Summary
This talk explores the intersection of design, culture, and the operational challenges faced by organizations in implementing effective systems and processes. The speakers emphasize starting with self-reflection and actionable insights within existing structures as key to overcoming complexities. They argue that design work is fundamentally tied to culture change, suggesting that reflective practices and even humor can help facilitate this shift. Audience members raise critical questions about the pressures of time and expectations in enterprise settings, where quick fixes often clash with the need for thorough and thoughtful innovation. The panelists advocate for transparency about what can realistically be accomplished in given timeframes, while also discussing the potential for both incremental improvements and radical innovations when the organizational culture is receptive. They highlight the importance of maintaining separate teams for current operations and future projects to ensure sustained innovation without getting bogged down by legacy system challenges. Overall, the session underscores the necessity of patience, communication, and building a supportive community within organizations to foster transformative change.
Key Insights
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Start innovation with self-reflection and form a hypothesis.
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Utilize existing resources to demonstrate capabilities and foster relationships.
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Design work is intrinsically linked to culture change within organizations.
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Incorporate reflective practices and humor to facilitate cultural shifts.
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Be honest about the time required for meaningful design improvements.
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Work only with organizations willing to engage in long-term projects.
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Focus on incremental changes as a pathway to innovation.
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Maintaining separate teams for current and future projects helps prevent stagnation.
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Evaluate the balance of resources between maintaining legacy systems and developing new solutions.
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Connect with champions of innovation to strengthen internal networks.
Notable Quotes
"Ooh, I say start with yourself. It's a great place to get a hypothesis and then prove yourself wrong or right."
"If we take some old presidential advice to do what you can, where you are, with what you have, that's a great way to show that you can actually deliver."
"We forget that enterprise work is essentially culture change."
"Culture change has been shown to be movable through reflective thought, through art, comedy."
"Radical innovation is actually right at your fingertips by connecting systems in ways they've never seen."
"There's a thing about mortgaging your future. If you create a separate team to work on the future, you have to keep that team focused."
"If you're spending more resource maintaining the past than you are creating the future, you're probably doing the wrong thing."
"Software needs to be subjected to a performance review and bad leadership is letting underperforming software hang around."
"It's important to deliver as well as possible within the bounds that you have."
"You have to be honest about what can we actually achieve."
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