Never too far from a good brand and design book, I was going through Marty Neumeier’s The Designful Company and saw this statement:
Change is power. Design is change.
Whilst some of us aren’t power-hungry capitalists, if we look at ‘power’ through the lens of leadership- thought, team, brand and business, then this not only feels better for me, but equally works.
For our brand, business, teams and positioning to be in a place of leadership and ‘power’, we must be open to change, we must embrace it and look for the lessons and opportunities in everything we do. And design, in it’s totality, is the key change, it IS change, fundamentally. It’s about bringing to being that which has not been, reimagining, creation, risk taking.
He further writes that adopting this ‘designful’ mentality results in ‘a can-do feeling replacing a can’t do feeling’. Which, I’m sure, many business leaders crave daily.
Designing, being intentional, being aware of our every interaction and touchpoint with teams and audiences is not only hugely beneficial as it’s our opportunity to embed our values, voice and demonstrate how we really want to show up in the world, leave people feeling, it’s also designable. We can take any internal and external journey through our brand and carefully craft each moment, so they have a magical experience – including staff.
Still in need of convincing that design is your answer, of value, due utmost respect?
Well, it doesn’t stop there.
Here are some other top outcomes and features of embracing design and change, for your teams:
– Collaboration, not silos
– Visionary and creative, not command and control
– Audience-first, not profit-first
– Outcome orientated, not role orientated
– Respect
– Self esteem
– Excitement
– Satisfaction
– Collective success
– Hope
– Beauty
– Combine knowing, making and doing
– Striving for truth, beauty and public good
Neumeier calls this ‘a sufficiently advanced culture’.
It’s intentional, its adaptable, it’s open, it’s effective, it’s bottom-line value.
Definitely worth a read – just make sure you make something from it and DO it, too.
