PROVE IT OR INVENT IT

An article by Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman B-school in Toronto, discusses with powerful insight the conflicting cultures of design and business. Targeted at business leaders, Mr. Martin argues the following;

"Design, in short, is becoming an ever more important engine of corporate profit: It's no longer enough simply to outperform the competition; to thrive in a world of ceaseless and rapid change, businesspeople have to outimagine the competition as well. They must begin to think--to become--more like designers."

Yet the tension between between business-as-usual and business-by-design is not new. Mr. Martin's deep understanding of the physiology of both businesspeople and designer allows him to highlight the challenges of this relationship in terms at a personal level.

"Managing the yin and yang of business-as-usual and business-by-design means striking a balance between any number of countervailing impulses: Give people the freedom to follow their nose, but hold them accountable for their performance. Set a high bar, but recognize that failure is an unavoidable consequence of pushing into new territory. Do everything possible not just to thrill your customers but also to wring costs and efficiencies out of vendors and suppliers. The biggest challenge for all of us, designers and businesspeople alike, is to become equally adept at quantifying the now and intuiting what's next. There's simply no other way to win."

Full article from Fast Company
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