Design Meets Business Christian Vasile

Ryan is the founder of Accelerate Design Company. He's a Product and Design leader who brought food photography, live-order tracking, and remote driver training to DoorDash, launched step-function improvements to Airbnb’s checkout, messaging, search, and host calendar products, and launched products at TechCrunch Disrupt, Dreamforce, and WWDC. Ryan has led teams of all sizes, from two to 200, and is now advising companies on product management, design, and go-to-market strategy, as well as helping mid-career designers develop business skills to do more influential work and have more meaningful careers.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro02:39 – Ryan's career and his thoughts on design education08:03 – Describing the ROI of Design – his course for designers14:57 – Gaining credibility by connecting design to business metrics24:17 – Tailoring tactics for your specific environment28:28 – Pursuing stakeholders through building good relationships with them30:45 – How does Design work at the different companies he worked 39:00 – The befits of scrapping incremental testing43:34 – Assessing the quality of a team before joining47:15 – On Accelerate Design company, his new business53:06 – End of show questions.Connect with RyanLinkedIn, Accelerate Design
Selected links from the episodeDescribing the ROI of Design, Ryan's course

Doug has been in the Design world for 30 years and is well known for his role as VP of Design at IBM, where he oversaw IBM's design practice, design career and leadership programs, and the scaling of cross-functional design thinking practices. Doug is a role model for many design leaders and someone I've been looking up to for many years. Having him on the show is such an honour.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro02:32 – The three chapters in Doug's career09:35 – Building good relationships at work13:18 – The environment needed for designers to do great work20:44 – The role coaching played for him and how he's coached others27:13 – How do you know when a report is ready for a promotion36:04 – An overview of the work done at IBM by Design 42:16 – The role of ethics in Design48:13 – Design in the age of AI51:04 – End of show questions.Connect with DougLinkedIn
Selected links from the episodeThis is a Prototype Podcast (Apple, Spotify, Google)
The Making of a Manager, by Julie Zhou
The Total Economic Impact Of IBM’s Design Thinking Practice, by Forrester

Dan is a seasoned designer with over 20 years of experience in leading teams at companies such as Farfetch, Just Eat, Wonderbly, and Fresha. Until very recently Dan ran a small design studio – Rubber Studio. In today's chat we get a behind the scenes view into the life of a studio owner, what's important when trying to find work, and how your life as a designer can change if you decide to start a studio yourself.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro02:38 – Dan's journey into Design05:43 – His thoughts on Design education08:28 – His journey as a studio owner19:44 – What you need to know before starting a studio32:32 – What's important when pitching for work43:39 – On his talk about innovation at Hatch Conference46:36 – End of show questionsConnect with DanLinkedIn
Selected links from the episodeChris DoJust enough research, by Erika HallSupermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (Documentary Trailer)Dan Tase: Why Innovation Fails? (And what can we do about it) – Talk at Hatch Conference

Dan is a seasoned design executive who's led teams at Microsoft, Google, UnitedHealth Group, Walmart, and Lloyd's, among others. From working on the Surface Tablet, starting Project ARA at Google, leading the efforts to redesign Walmart.com, and more recently writing his own book, Uplifting Design, Dan believes in the importance of Design at the core of any business, and that's what we're talking about today. We also chat in detail about how his design team has doubled conversion for walmart.com, and about why he believes that you should look at your career from a perspective of two year stretches.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro02:42 – Dan's journey into Design04:06 – Why Dan thinks Design is at the core of business09:11 – The forces that come down to devalue Design15:51 – Companies that show Design matters23:24 – Designing software vs. hardware and how compassion fits into this42:54 – On the redesign of Walmart.com51:29 – Dan's new book, Uplifting Design56:08 – Managing your career in two-year stretches01:04:18 – End of show questionsConnect with DanLinkedIn, Uplifting.Design, Website
Selected links from the episodeNeolMcKinsey Design ReportFuelling Creative Renewal Report

Lea is a Product & Growth Consultant with a massive proven track record of helping companies get traction. Today we talk about experimentation frameworks, how to build better relationships with Product, and about what kinds of designers are best to collaborate with.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro02:36 – Lea's journey into Product03:37 – On working for one company vs. consulting 07:06 – Lea's definition of Product10:50 – Building relationships with Product19:18 – The ideal designer to work with25:08 – On experimentation47:39 – The importance of quality in a product52:39 – End of show questionsConnect with LeaLinkedIn

Maria is a Product Design Leader at Turo and Founder of Careercoach.design. In this episode get to talk about the rise of the Player-Coach Designer, about building better relationships at work, about coaching, and we also talk about practical advice on how to approach your job search. 
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro02:18 – Maria's journey into Design04:28 – On Player-Coach Designers12:43 – Maria's thoughts on Design leadership19:21 – Building relationships at work23:44 – Giving and receiving feedback30:27 – Maria's practice as a Coach34:10 – On finding a job48:36 – Demystifying interview questions54:24 – How to negotiate your salary56:58 – End of show questionsConnect with Maria
LinkedIn, CareerCoach.Design
Selected links from the episode
Demystifying common design interview questions, by Maria