Service Design Show Service Design Show

When you asked me to play the piano, I can assure you that nothing close to music would come out. Would we, at that point, say that the piano is broken? That would be silly, right?

Somehow, this is the typical approach when organizations bring in design. When design doesn't fully deliver on the expected outcomes, it's the process that is declared faulty. 

Mauro Porcini is the Chief Design Officer at PepsiCo. In his career, he has seen many design-driven initiatives fail, and some succeed. This led him on the quest to find out what the differentiator is between the two.

Can you guess the answer? This shouldn't surprise you by now; it's people.

So if that's the case, what kind of people does it take to make design work?

Well, Mauro decided to write a dedicated book about this with the inspiring title: The Human Side of Innovation. The book just got published, and I invited Mauro on the Show to share the key insights with you. This is a good one!

We explored many ideas in this conversation, but one thing that stood out for me was kindness as a competitive advantage. And you know what? It makes complete business sense!

Enjoy the episode, and if you do consider sharing it, someone who might as well :)

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to episode 163
03:30 Who is Mauro
05:00 Lightning round
08:15 How did it start
12:30 The key message
14:30 Why now
19:00 Focus on people
22:15 What to look for
25:45 Reception by business
30:30 Unicorns
33:30 True human centricity
40:00 How to make it bigger
43:00 Design happiness
47:00 Contest announcement
48:15 Final thoughts

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/mauroporcini/

* The Human Side of Innovation (book) - https://amzn.to/3Opl8h2

* In Your Shoes (podcast) - https://open.spotify.com/show/6u90U1OT6mLdByL0TAYRW6

* Stage Not Age (book) - https://amzn.to/3ETZNcz

--- [ 3. CONTEST ] ---

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/episode163

--- [ 4. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

I'm sure you've heard this before... "You can't design for everyone." That's a fundamental principle in a good design process.

In the end, design is all about making choices. And one of these choices is defining who you are designing for.

But here's an interesting question: Can you design with a specific user in mind without excluding others? 

This sounds a lot like a paradox, right? So why bother trying to solve it? Because if we don't, we are creating inequality and harm. 

This isn't exclusive to but especially relevant when working with public services. You can't just always design for the "average" user or the one with the most money. So what can you do?

Well, Lesley Ann Noel has made it her mission to help us design better futures for everyone. She has done many experiments in her role as a university professor to overcome this seeming paradox.

And her findings are... pretty surprising, to say the least. She shares her story in this week's episode.

After this conversation, it really resonated with me that it's okay and even beneficial to bring your whole self into the design process. Yes, including all of your biases!

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to episode 162
03:15 Who is Lesley
04:45 Lightning round
08:00 Designing better futures
09:45 Who are we designing for
12:15 What does better look like
16:45 Background story
22:45 The unknown unknown
27:30 Impact on the craft
30:45 Who is open to this
34:00 Most common question
37:15 Bring your identity
41:00 The mindful designer
45:00 What makes you happy
48:30 Lesson learned

49:45 Closing thoughts

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesleyannnoel/

* The Activist Academic (book) - https://amzn.to/3tfjUep

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

Think for a moment about a hard conversation you needed to have about a topic that really mattered to you. This could be a conversation at work or just in your private life.

Now, what if... that conversation went down in your memory as exciting, productive, and fun? What if it almost felt like a game? Sounds too good to be true, right? 

Well, according to Fred Dust, that's exactly what's possible and even what's necessary. According to Fred, we have almost entirely lost the ability to have hard conversations about important topics. We aren't having the conversations we need to have. And that's causing us a lot of trouble.

Many conversations these days have become shallow, lack connection, and don't build shared understanding. But there's hope. There is a way out of this conversation crisis. We need and can design for better conversations.

In his book Making Conversation, Fred shares why and how you do that. The book has been a huge inspiration source for me lately, so I just had to get Fred on the Show to dig a bit deeper.

So if you also want more human, meaningful, and productive conversations, you'll definitely enjoy this conversation. Yes, that's a bit meta :)

Conversations are a creative act, make the most of them!

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to episode 161
04:15 Who is Fred
05:45 Lightning round
10:30 Why do we need this book
12:30 How did we lose conversation
14:00 Why did you write this
16:00 What are we losing
17:00 Who is this book for
20:00 Key concepts
23:30 Applying the ideas
27:30 Setting the stage
31:00 Active versus creative listening
34:15 Be more human
37:30 Common response
39:30 Overcoming the biggest roadblocks
42:00 Doing not talking
46:30 Better conversations online
50:00 Lessons learned
51:30 You can get better
53:00 Remember this
54:15 Book giveaway contest
55:30 Closing thoughts

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/freddust/
* https://www.dustand.co
* Making Conversation (book) - https://amzn.to/3N6R9Kd

--- [ 3. CONTEST ] ---

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/episode161

--- [ 4. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

Sustainability is the innovation frontier of the 21st century -- and if you don't get on that train, you'll be lost.

This quote emerged during the recent conversation with Bhavi Patel and Heydn Ericson on the Show, where we explored the intersection between circular and service design. As it turns out, you, as a service design professional, are in a great position to push a more sustainable approach forward. Yes, even if it's currently not a priority in your organization.

In this episode, you'll hear practical examples of how to do this—helping you design services that aren't just good for your customers and business but also for our planet. The conversation also reveals how you can work towards making sustainability a fundamental design principle at the start of every project, not an afterthought. Small teaser, you need to make a compelling business argument... there are plenty.

All in all, an inspiring episode if you want to be more conscious about taking care of our environment in your own design practice. Enjoy, and especially this time, keep making a positive impact :)

- Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to the Show
03:30 Who is Bhavi
04:00 Who is Heydn
05:00 How did we get here
09:30 Why us
12:45 Where are we today
15:15 What is at stake
18:00 Keep it simple
22:15 Create momentum
28:00 Sneaking it in
30:00 How does it relate to you
32:00 Common roadblocks
34:30 Accelerating adoption
38:00 Impact on services
42:00 Future perspective
45:30 Key takeaway
48:45 Closing thoughts

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---


https://www.linkedin.com/in/heydn/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavinipatel/
https://koosservicedesign.com
https://www.sustainablebusinesscanvas.org
https://www.esgtoday.com

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

If you'd like to be part of these conversations as they happen rather than just getting the summary on the podcast, consider joining us in the Circle.

www.servicedesignshow.com/circle/

Having a seat at the table... That's what we often talk about in the service design field. And I would say rightfully so.

Because when you do get involved early, you have the opportunity to influence the direction of a project.

On the flip side, you could end up making the perfect solution for the wrong problem when you get involved late. But how do you get your business stakeholder to see and appreciate the strategic value you can bring early on?

That was the question Karen Baker and I explored in our recent conversation. Karen has a marketing background, and she looks at the challenges in our field from a slightly different perspective. As you'll hear, our conversation started by discussing design inclusivity, but...

We eventually landed upon one simple question that brings everything together. This simple question acts like your north star, compass, and light in the dark. This question is so good that it deserves its own t-shirt.

So want to get a seat at the table? Want to influence projects early? Want to make your design practice more inclusive? The clue to all of this is in this episode.

Enjoy the conversation, and keep making a positive impact!

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to episode 160
03:45 Who is Karen
05:30 lightning round
07:30 Defining design for inclusivity
09:30 When did it start
13:00 Where do we need it
15:45 Including the community
17:30 Why now
19:45 Two examples
24:30 Guiding principles
27:00 Example from Lego
29:00 How do clients respond
32:30 What's surprising
35:00 Accelerating adoption
36:15 Getting leadership engaged
38:15 The question people aren't asking
41:00 Where is this heading
42:45 Lesson learned
45:30 Remember this one thing
46:45 Final thoughts

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/krbaker/

- https://www.weforum.org/press/2022/05/new-initiative-to-build-an-equitable-interoperable-and-safe-metaverse/

- https://www.marketingdive.com/news/degree-deodorant-inclusivity-metaverse-virtual-marathon/622609/

- https://designjustice.org

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

What can you expect during the Service Design Global Conference 2022? Vinay Venkatraman is one of the speakers at the conference and in this video, you'll get a sneak preview of his talk. If you want to attend the conference check out the link and discount code down below.

[ 1. EPISODE GUIDE ]
00:00 Welcome
01:45 Who is Vinay
03:00 Main topic
04:45 Why this topic
07:15 Key lesson
10:45 Future perspective
13:15 Remember one thing
14:00 Reaching out to Vinay
14:45 Looking forward to
16:30 Closing thoughts

[ 2. LINKS ]

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinay85/

[ 3. CONFERENCE ]

Join the Service Design Global Conference on October 13 & 14, 2022.

Use the code SDSHOW to get a **20% discount** on your ticket.

https://hopin.com/events/service-design-global-conference-2022/registration