like engineers

• It just adds cost & complexity!

• We’re too small to afford design!

Barrier #5 : Collective failure!

• The design community has never sold design in the way that the creative, media and research communities have.

Barriers• Barrier #1

• Success : why should I change something that works?• Barrier #2

• Half hearted support : ticking a fashionable box, but always needing Design to make it’s case.

• Barrier #3• Focus on products/services vs the user experience

• Barrier #4• ‘Design adds to cost & complexity’, esp in highly cost

optimised products : ROI?• Barrier #5

• A collective failure of the design community to fully sell the true value of design driven businesses