Summary
The session is centered on resilience, defined here as the capacity to withstand or quickly recover from challenges. It begins with Corey sharing his personal story of resilience during a difficult job search from 2023 to 2024, which had a positive outcome with his hiring at Adobe. Daniel then discusses the importance of resilience in everyday work scenarios, emphasizing team collaboration and co-creating operational models amidst uncertainty. Deanna Smith, Laura Gatewood, and Lane Pro K contribute practical insights on optimizing workflows through tools like Slack and fostering empathy among team members. A midday panel with Corey, Deanna, Laura, Lane, and the host synthesize these themes. The day closes with Silka Bcha, ALA Weinberg, and Zaria Cameron focusing on personal and moral authenticity to enhance both self and teammate wellbeing. Together, these stories and discussions illustrate how resilience is not just surviving difficulties but improving the practice and personal connections within design operations.
Key Insights
-
•
Resilience includes both enduring challenges and learning from them to improve practices.
-
•
Corey’s successful job search illustrates resilience translating into career progression.
-
•
Collaborative operating models help teams stay resilient despite unpredictable circumstances.
-
•
Tool optimization, such as using Slack effectively, can reduce friction and support resilience.
-
•
Empathy and gentleness towards teammates enhance resilience within teams.
-
•
Sharing personal resilience stories fosters inspiration and collective learning.
-
•
Midday panels help integrate diverse perspectives on resilience for holistic understanding.
-
•
True resilience requires embracing humanity and morality in professional settings.
-
•
Design operations face unique resilience challenges due to fast-changing environments.
-
•
Building resilience is a continuous process involving individual and team growth.
Notable Quotes
"Resilience means the capacity to withstand or recover quickly from difficulties or toughness."
"Corey’s story of resilience during his 2023 to 2024 job search ends well because we accepted his offer at Adobe."
"Co-creating operating models with our teams helps us remain resilient even when things get a little hairy and squirrely."
"Optimization and using Slack a little better can make us gentler to each other."
"The stories you’re gonna hear today really reflect the world we live in, design operations, and resilience."
"We can make ourselves and our practice better because of what we’ve learned on our journeys of resilience."
"Midday panel brings together Corey, Deanna, Laura, and Lane to talk about everything wonderful so far in the day."
"Being true to our humanity and morality lets us better ourselves and our teammates."
"Resilience is about more than surviving; it’s about growth in our practice and relationships."
"Today’s theme is resilience expressed through inspiring personal and professional stories."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"The System Usability Scale’s question about needing a technical person to use the system is confusing and inaccurate for screen reader users."
Sam ProulxSUS: A System Unusable for Twenty Percent of the Population
December 9, 2021
"We’re trying to build a design operations role that balances top-down governance with bottom-up community building."
Michael LandEstablishing Design Operations in Government
February 18, 2021
"We had to push through analysis paralysis and trust our guts as customer-facing teams that knew the business."
Shipra KayanHow we Built a VoC (Voice of the Customer) Practice at Upwork from the Ground Up
September 30, 2021
"Communication matters—sending an email to an executive with spelling mistakes can ruin your respect."
Ian SwinsonDesigning and Driving UX Careers
June 8, 2016
"The persona of a goalkeeper is helping to triage and prioritize strategy and work for the executive."
Isaac HeyveldExpand DesignOps Leadership as a Chief of Staff
September 8, 2022
"Design takes on a new role as governance practitioner, overseeing branding, content, and accessibility."
Amy EvansHow to Create Change
September 25, 2024
"Super intelligence is the power to gather and share knowledge consistently to ensure no gaps in communication."
Kate Koch Prateek KalliFlex Your Super Powers: When a Design Ops Team Scales to Power CX
September 30, 2021
"It’s impossible to be angry with a warm cup of tea in your hand."
Dave GrayLiminal Thinking: Sense-making for systems in large organizations
May 14, 2015
"Durable insights can emerge organically based on usage and referencing patterns in the system."
Matt DuignanAtomizing Research: Trend or Trap
March 30, 2020
