3
minute read
How to convince your senior leaders to invest in building a design practice: Ideas & recommendations
How to convince your senior leaders to invest in building a design practice: Ideas & recommendations
Design leadership
ROI
Product Design
Senior leaders often struggle to demonstrate the value of design, but by fostering champions, educating teams, embedding design in strategy, proving ROI, and creating a design-centric culture, organisations can unlock its transformative business impact.
Suraj Soren
Dec 19, 2024
A designer’s hand gesturing while discussing design concepts with a stakeholder, with an open laptop in view. Credit to Unsplash
In recent conversations with senior leaders both within and outside of BT, one recurring theme stood out:
Non-design senior leaders know their organisation needs design, but they struggle to convince their peers and board members of its value.
This challenge isn’t just about explaining what design is—it’s about showing how design can be a core driver of business success. In many established companies, design isn’t yet a deeply embedded discipline in all organisations related to technology, and building it from scratch can feel like a monumental task.
I've done a bit of research and found a few key recommendations on how you can approach it:
Find the right champions
Identify allies within the organisation who understand the value of design—whether it's from product, engineering, or marketing—and work together to demonstrate small wins that can scale.
Start with education
Design is often misunderstood. Organise workshops or presentations to showcase the impact of design on customer experience, market differentiation, and revenue growth. Use case studies that resonate with the specific industry or organisation.
Embed design in the strategy
Design should not be an afterthought. Advocate for design to be part of the strategic decision-making process, with designers involved from the earliest stages of product development or business innovation.
Prove ROI
Focus on measurable outcomes. Whether it’s improving user engagement, reducing customer churn, or increasing the speed of product delivery, design has tangible business benefits. Collect and present data that demonstrates this impact.
Create a culture of design
Design is not just a role or department—it’s a mindset. Foster cross-functional collaboration where design thinking becomes an integral part of how the entire organisation solves problems.
Starting a design discipline in an established company may seem daunting, but with the right approach, it can become one of the most transformative initiatives.
How has your organisation embraced design, and what are some of the challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In recent conversations with senior leaders both within and outside of BT, one recurring theme stood out:
Non-design senior leaders know their organisation needs design, but they struggle to convince their peers and board members of its value.
This challenge isn’t just about explaining what design is—it’s about showing how design can be a core driver of business success. In many established companies, design isn’t yet a deeply embedded discipline in all organisations related to technology, and building it from scratch can feel like a monumental task.
I've done a bit of research and found a few key recommendations on how you can approach it:
Find the right champions
Identify allies within the organisation who understand the value of design—whether it's from product, engineering, or marketing—and work together to demonstrate small wins that can scale.
Start with education
Design is often misunderstood. Organise workshops or presentations to showcase the impact of design on customer experience, market differentiation, and revenue growth. Use case studies that resonate with the specific industry or organisation.
Embed design in the strategy
Design should not be an afterthought. Advocate for design to be part of the strategic decision-making process, with designers involved from the earliest stages of product development or business innovation.
Prove ROI
Focus on measurable outcomes. Whether it’s improving user engagement, reducing customer churn, or increasing the speed of product delivery, design has tangible business benefits. Collect and present data that demonstrates this impact.
Create a culture of design
Design is not just a role or department—it’s a mindset. Foster cross-functional collaboration where design thinking becomes an integral part of how the entire organisation solves problems.
Starting a design discipline in an established company may seem daunting, but with the right approach, it can become one of the most transformative initiatives.
How has your organisation embraced design, and what are some of the challenges you’ve faced along the way?
