A show where we go beyond the basic service desig…
What is strategy... A plan for how you intend to achieve your goals? That's how a lot of people define strategy. But there's a problem with this rigid approach...
As Mike Tyson wisely said once: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." Most strategies are too prescriptive about how the goal needs to be achieved.
But we live in a VUCA world where it's getting harder and harder to predict what will happen, even just weeks ahead. The sphere of what an organization can control is shrinking (and control is an illusion anyway).
What seemed like a wise action last week might be irrelevant today, thanks to new technology, a sudden global crisis, or a certain election outcome...
Following your strategy in this scenario might mean you're executing what you agreed to, but it could very well lead you away from your intended goal.
So, when there is so little we can control and predict, does that mean we shouldn't do any strategizing at all? Certainly not. We just need to adopt a more emergent approach.
We still need a plan to align everyone, but one that allows for more flexibility and deciding in the moment what the right next step is.
What does this type of strategy look like, and how do we get there? That's something Peter Compo has written a great book about, and I've invited him on the Show to share his learnings with us.
We talk about:
I know this episode will resonate with many service design professionals. It ties strongly to our mantra of "doing the right things" and not just focusing on "doing things right."
Strategy can be a very abstract term without much substance. But what I appreciated in our conversation is that Peter makes things super practical. It's time to roll up your sleeves and get to work on your strategy.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.
~ Marc
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00:00 Welcome to Episode 215
03:30 Music and emergence
06:00 How he got into writing the book
10:30 Pete's perspective in strategy
16:00 The theory of emergence
20:00 constraints & trust
26:30 Bridging the gap of uncertainty
30:30 Letting Go of Control
36:30 Examples of good metrics
41:00 False learning organization
46:30 Trusting your team
50:30 Aspiration-bottleneck triad
57:00 another recommendation
59:00 Strategy matrix
01:04:00 Personal Impact on writing
01:09:00 Resources
1:11:00 Question to ponder
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An exciting new conference is just around the corner, Advancing Service Design 2024. We recently had a chat with Lou Rosenfeld, the conference organizer, about key ideas behind the conference.
Now, we're doing a deep dive into the two-day conference program with Sylvie Abookire, who's part of the curation team. In this episode, you'll hear about the main themes, the inspiring (and somewhat surprising) speakers, and of course how it all ties together to advance our field.
Sure, you can also get some of this info on the conference website, but I promise this conversation is much more fun 🙂
I'll be presenting at the conference about the latest insights from the Salary Report and lessons learned from building the Circle community. Want to join one of my sessions? Send me an email or reach out on LinkedIn, and I'll let you know how you can attend even without a conference ticket.
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🎟️ Want to attend Advancing Service Design? Well, you're in luck!
💰 Answer the simple question over here at https://www.servicedesignshow.com/asdc2024-survey to get a 10% discount on your ticket. But that's not all!
🏆 When you sign up using this code, you'll automatically enter a contest where you can win sweet prizes.
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 A Special Episode with Sylvie
02:45 Sylvie's role in the conference
04:30 Conference schedule & format
06:00 Biggest conference challenge
07:30 The final 8 speakers
10:00 What the conference means to Sylvie
12:00 Day 1: Designing in the system
14:30 Day 1: format
16:00 Day 1: The panel
17:00 Audience interaction
19:00 Day 2: Designing with the system
22:30 How we hope the conference impacts
24:00 Sylvie's workshops after the conference
27:00 The most fun part of the conference
28:00 Key Takeaways
28:00 Visibility & Impact
32:00 Conference Details & Tickets
32:30 Giveaway
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I remember being subscribed to this email newsletter from a guy named Josh, all about email marketing (kind of meta)...
Every single day, a new email from Josh would pop up in my inbox, and I'd open it right away.
These emails were different, a bit weird even, but in the best way possible. Each one would start with something that felt totally random, a story about something Josh experienced. No mention of email marketing whatsoever.
But every time I was hooked. I just had to know how the story ended.
And then, bam, right at the end, with just two or three lines he'd tie it all back to email marketing in a way that just clicked.
Those emails weren't just informative; they were actually enjoyable, to the point that I looked forward to them.
Now being able to hold someone's attention like that always seemed like a magic superpower to me... but I learned that it's not.
In this episode, Gabrielle Dolan, who's been teaching the craft of storytelling for over 20 years, reveals how you can grow your storytelling skills and use them to communicate your message in a way that stick and, most of all inspires action.
And as service design professionals, we know that getting people to take action is critical for change but also very challenging.
So whether you consider yourself a natural storyteller or not, this episode is packed with practical wisdom you won't want to miss.
Josh, by the way, stopped sending his daily emails a while ago, but as you've noticed his lessons have stuck with me.
Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact!
Take care,
~ Marc
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00:00 Welcome to Episode 214
03:30 Power of stories
06:00 Why stories make communication better
08:00 Dealing with skepticism
13:00 Why Organizations seek facts over stories
14:30 Story-Resistant Culture
18:00 Practical tips in becoming better storytellers
23:00 Finding your stories
24:00 Using spreadsheets
28:00 How to be comfortable using them
31:30 How to see if it's working (Tracking progress
34:00 Indicators of Success
37:00 Potential of backfiring
39:00 Gauging level of emotion
42:00 Advise from Ral
44:00 How Ral's storytelling evolved
45:30 How to use AI in storytelling
48:30 Storytelling vs acting
49:30 What's next in her storytelling journey
51:30 What kept her going
52:30 Resources
55:30 Question to ponder
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I'm excited... There's a brand new conference just around the corner – Advancing Service Design – and it's organized by none other than Rosenfeld Media, the publisher behind some of the most iconic books in our field.
Now you might be thinking... another conference? But trust me, this one is different. That's why I invited Lou Rosenfeld himself onto the Show to give us the inside scoop.
In this episode, you'll learn:
* Why Lou decided to launch a brand new conference.
* Who is Advancing Service Design for?
And what makes the conference different.
So if you're curious about what all the excitement is about, make sure to tune in to this conversation.
And as you can guess by the title there will be a part 2 where we'll dive deep into the full conference lineup and speakers.
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Want to attend Advancing Service Design? Well, you're in luck!
Answer the simple question over here https://www.servicedesignshow.com/asdc2024-survey to get a 10% discount on your ticket. But that's not all!
When you sign up using the provided code, you'll automatically enter a contest where you can win sweet prizes.
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to a Special Episode
01:30 Q&A with Lou
03:30 Long-Awaited Service Design Conference
06:00 Why Service Design Now?
08:45 Conference Program
12:00 Target Audience
14:00 Conference Success Secrets
19:00 Benefit in Time, Support, and Labor prep
20:00 Why Ben Reason and Patrick Quattlebaum
23:00 Speaker Insights
26:00 Speaker highlights
30:00 What to expect
33:00 What Lou looks forward to
36:30 How to get tickets
39:15 Topics to stay tuned to
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Sure, everyone's talking about Journey Management, but few are actually doing it well... It's one thing to map out customer journeys, but quite another to truly manage them.
The frameworks and models look great on paper, but reality is often far messier. Most organizations struggle to get a handle on even one journey, let alone a dozen!
So I'm excited that Florian Vollmer, a true pioneer in this field, returns to the Service Design Show to share his hard-won wisdom. You might remember him from his previous appearance on the Show where he talked about managing 100+ journeys at NCR.
What's fascinating is that Florian got a rare opportunity when starting his new role at Autodesk – a chance to rebuild a Journey Management practice from the ground up, applying all the lessons from his previous experience.
This is your classic "I wish I knew everything I know now at the start of this project. It would have been completed twice as fast and at half the cost."This time, we dive deep into the nitty-gritty of Journey Management, tackling tough questions like:
And the million-dollar question: how do you get buy-in and funding when you're just starting out?
So if you're already knee-deep in Journey Management or just starting to explore it, I'm sure you'll appreciate Florian's honest perspective from the trenches.
One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation was that, as Florian explains in detail, this is really hard work. So you have to have patience and be kind to yourself. Amen to that!
Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact.
Take care,
~ Marc
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00:00 Welcome to Episode 213
04:00 Looking back EP 168
05:15 Who is Florian
07:00 What is Journey Management
08:30 the momentum of journey management right now
13:00 How to manage customers
17:00 Balancing context switching
21:00 Evolving Role Perceptions
23:30 good quality vs great quality
26:00 Organic conversations vs Priorities
35:30 Who owns the journey?
39:30 Building momentum for change
42:30 Biggest key lessons
46:00 Journey management vs collaborations
48:30 Understanding journey management
55:15 Stay tuned for another episode with Florian
56:30 Resources
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This might be the most profound conversation I've recorded this year...
What if I told you that the puzzle of how to measure and quantify the value of design has already been solved?
I know, it sounds too good to be true, right? But hear me out.
We all struggle to express the value of design in metrics that businesses understand. The result?
We often cut ourselves short because we can't present the impact of our work in a neat spreadsheet. It's frustrating, especially when we see decisions being made that make no sense to us based on "our data".
There are many reasons why it's hard to quantify the return on investment of (service) design. We're creating value on a systemic level. We're doing it in co-creation, so attribution is a nightmare. The effects of our work sometimes take a long time to materialize. And the list goes on.
So, is all hope lost? Do we throw our hands up in the air? Of course not.
Recently, while researching better alternatives to hierarchical goal structures (which are inherently broken), I stumbled upon an article by Stacey Barr. I had never heard of Stacey or her work before. This discovery led me down a massive rabbit hole.
Stacey is a leading expert on performance measurement. Over the last 20 years, she has developed and refined a methodology to measure, track, and improve performance that's being used in over 40 countries.
The more I read about this methodology, the more I felt that this could be the breakthrough we've been looking for in the design field. I have to be careful not to raise expectations too high, but...
Stacey is an unusual guest for the Show. Someone who's completely outside of our design bubble. And that's why this turned out to be such an interesting and eye-opening conversation.
In this episode, you'll learn that there is a systemic and reliable approach to figuring out what and how you can measure the impact of design. You can take this approach and apply it to your work today! And best of all, as you'll hear, the approach builds upon a lot of the elements that we as a design community are already familiar with.
I hope this episode will show you that we can actually get to measuring the things that matter, not just the things that are easy to measure.
And maybe, even maybe, get you a little bit excited about measurement (yes, that's actually possible)!
A part that I really liked in our conversation is when we rolled up our sleeves, took an abstract goal like "increasing the sense of belonging," and went step-by-step on how to break this down into more concrete and quantifiable metrics. This exercise really brought things home for me.
Keep making a positive impact!
~ Marc
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00:00: Welcome to Episode 212
04:00: Marc's rant on KPIs
05:30: Who is Stacy
08:00: Measuring service design
09:30: Evidence and numbers
13:00: Circle example
16:00: Measuring qualitative aspects
18:00: Quantifying "sense of belonging"
21:00: Circle buddies and belonging
27:00: If you can't experiment...
29:30: Client's vague goals & measurement
34:00: Handling vague ideas & measurement
38:30: Showing value and impact
39:00: Individual vs. team effort
43:00: Qualitative approach
44:00: Significant change method
48:00: Circle community tension
52:00: Measuring systemic impact
58:00: Perfection and systemic impact
1:00:30: Importance of the whole story
1:02:30: Compassion and starting small
1:04:00: Starting small with systemic thinking
1:06:30: Resources for systemic design
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Let's start with an "easy" question today... Is design a force for good, or just another cog in the capitalist machine?
I know many design professionals are grappling with this question. We see design's potential to have a positive impact but often find ourselves frustrated by its misuse as a tool for profit at any cost.
The overflowing landfills, the disposable products... These are reminders of design's unintended consequences. And while we yearn to challenge the status quo, to advocate for sustainable and ethical solutions, we often face resistance from those prioritizing short-term gains. Yeah, it's a delicate balance.
So how can we raise our voices as activists without jeopardizing our livelihoods? How do we ensure that our work benefits not only our (internal) clients but also society and the planet?
Our guest, Jennifer Rittner, has dedicated her career to exploring these questions. In the conversation, we delve into the complex relationship between design, ethics, and culture.
If anything, this episode invites you to step back from your daily tasks and reflect on the bigger picture.
It's an opportunity to clarify your purpose as a professional and think about how you can align your work to that. So if that sparks your interest, join us for an inspiring chat.
Let's be honest, in a world obsessed with instant gratification, it's crucial to pause every now and than to consider the long-term consequences of our actions. We owe it to generations to come.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.
~ Marc
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00:00 Welcome to Episode 211
03:30 Recalibrating Social Dynamics
05:00 Design and Social Dynamics
10:00 Is there an alternative?
17:30 How her approach changed
19:00 Marc's background
24:00 Solution before building
25:00 Designer reflection
26:30 Accountability in design
32:00 The landfill problem example
38:00 What's holding us back?
43:00 How to be better humans
47:15 How we label success
51:30 Her thoughts on designers
58:00 Balancing what to make
1:00:00 "The Lab culture"
1:03:30 Power to change
1:06:30 Resources
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https://servicedesignshow.com/circle
Ever feel like the weight of the world on your shoulders as a service design professional... That you're constantly juggling your "actual" work with the complexities of organizational processes and structures? Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Our DesignOps friends are here to lighten that load. They enable us to focus on what we do best - design – by handling the operational intricacies that so often slow us down, and drain our energy. I've heard many firsthand stories of how transformative a DesignOps partner can be. But to fully unlock the potential of this partnership, we need to understand what's happening in the ever-evolving DesignOps world. That's why I'm very excited to have Meredith Black join us on the Show. Having contributed to building DesignOps teams at major companies like The New York Times, Pinterest, and Figma, and as co-founder of the largest online DesignOps community, Meredith is one of the most influential and well-informed people on the planet when it comes to DesignOps. In this episode, we dove into questions like: * What does it take to grow a successful DesignOps practice inside your org? * How does the shift towards remote work impact DesignOps strategies? * Why effective DesignOps might initially not look like what you'd expect? * And what's Meredith's secret for quickly gaining momentum and buy-in? Whether your organization already has an established DesignOps practice or you're just beginning to explore this field, I'm confident that the lessons Meredith shares in this conversation will make you a better service design professional. With the risk of over-exaggerating, tapping into Meredith's years of hard won wisdom feels a bit like cheating. So if you want to know how DesignOps can help you deliver your best work, don't miss out on this conversation. As you'll hear, DesignOps has faced quite some challenges in recent years. But at the same time it's clear that the train has left the station and will continue to move forward. DesignOps is here to stay and the future is brighter future than ever.
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00:00 Welcome to Episode 210
04:00 Her credibility for this topic
07:00 Mental shift in Design Ops
13:00 Hard conversations
16:30 Recalibrating expectations
19:00 Living up to promises
24:00 advertising model) vs subscriber model
27:30 Building those relationships
29:30 Make or Break in Design Ops
33:15 Slow consistent progress vs immediate results
37:00 Clients confusion about our role
41:15 Judging your success
45:00 Community building expectations
48:00 Our hope for the community
50:00 How we can help realize that wish
51:30 Resources
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Sure, AI is pretty cool, but have you heard of something called Retrieval-Augmented-Generation (RAG)... We don't often spotlight specific tech on the Show, but RAG?
I firmly believe that RAG has the potential to shake up service design in a big way.
Imagine having a super-powered teammate on every project. This teammate has the ability to recall every meeting, every workshop, and every sticky note, not just yours but your entire team's, even from years ago. Not just yours but your whole team's.
Ask them a question, and a few seconds later, they've got the answer. It's like being able to have a conversation with your entire project history. Just think about the impact of this for a moment.
Now, we all know about those fancy Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. Amazing, right? But they're not trained on your data. Ask them about your project, and you'll get... well, something made up. But what if you could combine the conversational magic of LLMs with the deep knowledge of your own data?
In a nutshell, this is RAG's promise. It lets those powerful LLMs tap into your world, giving you answers that are not only smart, but relevant.
I've been tinkering with RAG to unlock the wisdom hidden in our Circle community discussions. But I'm far from an expert, so I brought in someone who is: Kirk Marple, founder of GraphLit, a startup using RAG to make your knowledge AI-friendly.
In our conversation we dove deep. How do we even start with RAG? Do you need to be a coder? How do we make sure the answers you get are any good? What about privacy when AI sees your data? And that's just the start to be honest.
What struck me was Kirk's idea that using AI is more art than science. It's about 'prompt sculpting', not (just) engineering. There's a lot of gray area, and that's where we as a design community shine.
We should be all over this AI thing... What do you think?
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00:00 Welcome to Episode 209
05:00 What Kirk does in life
10:00 AI for content discovery
14:00 AI and service design
16:00 Data retrieval with AI
19:00 Tracking unstructured data
22:00 Podcast metadata example
24:30 Vector search explained
30:00 AI vs human experience
35:00 Privacy concerns with AI
37:30 Large language models and understanding
41:00 Importance of graphs in AI
44:30 AI: art or science?
48:00 AI's growth and data processing
51:30 AI agents
56:00 Kirk's AI roadmap
57:30 Tips for AI beginners
59:00 Common AI terms
1:01:00 AI resources
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How can we leave the world in a better place than we inherited it... And what's design's role in all of this? In this episode, we tackle these big questions with Steve Baty. Steve is an author, former political candidate, the current CEO of the Australian Design Council, and co-founder of the renowned Meld Studios. He joins us to confront the undeniable breakdown of our existing systems. Yes, as we've discussed in previous episodes, redesigning these systems is daunting, but Steve believes a turnaround is possible – and urgent. We explore how today's design decisions shape tomorrow's world, balancing profit with doing good for our planet. And I ask Steve the burning question: How can we know we're on the right track when our work's impact won't be felt for generations? But don't worry, I can assure you this isn't just about lofty ideals. We also discuss practical steps we all can take right now to make a difference. It's a good reminder that every monumental shift begins with the small steps. For me, this episode joins the playlist that makes us rethink what good (service) design looks like. So, I would love to hear from you: What does good design mean to you in the context of creating a better world?
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00:00 Welcome to Episode 208
04:00 Who is Steve
07:00 Better Planet for Our Kids
09:30 Design's Role
13:00 The Landfill Problem
14:30 Why Haven't We Solved It?
17:00 Old Ways, New Challenges
18:00 Potential Changes
21:45 Decision-Making for Longevity
24:30 Designer's Dilemma
27:30 Staying Positive
30:34 Measuring Success
33:00 Products vs. Services
37:00 Reconnecting People and Nature
41:00 Accelerating Change
44:00 Government Intervention
45:30 What to Do?
48:30 Good Design Defined
51:00 Designing Standards
53:00 Final Thoughts
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Ever felt trapped in a service you couldn't escape... Trying to end a subscription only to face a frustrating maze of hurdles? Let's face it, service endings are often the worst experience ever. The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. In fact, well-designed endings can be a secret weapon for your business. Think about it – when customers inevitably move on, what's the final impression they take with them? Sadly, most companies neglect or wilfully ignore this crucial stage of the customer lifecycle. They hide the cancel button, throw obstacles in your path, and make leaving feel like a punishment. It's a missed opportunity because, historically, businesses have focused all their energy on acquiring new customers rather than on gracefully saying goodbye. But what if we flipped the script? What if endings felt like graduations, where we celebrate customers moving on to new adventures? Could those who leave become our biggest fans? This isn't just a pipe dream. Joe Macleod, who's literally written the book on this topic (twice!), joins us on the Show to share how to design endings that leave a positive, lasting impact. We'll unpack the secrets of great endings, how they differ from beginnings, and the undeniable business case for getting this right. Trust me, this episode is an eye-opener. Once you hear it, you'll see opportunities everywhere to turn departing customers into brand ambassadors. So, if you don't want all your hard work building good customer relationships to go to waste when they leave, tune in and learn how to make every goodbye a fond farewell (and maybe even a new beginning!).
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00:00 Welcome to episode 207
05:30 About Joe and Endings
07:00 Ending Journey
08:30 Joe's Passion for Endings
15:00 Businesses & Endings
18:00 Businesses & Status Quo?
20:00 Reassurance Endings
24:30 Divorce example
27:00 Measuring quality of an ending
35:00 Endings & Memberships
38:00 Alumni or Death Phase?
43:00 Healthcare Offboarding Example
47:00 Ex-Customers = Value
51:00 Importance of Alumnis
53:00 Pondering about Endings
55:00 3rd Book Preview
57:00 Giveaway announcement
58:00 Resources
59:00 Key Takeaways
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To enter the contest, head over to the video version of this conversation on YouTube and leave a comment there to answer the question posed in the episode.
https://go.servicedesignshow.com/207-youtube
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