“Whenever a company designs a new product, service, or experience, it is essentially designing its business.”
IDEO
Listening to John Stoddard from IDEO at a lunch seminar today I realized that according to IDEO’s definition of Business Design, what we do at the Masterprogramme of Business & Design is actually Business Design. Not very surprising you might think, considering the name of the programme. But to me it did come as quite a surprise. For two years I have been trying to define what we are doing, and why it is absolutely necessary to do what we do. We have ventured into the fields of marketing, accounting, service design, product design, advertising, innovation, management, organization, business model innovation but to name a few, so it has been difficult to quickly explain what we do. I have found that words like “a holistic approach” and “user focus” are important parts of it, but they don’t say enough. And finally I might have found the answer; Business Design.
Business Design seems like an adequate description of what we are doing. We are designing business, trying to make sure all aspects of the business are working well, and cohere well as a brand and as an organization.
I don’t think the concept Business Design is going to make it easier for me to explain to my grandma what I am doing, but it does feel good to have found a concept that quite well covers how design can be used in a business context, to create the holistic approach that is so often lacking.
To me IDEOs notion Business Design is about working strategically with design. It’s about having an organisation walk the talk basically. A notion like this might help us in our own understanding of what we’re doing and in that sense I agree with you. However, I dissuade using notions such as Business Design in communicating the value of design in business with prospective clients, since I don’t think it makes it easier for him/her to know what s/he is paying for. I believe it’s better to adopt a more hands-on approach, than mystifying complex design processes with buzzwords, by educating clients through delivering what others cannot. Doing so builds an understanding of design, and recognition of how it may be able to help achieve business objectives. There is always something clients can relate to when talking of the actual strategic design work, and we should relate to what is important to the client, what goes on in their minds, and be good listeners while trying to find out what their biggest challenges currently are.
I agree, but the problem is that before you have communicated the value of design to the client they wont let you deliver at all. That means you do not get the chance to prove the value of design for their company until you have already successfully communicated it to them. Quite a dilemma:)
In sales, the important thing is always to communicate the value to the client, no matter what it is you sell. What is important to remember is that this value doesn’t have to be monetary. Clients are perfectly capable of appreciating other values as well, if these are properly communicated. As you mention it is extremely important to get to know the client and get a feeling for what is important to them, in order to successfully communicate the value of design. (and of course also to be able to what the client’s need is)