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We hear a lot about design these days — in technology, in the boardroom, in every area of our lives. But what does that really mean?In the early part of the 20th century, industrial design meant making a new world of machines beautiful for humans, with finned automobiles and appliances that exuded warmth and familiarity. In our digital age, Apple has pioneered an emphasis on design that has brought the term outside of physical products and into the way a brand approaches its overall vision.
I was trained as a designer at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and that mindset has shaped the work we do at Airbnb. Rather than design a physical product, we design the service that delivers the experience — a combination of digital and analogue mediums. On a larger scale, what we are designing is how members of our community experience and share with one another in the real world. As the co-founder and chief product officer, I have have seen firsthand how design informs leadership.
Lessons learnt from design icons such as Charles and Ray Eames, the duo behind the Eames chair and hundreds of other design innovations, are as useful in leading Airbnb as they would be at any design studio. Here are a few of the insights I took straight from their design process:
Never delegate understanding
It is easy as a leader to get removed from what is happening in your company, with your product, and with your people. As Charles Eames put it, if you are designing a chair, you have to talk to who is going to build the chair, who is going to buy the chair, and who is going to maintain the chair.
Leadership is the same. One must understand what the people around you want and what they need to develop. You do this by talking to them. As with design, to lead is to be in a state of inquiry, to ask and understand. I have learnt to ask questions of my team, to accept bad news and admit my own mistakes, and listen when colleagues speak.
Connections, connections, connections
Leadership is the same. One must understand what the people around you want and what they need to develop. You do this by talking to them. As with design, to lead is to be in a state of inquiry, to ask and understand. I have learnt to ask questions of my team, to accept bad news and admit my own mistakes, and listen when colleagues speak.
Connections, connections, connections
When designing, the Eameses focused their attention on “where the materials meet”; for instance, where the metal legs of a chair connect to the moulded plastic bottom. These are the points of greatest tension and where the most support is needed.
Similarly, I have learnt to focus my attention on where different disciplines, departments, and functions meet. Making sure that operations connects with design, design connects with engineering, engineering connects with customer experience: these are the critical tension points in the company. If there is not clear communication, the figurative chair of our company could collapse.
Similarly, I have learnt to focus my attention on where different disciplines, departments, and functions meet. Making sure that operations connects with design, design connects with engineering, engineering connects with customer experience: these are the critical tension points in the company. If there is not clear communication, the figurative chair of our company could collapse.
Bases are under appreciated
When the Eameses were designing a travelling art exhibit, they ran into the problem that the bases for many of the pieces were too heavy to transport. So they designed hollow bases that could be filled with sand upon arrival. They built the foundationn necessary to the task.
In any company, foundations are important in whatever you are bringing to market. It does not matter how beautiful or useful it could be if it does not stand or is not stable. This is also true in the foundation you build with your team. There needs to be compassion, trust, collaboration, and a willingness to disagree in order to facilitate success.
Empower your people to find solutions
Empower your people to find solutions
The Eameses’ granddaughter, Llisa Demetrios, tells the story of when she did not like borscht at dinner, Charles asked her: “What would you have done differently?” She admired that, despite her complaining, she was engaged to help fix the problem.
Being a leader does not mean being the one that fixes everything. It means empowering others to find solutions. To design is to look at the world and say, “Why is it like that? How would I make it different?”
“Design thinking” is talked about a lot these days as a framework for innovation. But to me, it is not just another tool to come up with the latest hip product. Instead, it is a way of looking at the world and pushing to find better answers. When leaders embrace design, they are able not only to ask how things can be different, but to empower others to ask the same question.
Joe Gebbia
Being a leader does not mean being the one that fixes everything. It means empowering others to find solutions. To design is to look at the world and say, “Why is it like that? How would I make it different?”
“Design thinking” is talked about a lot these days as a framework for innovation. But to me, it is not just another tool to come up with the latest hip product. Instead, it is a way of looking at the world and pushing to find better answers. When leaders embrace design, they are able not only to ask how things can be different, but to empower others to ask the same question.
Joe Gebbia
via Financial Times
