Understand the Business

I fear that this is the section that most designers will be inclined to skip. Don’t. While you may feel like this is outside the job you signed up for, understanding the realities of your business is an absolute necessity for your success and your sanity. 

If you want a seat at the table, you have to understand business realities

In my experience, the number one driver of designers feeling unheard or unseen as a strategic asset has nothing to do with the business not understanding design. It has everything to do with design not understanding the business. Businesses are loathe to listen to the advice of designers that consistently match the wrong design strategies to the business reality in front of them. 

Many designers fall prey to the idea that there is one, true Right Way to Design™ that should always be followed. Dogmatic adherence to the Right Way to Design™, without a grip on market conditions, company strategy, or customer dynamics, inevitably leads to a mismatch between what design could do and what the business needs it to do. This mismatch is why many leaders see design as a function that produces artifacts, not strategic outcomes.

To change that perception, designers need to learn to recognize what kind of business they’re designing for. Let’s break this down into a few simple, foundational strategic lenses.

• Market condition: what is the level of competition in your market? 
• Growth strategy: how is your business trying to grow? 
• Selling strategy: how does your business sell its product?
• Exit strategy: what is the endgame for current ownership? How are they looking to exit the business?

I have a brief assessment that you can fill out at the end of the section. I urge you to read this section and then fill it out. Get feedback from an executive in your company to see how much they agree with your conclusions. It may change the trajectory of your whole career.

Ready? Let’s dive in.