“First off, I think the positioning of ‘design thinking’ in the article is misleading.”
Why do you think so? Because design thinking is much more than teaching mba's about design. And is is most certainly not teaching the mba how to design. It is also much more than than the wikipedia definition explains as well. Go back through these archives to update your definition of design thinking. “rather than hold sales a business types up as villans” Why not? Look at the record of the sales guy I mention in the article, Ballmer, either in sales or the design of products MS sells: pretty disastrous. We have a ton of examples. I do hold them responsible. Because they are not villans... they are doing what they know and what they should be doing. Frankly, sales people have more tacit knowledge regarding the customer and the market than most designers do even after researching. They just have difficulty interpreting, acting and telling about it. One of the key tools for marketing and design is how to extract that knowledge. It's tricky and very hard to do... but also very very helpful for anyone trying to develop the 'next' round of product. Sales people can be a huge asset and great allies. The us against them mentality you propose is destructive. Rather than conquering... consider collaborating. “I don’t believe that it is as simple as designers wanting more power.” Designers should want more power, the power to make decisions, which are so far made for them. My point here is that it is not about 'power' for power's sake. Most designers want to design... and design better. To the extent that they are empowered to do that, most do not have a hunger for power. I believe that some, but not all, designers would make great CEO's - only because (and if) they have a strong empathy for the customer. “To many decisions are made prior to the designer’s involvment” Exactly. And that’s not going to change until and unless designers get the power to sit at the decision table. Read up a bit on history... maybe regarding Genghiz Kahn. I would suggest "Parable of the Tribes". Conquering for short term gain is one thing... but presiding over that domain in the long term may not be something designers want or are up for. “many of the designer’s methodologies (design thinking) can be implemented in functions not typically considered within the domain of design.” That’s a shortcoming for designers to overcome then. I do see designers as problem solvers but with certain knowledge, experience and sensibilities unique to them. I love the confidence and the ego - and even the homer in you. Rooting for designers to rule the world is an interesting thesis and one that makes me smile. It does not feel though, that you have really thought through the long term impact of your proposal. I do not think designers as a lot, are any more adept at running large companies that sale, mba's, engineers or the maintenance crews. If you are a lurker on this board, you know that a whole lot of designers here want nothing to do with the 'design thinking' movement. They just want to design. Personally, I do not feel it in any way threatens how designers will operate in the future, but many here disagree. There is a notion that when mba's and others adopting some of the methods and perspectives inherent in design thinking, it will lessen the value of designers. I think quite the opposite. It will present a workplace with more respect for design, and make it easier for designers to sell their ideas. But I also think we (designers) need to learn more about the language and perspective f the executive suite in order to be more effective. Mark On Oct 13, 2007, at 6:39 PM, Kontra wrote: > (Sorry, the link was dropped in transit earlier.) > > "[There is a] common perception that a "sales guy" can sell > anything, be it cars or jeans or computerware. This view holds that > the domain of business is not determinant, the process is. You learn > the process (at business school) , you're good to go. > As the inadequacy of this approach is exposed we now have another > trend: inject the sales guy with some appreciation of the domain, > surely now he can do even better. Welcome to 'design thinking,' the > finishing school for the Steve Jobs wannabes out there, if you will." > > I explore this tension further at: > > "The new managerial class: cure for design?" > http://counternotions.com/2007/10/13/cure-for-design/ > > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=21259 > > > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... 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