Business X Design

Martin Dowson

A podcast exploring how Design Leadership is evolving and maturing as a business discipline, the implications on Design Management, Design Education and the role of Chief Design Officers and Executives. With a focus on in-house design teams our guests are Design executives, directors and CDOs from around the world who have dealt with evolving design to support and have impact within large-scale business. Your host Martin Dowson is a Design Leadership Coach and Interim Design Exec with over 21 years experience with Design. This podcast is brought to you by TechCircus Leaders in curating inspirational content for inspired professionals and producers of the Business x Design Conference. read less
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Episodes

Brian Hoadley & Martin Dowson - Season 1 Review
Apr 11 2022
Brian Hoadley & Martin Dowson - Season 1 Review
Season 1 Final Episode - Martin & Brian Hoadley review the season.I've invited Brian Hoadley to return, having opened the season, and reflect back with me on 9 interviews with 9 very different Leaders of Design.  All of our guests have led design in an in-house, large-scale complex environment and have brought with them some insightful perspectives on the role of Design and Design Leadership in its intersections with Business Leadership. In this review episode, Brian and I unpack what we've learnt across the whole Season and start to reflect on where we need to go next in elevating the impact of Design within Business.This will be a great episode for anyone looking to reflect on their learnings from the season as we touch on just about everything, and it may also be a useful guide for anyone new to the seasons (although I'd still encourage you to listen to the series and then the summary so you can reflect along with us).I'd like to thank all my guests for Season 1 of Business X Design Brian Hoadley - Interim Design ExecDr Anne Stenros - ex CDO City of HelsinkiAndrew Barraclough - Design Director - GSK Clive Grinyer - Head of Service Design - Royal College of Art Jose Dos Santos - Head of Design - Signify and PhD - 10 Barriers to Designers at the c-suitePernilla Johansson - CDO ElectroluxPeter Merholz - Founder Adaptive Path, Author - Org Design for Design OrgsJane Austin - CXO - Digital and previously CDO in HealthcareNathan Weyer - COO Design at PhilipsSHOW RESOURCES:subscribe to the Business x Design Newsletter hereand connect with your show host Martin Dowson on LinkedIn - we really welcome feedback from our listeners so do get in touch!
Peter Merholz - The Success of in-house Design and the Design Executive Leader Role
Jan 10 2022
Peter Merholz - The Success of in-house Design and the Design Executive Leader Role
OVERVIEW:In this episode, I am joined by Peter Merholz, Design Executive and Organisational Consultant, Author and Founder of Adaptive Path.His book, co-authored with Kristin Skinner, Organisational Design for Design Orgs is a go-to book for so many Designers, Design and non-design Leaders.   In our conversation, we cover specifically the difference between Tech-First and Legacy Organisations in how they see Design within their organisational structure, what difference this makes to the way they invest in and support Design, what this means for newly minted design executives.  We touch on themes that I covered with both Jose Dos Santos and Clive Grinyer in earlier episodes about the blockers that Design-Leaders face on the way to the c-suite.This is a conversation about the mindset, skills, attention and orientation of executive leadership and what Design needs to ‘get over’ (sometimes itself and sometimes others) in order to achieve that. SHOW LINKS & RESOURCES:I referenced an article that Peter published recently on the focus and role of a Design Executive which is really useful to remind Senior Design Executives what is expected of the executive role.Other ways to connect and follow Peter's thinking:Peter Merholz on LinkedInPeters Personal Website contains his writing and musings on humanising DesignOrg Design for Design Orgs the website contains updated reflections on the topic of Design Orgs and Design Leadership and is worth followingPeter has his own podcast - co-hosted with Jesse James Garrett - call Finding Our Way that is absolutely worth adding to your regular downloads - I'm a subscriber and find it invaluable.subscribe to the Business x Design Newsletter hereand connect with your show host Martin Dowson on LinkedIn - we really welcome feedback from our listeners so do get in touch!
Clive Grinyer - RCA - The role of Design Education in Preparing Emerging Designers for Design in Business
Oct 4 2021
Clive Grinyer - RCA - The role of Design Education in Preparing Emerging Designers for Design in Business
In this episode I talk with Clive Grinyer, Head of Service Design at the Royal College of Art, founder of Tangerine, and previously Design Director at IDEO-Samsung, Orange, Cisco and Barclays Bank.  We discuss the role that Design Education plays in maturing Designers for the workplace, how Design disciplines and the business value of Design has evolved over the years and remind ourselves of the foundational principles in Design Education that remain true for Todays business confident Designer. We also touch on the particular challenges and tensions between Strategic and Production levels of Design and why both are necessary. Clive may have started his career in Agencies and even founded one, where he and Jony Ive worked together on early strategic Designs for Apple, but it is his passion (which he shares with Jony) for bringing Design in-house, despite the challenges, that shines through in the work he has done.  He now has a responsibility at the RCA for helping prepare new emerging Designers for the world of work and how he does that is a reflection on his experience with the Industry and a lesson for us all...Clive Grinyer on LinkedInClive's personal websiteService Design at the Royal College of Artsubscribe to the Business x Design Newsletter here and connect with your show host Martin Dowson  on LinkedIn - we really welcome feedback from our listeners so do get in touch!
Dr Anne Stenros - Lost & Found - The Auteur of Design
Oct 4 2021
Dr Anne Stenros - Lost & Found - The Auteur of Design
My guest in this Episode, Dr Anne Stenros, is the former CDO of Helsinki, Design Director of KONE and Professor of Design Business Management. She is an Architect and Multi-Disciplinary Designer whose family steeped her in Design from an early age to the extent that it really is a part of her.Anne was introduced to me because she has a perspective on the role of the Design Leader, having written about the many types of CDO and she has deep experience leading Design within a commercial and societal context.  Anne' reflects on what has been lost from Design, the Auteurship of Design and I found it a timely counter-balance to my call for more Business Acumen in Design Executives and Leaders.  We clearly can not lose the essence of what inspires us in our Design Vocations.  Whilst we seek to make design more understandable we can not lose sight of the unique value it brings.  What stands out for me in our interview is the way that Anne is integrating multiple perspectives, the history of what has gone before us and considering how to apply that now.  Dr Anne Stenros on LinkedIn Dr Anne Stenros on TwitterWe will update the show notes once Anne's Paper Lost & Found is published. Anne mentions Biophilia in her interview and while there is a lot of very recent talks and papers on this she referenced in our conversations pre/post interview Edward Wilsons work - so if you want to dive back into the history of this one:Edward Wilson: Biophilia (1984) https://www.amazon.com/Biophilia-Edward-Wilson/dp/0674074424subscribe to the Business x Design Newsletter here and connect with your show host Martin Dowson  on LinkedIn - we really welcome feedback from our listeners so do get in touch!