Summary
How do you create an agile, customer-centric team of designers, developers, product managers, and user experience specialists whose instinct is to make, not talk? How do you ensure that this team’s output remains focused on business goals, not the technology of the week? And most critically, how do you successfully integrate this team of do-ers into a larger, more traditionally structured organization? In this talk, Husani Oakley shares tips and best practices honed over 20 years of building teams that build best-in-class experiences for clients large and small.
Key Insights
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Creating products requires collaboration between creative and technical teams.
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Cultural values should inform team processes and project approaches.
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Teams must be held accountable to values to ensure a shared commitment to goals.
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Fostering personal relationships among team members enhances collaboration.
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Recognizing the human element in technology is vital to product success.
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Effective processes should reflect core values rather than exist for their own sake.
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Talent can be found outside the usual industry suspects; diversity of thought is essential.
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A quantitative approach in hiring helps align recruits with cultural values.
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Remembering the end users is crucial to product development.
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Empathy should drive the design of digital tools and services.
Notable Quotes
"We make things for human beings, regardless of where we work."
"We needed to solve this, we needed to solve it quick."
"Culturally, we were focused on the idea people, not the ones who actually made things."
"How do you have an idea that gets to the client without knowing how it’s made?"
"Talent is everywhere; when you look for talent, you find talent."
"You can always bypass it if you want, but at least you're going with something that's more than just your gut."
"The fix seems so simple, but when you're in the mix, you don't quite understand."
"We realized that makers and builders weren't valued as much as the thinkers and talkers."
"If you go on skepticism, you probably won’t find great people."
"Our hands make all of the things, and our brains form the teams that run the hand that makes the things."
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