[TMA] Is "Is Design Dead?" Dead?

This one is a big of a grab bag, with a number of resources to keep you busy this week. Enjoy!

Business + Design Insights from Prof. Sara Beckman

The latest episode of Finding Our Way (Apple, Spotify, web page with full transcript) is with Sara Beckman, professor at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, whom I met over 20 years ago when she advised Adaptive Path on our report, "Leveraging Business Value: How ROI Changes User Experience." (still relevant!) Along with Roger Martin, Sara was an early academic on the intersection of design and business, and our discussions have always enlightened me.

In this conversation, Sara shares:

• her perspectives on product management, a subject she's taught for decades, both in the master's program as well as executive education
• her skepticism of NPS
• the shortcomings of 'design thinking'
• the deep importance of identifying the right proxy metrics, without which you may well be lead astray

This week!

I will be "emceeing" Jesse's virtual seminar "The Elements of UX in the Age of AI", a celebration of the 25th anniversary of his canonical diagram, taking place Friday March 28th at 8am PT/11am ET/3pm UTC. Tickets are (appropriately) US$25 for his 60-minute presentation, follow-on Q&A and access to the recording.

The 5 Ps of Leadership Planning

When a pattern arises in my thought partnership work with heads of design, that suggests I'm onto something worth sharing broadly. I did this last week with Craft Your Leadership Plan with These 5 Ps, which outlines a simple framework design leaders can fill in to plan their change management agenda.

Is "Is Design Dead?" Dead?

If you've been on LinkedIn this past week, you may have been caught up in the latest round of "Is Design Dead?" discourse. Mark Wilson wrote an article on Fast Company with this headline, and its accompanying LinkedIn post received some quality responses.

I chimed in with my 6-point take, and the mic drop 🎤 came from Pavel Samsonov with his link-heavy perspective that makes evident that the death of design is a repeated refrain that says more about whomever is saying it than the state of design.

Looking for a quality design leader community?

In our discussions with design leaders, Jesse and I hear repeatedly how they're seeking to find community with others in similar situations. And there's a trend of podcasts starting online communities to provide safe havens in an increasingly toxic social media landscape. So, we thought we'd give it a whirl with our new community, The Way Station (link to Discord server).

We are using Discord. Originally built to support gaming communities, it operates a lot like Slack, though without the orientation towards work. If you’re new to Discord, it takes some getting used to. Heck, we're not fully used to it, so if you're a Discord wizard, please reach out, and help us make it the best it can be!

As this has only just begun, the place is... quiet. This is why it needs you! I look forward to seeing you there.