Richard Branson Gets Design. Does your firm?

Why is design not synonymous with the America's? Why is it not as important as in Europe and why are branded international design super stars, not likely to ring with an American name?

Recently at an meeting with senior level managers at a large USA based multinational firm, the question was asked, which of these names do you recognize: Picasso, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Phillippe Starck, Charles Eames, Frank Gehry, Giorgio Armani, and about 10 others. The overwhelming score, less than 30%. Then the women in the room were asked. The score jumped to over 80%. When the names of contemporary international designers were added again, the scores where minuscule, yet again, the women scored significantly higher. Why? 

In a recent interview Richard Branson details some of the reasons why design matter and who he's working with. Can the CEO and C-Level executives at your firm say the same? How embedded is the design process in how your firm conceptualizes, and launches new products? And clearly, are they any where near as integrated and sexy as Virgin? Just take a look at the typical interiors of their planes, trains and of course advertising. 

                              

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Low-Cost versus Innovation. Can you outsource design innovation? Yes.

Design and particularly innovation is expensive. In 2016, a typical industrial designed product costs minimum $250K to launch. Can this be minimized? Yes.

Low-Cost versus Innovation - Contrasting Outsourcing and Integration Strategies in Manufacturing is a great breakdown on two outsourcing strategies; low-cost-oriented outsourcing and innovation-oriented outsourcing. Pro’s and cons are discussed and empirical evidence evaluated at a number of firms. An excellent breakdown!

                              

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Snowboarding to Innovation – Designing Breakthroughs When None Existed Before

How many times did your grandparents see snowboards when they were children? Never. How about your parents? Possibly never. Design is how the slopes are full of boarders today. But How? 

Now a multi billion dollar per year business Product Development and Changing Cultural Landscapes— Is Our Future in Snowboardinggives the full breakdown of how a new industry has changed the way we take our ski holidays, how we look at sport, clothes, accessories and even lifestyles. Is that an innovation? 2 ski’s to 1? Check the bank accounts of those manufacturing and product design firms that did it.

                              

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Creativity + Exploiting R&D – How to Get ROI Straight Out of Design

How can you extract short-term R&D output and long term R&D exploration of new technological goals? Focus on technological change, and second the control of complementary assets in the dominant design. 

And when that fails, innovate. Here’s how you can use Creativity for the Exploitation of R&D and the tools and techniques that foster the breakthroughs necessary to grow organizations to their fullest. 

                              

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Design in the Boardroom? Yes, and Here's How

Today an interesting article became available regarding design and the boardroom. From the perspective of "newness" it is the design team the defines this. Some have also argued that it comes from the marketing team, and the sales team and yes it does. However the larger question, and most often overlooked is for what TIME FRAME do these two departments have influence over product offerings and to what level of effectiveness do these teams contribute to the longevity of a firms position in the market. 

The simple argument, the COO is responsible as CMO and CTO functions reporting into the COO are effectively combined with design to form the basis for timely development. HOWEVER shifts have begun to emerge in many firms where positions such as the Head of Global Product Development are being offered seats at the board for the simple purpose of expanding the often limited scope of the 6mo, 1yr, and 2yr strategic plans typical when COO, CTO and CMO discussions are had at the board level. This ISDA article on Design in the Boardroom sets a good indication of how this is happening.

                              

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What Makes a Design Leader: Social Intelligence + Creative Performance

But that’s not all. It’s the synergy that glues it all togerher. The challenge however is in fact empathy. In measuring almost 300 people, in multiple disciplines and verticals the challenges and criteria’s became simple.

When looking at know how an individual is feeling; what an individual is thinking; understand the moods of people; understand people’s feelings transmitted through nonverbal messages; know when people disguise their true feelings, design takes on a whole other form. In What Makes a Design Leader – Social Intelligence + Creative Performance an entire criteria is extablished and rigerouly measured against 

                              

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Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth: Roles in Inter-Organizational Innovation

Size, Shape, and Attitude Define Success. But what is the optimal number of inter organizational members when it comes to breaking the mold and pushing innovation. Surprisingly the number is 4.

In Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth: Roles in Inter-Organizational Innovation a substantial sample size and effective team size matrix was created to cross reference and integrate the key players in innovation success: Power promoter; Expert promoter; Process promoter; Technological gatekeeper; Relationship promoter. An excellent assessment of personalities necessary.

                              

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But What of Service Engineers – How Does Design Effect Success?

The factors overlooked are not complicated and here we breakdown the outcomes of 14 case studies for success in service engineering for design success

 

Industries such as entertainment, traveling and hospitality, personal care, information, and communications in Assessing Creativity Of Design Projects: Criteria For The Service Engineering Field all share a basic tenant which is that measuring the quanitative factors for service engineering design success is a factor of perceived customer acceptance of pre-determined solutions and social conformity. Baring the rocket engine efficiency situations, Deisgn for Service Engineering  success is client driven. What the client says, goes.

                              

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What 4 Factors Drive the Entire Innovation Process? Limiters. Here’s How To Break Them.

Designers focus on creativity but there is more. Limiting factors and risk are what stop good ideas from becoming great ideas. But there are ways to overcome barriers. 

Barriers can be self imposed, they can be governmental and often regulatory but often it is the human factors that can impact design and innovation more than any other factor. In Perspectives On Design Creativity And Innovation Research a full breakdown of human factors, technological factors, economic factors and relagatory factors are compared so as to see their interactions and the ways these interactions can assist or defeat the capabilities of design and new product initiatives.

                              

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