The Design Conductors: A Must-Read for Design (and Business) Leaders / John Calhoun / Ep. #226

What is the secret to consistently delivering high-quality work, day in and day out...

Recently, I was chatting with my neighbours who run a bespoke interior design and manufacturing business.

They make truly stunning, customised pieces for the upper market.

It's easy to think their success hinges on exceptional craftsmanship, which is surely part of it.

But what really keeps their business running smoothly is something far more fundamental.

In my conversation with them, we agreed that most of it comes down to things like having the right supplies available, making sure everything in its place so it can be found quickly, that tools in tip-top shape, and even something as simple as having lunch prepared so you don't have to worry about it.

These basic and somewhat "boring" conditions, are what enable them to deliver consistently high-quality work. Without them, production would be a slog, quality would be all over the map, and let's face it, they probably wouldn't be in business for very long.

We often take these kinds of conditions for granted. When things are running like a well-oiled machine, we assume that's just how it's supposed to be.

But you, as a service design professional, know that the conditions for delivering your best work are often far from guaranteed.

In fact, it can often feel like your organization is actively making your job harder, not easier.

This brings us to the question: What would it take to create the ideal conditions for service design to achieve its maximum impact? And how can we actually put those conditions in place?

Well, as you might have guessed already, that's where Design Operations (aka DesignOps) comes in.

Getting started with DesignOps (or scaling it) can be a real challenge, especially in organizations that don't have a strong design heritage.

But the good news is that John Calhoun and Rachel Posman have done the heavy lifting for us.

They've gathered best practices from experienced DesignOps professionals and compiled them into a brand-new book "The Design Conductors".

This book promises to help you kickstart or scale your DesignOps efforts more effectively, make a bigger impact, and sidestep common pitfalls.

The result? Making your life as a service design professional a whole lot easier!

So, with this foresight, we of course need to know more about this book.

And you guessed it, that's exactly what this episode is all about.

Here's already one key insight from the conversation: Every organization is already doing design operations. Most are just doing it unconsciously and missing out on the benefits. Yeah, there's a lot of low-hanging fruit waiting to be picked...

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 226

04:00 Book Title Revealed

05:00 Defining DesignOps

06:30 Starting the DesignOps Journey

08:30 Realizing it's DesignOps

10:30 Inside Design Operations

13:00 DesignOps IS Design

16:00 Honing the Craft (Iteration)

21:30 Ideal Book Audience & Origins

26:00 Book Feedback

28:00 Why Write the Book Now?

31:45 Book Structure Evolution

40:00 Favorite Writing Part

42:30 Deciding Book Content

45:30 Defining Success & Measurement

50:30 Knowing You're on Track

53:00 Current State of DesignOps

56:00 AI as a Roadblock

57:30 AI as an Opportunity

59:30 Questions While Writing

1:02:30 What Was Left Out

1:04:30 A Question to Ponder

1:06:30 Get the Book

1:07:30 Discount & Giveaway

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncalhoun/
• https://www.thedesignconductors.com/

[ Discount Code ]

Use "ServiceDesign15" to get 15% off the book. Valid till May 31, 2025. Redeemable at https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/design-operations/

[ Signed Copy Contest ]

Leave a comment on this episode (via YouTube or Spotify) to enroll in the contest. We will pick a random entry on May 8th, 2025. Please respond within 24 hours if you have won to claim your prize.

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

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