Author: Jesse James Garrett
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Leading design for AI
I’m fascinated by the emerging challenges I’m seeing among my coaching clients who are leading design for AI products. Some of them are leading new AI features within established product offerings. Others are taking brand new AI products from zero to one. And some of them have been working in the space for a while…
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Strategic stakeholder empathy: Christina Goldschmidt on Finding Our Way
For many design professionals, empathy can feel so reflexive it’s hardly a choice. It’s often our instinctive desire to solve a problem for someone else that draws us to design in the first place. But if the phrase “stakeholder empathy” gives you the heebie-jeebies, well, I don’t blame you. It brings to mind images of…
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Establishing credibility as a new leader: Rebecca Nordstrom on Finding Our Way
When you’re a new design leader creating a new design function for an existing organization, establishing your credibility and authority can be challenging. Some leaders choose to lobby at the top, seeking an executive mandate they can wield to bend their partners to their processes. In my experience, though, this approach creates so much potential…
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Design leaders in transition
It’s a sign of the times. I’m coaching a lot of design leaders lately who are making big transitions: moving towards different roles, different organizations, different mandates, and different ways of delivering value and finding satisfaction in their work. Some of them are choosing to find a way out of their orgs—while others are being…
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Design’s “Little Sister” problem: Cynthia Savard Saucier on Finding Our Way
Throughout my career, UX design has been the underdog: perpetually misunderstood, left out, pushed around, denied credit, and always the least influential and most ignored voice in the room. And when I coach design leaders, many of their aspirations revolve around finding a way to change that equation. I thought of these aspirations while talking…
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Airbnb’s missing leg of the stool
Many of you probably remember Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s sweeping declaration at last year’s Config that he had eliminated the traditional product management function in favor of giving more authority to designers. But if you were busy over the holidays, you might have missed his followup conversation on Lenny Rachitsky’s podcast. I found what he said there…
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Mandate without authority: Colt Whittall on Finding Our Way
You’ve been appointed Chief Experience Officer with a mandate to transform a huge global organization. There’s just one catch: you have no budget, no headcount, and no direct authority. Now what? Colt Whittall faced just such a challenge as the first CXO for the U.S. Air Force. On the latest episode of Finding Our Way,…
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Driving holistic vision: Rajat Shail on Finding Our Way
The Season 4 premiere of our design leadership podcast Finding Our Way has arrived! This season, Peter Merholz and I are talking to a whole new group of design leaders nominated by our listeners. Our first conversation is with Rajat Shail of Vivint, a traditionally trained industrial designer whose career has put him at the…
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The Vision Thing
“I know I need to show up with a vision here,” my client said. “I just get stuck on one question: What the heck is a vision anyway?” It’s a common puzzle: Every leader feels bringing vision to their work is an important part of the job, but it can be hard to put your…
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The path to the C-level
It’s exciting to hear about so many companies naming new Chief Design Officers for the first time. But for many design leaders, the path to that role is far from clear. The truth is that no one gets promoted to the executive level as a reward for their past accomplishments. They’re not going to grant…
Jesse James Garrett 