Design is about making change.
There’s a revolution going on. Design can help you deal with it. But to exploit the power of design, you need to change your organisation. If that scares the hell out of you, you’re on the right track.
Business models are collapsing. Gatekeepers and barriers to entry are disappearing. Broadcasting is dying, dragging advertising down with it. You can’t buy attention any more. Welcome to the internet age.
Become an agent of change.
Design can’t help your organisation unless you decide to become an agent of change. Yes, you. Be what Seth Godin calls a linchpin: create work that matters by challenging the status quo. Be brave.
Get a web strategy.
Who owns the website, Marketing or IT? Trick question. Web operations are critical to your business. If your web team is driven by internal power struggles, it can’t focus on strategic objectives.
You need a web strategy. You also need formal web governance, an appropriately staffed web team, and a measurement practice. Don’t take our word for it: read Lisa Welchman’s business case. She’s the expert.
Don’t command. Collaborate.
To make meaningful design happen, you need the help of web professionals. People who know the craft, the technology, and the culture. Command-and-control doesn’t work with this crowd. If you want to make that change, you need to collaborate.