Service Design Show

Service Design Show
Service Design Show

Go beyond the basics of service design and learn what it truly takes to deliver services that make a positive impact on people, business and planet.

  1. The RIGHT way to do strategy in an uncertain world? / Peter Compo / Ep. #215

    1 DAY AGO

    The RIGHT way to do strategy in an uncertain world? / Peter Compo / Ep. #215

    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: Why research is becoming an increasingly important capability for any organization. How we can know we'll achieve our goals if we don't know at the start which actions to take. And how to help an organization used to control and prediction embrace uncertainty and flexibility. 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 --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 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 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/petercompo/ The Emergent Approach to Strategy (book) by Peter Compo - www.emergentapproach.com Peter Compo Music - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJsn2zbnx8dwvHJrisdkAtg --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    1h 13m
  2. Advancing Service Design 2024 / Program Deep Dive with Sylvie Abookire

    NOV 14

    Advancing Service Design 2024 / Program Deep Dive with Sylvie Abookire

    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. ~ ~ ~ 🎟️ 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 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylvieabookire/ Get your tickets here - https://rosenfeldmedia.com/advancing-service-design/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Grow your confidence, influence, and impact! Join the community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    33 min
  3. Why People Aren't Listening to You - And How to Fix That / Gabrielle Dolan / Ep. #214

    NOV 7

    Why People Aren't Listening to You - And How to Fix That / Gabrielle Dolan / Ep. #214

    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 --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 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 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/ https://gabrielledolan.com/ Magnetic Stories by Gabrielle Dolan (Book) - https://a.co/d/aA780d8 --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    1h 1m
  4. What's this new SD conference all about!? / Advancing Service Design Conference 2024 (Part 1) with Lou Rosenfeld

    OCT 31

    What's this new SD conference all about!? / Advancing Service Design Conference 2024 (Part 1) with Lou Rosenfeld

    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. --- 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 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- Get your Advancing Service Design tickets here: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/advancing-service-design/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    35 min
  5. Confessions of a Journey Management Pioneer / Florian Vollmer / Ep. #213

    OCT 24

    Confessions of a Journey Management Pioneer / Florian Vollmer / Ep. #213

    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: Who really owns the journey? Are dedicated tools essential or just a distraction? Why getting granular at the touchpoint level is essential? What are the biggest challenges to launching Journey Management inside an organization? 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 --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 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 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/florianvollmer/ Journey Management Alliance https://journeymanagement.substack.com --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    1h 3m
  6. A New Approach to Measuring Design's Impact / Stacey Barr / Ep. #212

    OCT 10

    A New Approach to Measuring Design's Impact / Stacey Barr / Ep. #212

    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 --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 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 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceybarr/ Results Map: https://www.staceybarr.com/measure-up/a-measurable-strategy-on-a-single-page/ Streamlined PuMP approach: https://www.staceybarr.com/measure-up/12-easy-steps-get-started-lean-kpi-methodology/ What is a measure: https://www.staceybarr.com/measure-up/kpis-performance-measures/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house se

    1h 10m
  7. Are We Designing a Landfill or Leaving a Legacy? / Jennifer Rittner / Ep. #211

    SEP 26

    Are We Designing a Landfill or Leaving a Legacy? / Jennifer Rittner / Ep. #211

    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. Do we need a moral compass for the design industry? How much responsibility do we, as designers, bear for the impact of our work? What kind of culture do we want to shape through our designs? 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 --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 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 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-rittner Design needs to grow up and take responsibility / George Aye / Episode #194 - https://youtu.be/tzGf6T_mMpE --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    1h 9m
  8. How DesignOps helps you Focus on What Matters / Meredith Black / Ep. #210

    SEP 12

    How DesignOps helps you Focus on What Matters / Meredith Black / Ep. #210

    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. --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 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 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/msmeredithblack/ https://x.com/msmeredithblack DesignOps Assembly - https://www.designopsassembly.com/⁠ Kate Towsey's Books - https://katetowsey.com/book DesignOps Summit 2024- https://rosenfeldmedia.com/designops-summit/2024/register/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    58 min

Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Go beyond the basics of service design and learn what it truly takes to deliver services that make a positive impact on people, business and planet.

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