Nickname: Josh W

Review: Perhaps these new graduates with their back pocket revolutions should be set up along side the existing structure, and expected to justify their changes as part of design, in other words moving the buy-in stage up to specification, allowing their models to be adjusted by ground-level experience. But they shouldn't be powerless; the management should insure that they have enough ability to make change to force the existing structure to listen to them, and insure they do it right. You shouldn't change something until you know why it's good, and then show how your plan keeps that while improving on it's weaknesses.

Date reviewed: Mar 17, 2009 3:28 PM

Nickname: jk

Review: Comment on part II: Very interesting. "Decision cascade" is a great term in this context. Don't we hear s.th. else knocking too? the renaissance of "process" in management.

Date reviewed: Sep 2, 2005 7:34 AM

Nickname: jk

Review: Let's not overestimate the power of design. We all know that innovative products--just as innovative management decissions--in most cases take a little time to attract followers. This buy-in time should be given. Still i think: Process is the key. A process that can "prototype decisions"-- if you want to say so--and that gives the "decision users" the chance to actually buy into the thing, to make it their own. When I was working on my first design management project in the automotive industry, i was amazed: amazed by the fact how perfect this world market leader was producing "management" (!!!!) and how comparingly imperfect they were producing cars. Coordinating international interdisciplinary workshops (for example everything always works--from the last minute jet helicopters to the kosher food). But try to coordinate the corporate marketing, the market research, and the design studio in working together on a car. Try :) It is quite different.

Date reviewed: Aug 31, 2005 12:04 PM

Nickname: ipod

Review: If corporations do away with hierarchy, bureaucracy, and top down hiring practices, then I might agree that good design saves the world. Until then, corporate decisions will lie in the hands of recent college grads who have little real world skills. Whatever happened to work hard and gain respect? We have managers straight out of school in charge of building teams to re-engineer and architect entire menu structures while they don't even know how to illustrate the most basic workflows or use case scenarios. Design is a language. If leaders can't speak the same language as their designers, then design is just cosmetic.

Date reviewed: Aug 30, 2005 8:27 PM

Nickname: Pepper

Review: Interesting ... especially after I recently spent a couple of years at a Fortune 500 company obsessed with Six Sigma. Talk about a methodology to forstall actions in the name of data- driven decisionmaking. At the core of many large companies is an opportuntity to gain more through promoting oneself while looking for the next move up the ladder instead of making the innumerable small and invisible decisions that characterize effective leaders. Perhaps this is why the modern business press is replete with articles on leadership -- because there is so little of it around in many companies. Mike in Minnesota

Date reviewed: Aug 30, 2005 5:15 AM