Author: Jesse James Garrett
-
Design’s value and design’s values
The cultural disconnection between design and the rest of the organization is one of the biggest recurring issues I see among my leadership coaching clients these days. It’s a risk to the success of products, teams, and leaders alike. Don’t get me wrong: Design is a distinct function that tends to need its own distinct…
-
Politics
Politics. The very word conjures a whole host of negative associations: hidden agendas, backroom deals, manipulation and deceit. It’s no wonder so many senior leaders don’t want to see themselves as political people, even at the executive level. One of the worst things you can say about a decision is that it was “politically motivated”.…
-
On Airbnb realigning product and design
So let’s talk about Brian Chesky, and what he had to say about product and design at Config last month. Chesky made a stir in both communities when he declared that Airbnb “got rid of the classic product management function” in favor of an Apple-style approach putting design in the driver’s seat. The reaction in…
-
Be your own executive stakeholder
“How often are you meeting with the head of design?” A long pause. “Um… I’m not?” “Why not? It’s one of the most important executive functions, isn’t it?” “Well, of course, but…” “You meet with the head of product every week, the head of engineering every other. Isn’t the head of design worthy of the…
-
The Three Trajectories of Maturity
The Season 3 finale of our design leadership podcast Finding Our Way is here, and it’s one of our richest episodes yet, as we look back at what we’ve learned from our recent conversations with design executives. Peter called it jampacked, and he’s not kidding! If you’ve ever been curious about the nature of my…
-
Appreciating the founders of Adaptive Path
Apropos of nothing, here’s an appreciation of my Adaptive Path co-founders, and especially their careers after AP: Indi Young went from being the elusive mystery founder who was rarely seen in public to an internationally acclaimed author and speaker. Her groundbreaking mental model methodology continues to influence research and strategy practices even as her work has…
-
Reflection
The sticky notes on my client’s home office window seemed innocuous enough, but that’s never been enough to stop a curious, friendly neighbor from inquiring. “What are you working on up there?” they asked. “I’m doing some reflection, figuring out where I want things to go next for myself,” my client responded. “Oh, I’m sorry,”…
-
Getting hands-on with design quality: Tim Allen on Finding Our Way
What if you didn’t have to leave design craft behind when you became an executive design leader? If you’ve been following my recent threads on design executives’ responsibility for quality, you’ve seen a diverse range of opinions. Some argued that taking a hands-off approach to design quality was tantamount to abdication of a critical leadership…
-
From design leader to product leader: Che Douglas on Finding Our Way
If more product leaders thought like designers, we’d have clearer roadmaps, happier teams, and better products. But that’s surprisingly hard to find, isn’t it? So few designers make their way into product leadership roles, and so few product management cultures support the kind of experience-driven thinking that a design-minded product leader could bring to the…
-
More on creative control and design quality
If the design executive isn’t looking out for design quality, just who the hell is? That’s the very good question many of you had for me after I wrote about these topics a few weeks ago. In that piece, I argued that the ascent to executive-level leadership necessitated a shift for the leader from creative…
Jesse James Garrett 