How the Best Design Leaders Get to the Top: Insights into the Top Design Studios Success

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How the Best Get to the Top

Insights into the Top Design Studios Success

16,000U.S. Census

“About half of all new establishments survive

five years”

The Small Business Administration

“Only a 1/3 will survive to 10 years”

The Small Business Administration

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Get Out Before It’s Too Late

and other cautionary tales

Not just survivors but leaders

Digital Design Leaders

16,000

U.S. Census

16,000

U.S. Census

Vision Skills

Culture

Values

Talent

LeadershipMoney

Balance

Planning

75 interviews 45+ hrs video

225,000+ words 60+ surveys

1 long bus trip in a skirt

Qualitative & Quantitative

and we’re only half way there.

So why bother?

For one, it pays more…

and you’ll be happier…

…but only if you’re an above-average entrepreneur.

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It only makes sense if you’re one of the best.

Do designers make good business leaders?

Nah!11%

5%

37%

47%

Possibly

Very likely

Definitely

But it doesn’t really matter what your job

description says.

DD

“Just because you’re a Dive Master, doesn’t mean you have mastered the diving business.”

- Guy Fotherby

“Just because you’re a master designer doesn’t mean you have mastered the design business.”

- Some Other Guy

Professional Business Managers

The Best Are:

"Until I was able to speak the CPA’s language, we were just

another cog in the wheel.”

- Carl White, Think Brownstone

“We hired a team of financial experts that helped us

understand how our enterprise clients do business”

- Aaron Quinn, eHouse Studio

A deep interest in the craft of running

a business.

Always improving on their skills

The Best Are:

How would you describe your

leadership skills?

Still got lots to learn 47%

16%

37% Pretty decent

This is where I shine!

“I usually like to warn people; I’m a really, really bad manager. But I’m a particularly good leader.”

- Matt Bertulli, Demac Media

Knowing what you’re good at and what needs attention

The Best Are:

Guiding their teams with vision and values

We are the very best!

“It starts with having values that are very specific, and then you

create a culture that values that.”

- Jon Lax, Teehan + Lax

“My leadership skill is visionary consensus. I provide a vision and I try to build consensus

around that vision”

- Karim Marucchi, Crowd Favorite

“Actions reveal the path. I’m here because I work fucking

hard and I can communicate.”

- Nancy Lyons, Clockwork

You inspire me to be a better person

Set a clear vision & values, then show

the way

The Best Are:

Actively involved in sales and marketing

Do you take an active role in sales?

No

5%

32%

16%

47% Yes, that’s the principles job!

Yes, but only because no one else wants to

Sometimes

“Saying you’re not in sales is an aspirational statement that has

nothing to do with reality.”

- Jennifer Dary, Plucky

Prioritize sales in good times and bad

The Best Are:

Focused but flexible

How would you describe your

leadership style?

Flexible on some things and immovable on others

Super adaptable. Call me a chameleon.

26%

74%

“I’m part of it, I get involved, to get my hands dirty, to assess things. But at the same time, I’m not a

micro-manager.”

- Neil McPhedran, Gray

Be clear and focused but be ready to adapt

The Best Are:

Evolving their Roles

“While I don’t get to write as much code as I used to, I’m becoming

increasingly comfortable and proficient in my revised role.”

- Bryan Mahoney, Dynamo

“I didn’t need to change my personality, I needed to

change my perspective on what my role was.”

- Dominic Bortolussi, The Working Group

The Best Are:

Embrace Tough Choices (but rely on advisors)

How do you make tough decisions?

Weight options then make the decision on my own

79%

21%

Discuss with advisors before moving forward

“I fully understand that I don’t have all the answers, nor will I

ever, nor do I want to.”

- Ethan Smith-Gillespie, The Program

“I’ve never really thought about myself in terms of leadership

but because I tell the truth there’s leadership in that.”

- Nancy Lyons, Clockwork

Rely on advisors and mentors to provide

perspective

The Best Are:

Curating Culture

How important is culture to your success?

Culture matters, I just don’t know how much.

79%

21%

Very important. Culture is everything.

“Putting a Foosball table in a room doesn’t create culture.

Culture is created by the people in the room at that time.”

- Warren Wilansky, Plank

“I realized the culture of the team wasn’t what I thought it should be and I realized that maybe that was because I wasn’t doing anything to shepherd it in

the direction I wanted it to go.”

- Alex King, Crowd Favorite

Gently guiding the culture without smothering it

The Best Are:

Finding balance and reducing stress

How do you find balance in your life?

What stress? I live for this

More work

Hit the bar

Exercise

Vacations

Scream and shout

Play with my kids

Other0 15 30 45 60

“As more of an introverted person I thrive on down time. So I’ll ensure that I will always have a certain

amount of time during a day or on a weekend that I can recharge myself.”

- Warren Wilansky, Plank

Building support and resources through

exercise, family and friends

The Best Are:

Building a Talent Pipeline

What is your approach to hiring new design talent?

Other

Hire young and train them

11%11%

21%37%

21%Job boards

No strategy for hiring :(

Our own network

“Hire people, not skills.”

- David Cancel, Driftt

“The core team actually seeks out other people that they want to work with and invite them in

to work on a project.”

- Carl Smith, nGen Works

Talent is like sales; you never stop working on

the pipeline

The Best Are:

Creating safe spaces for work and discussion

“There’s something lost in today’s electronic communication and that’s

the human aspect of just trying to make sure that we understand each

other; what’s important to each other.”

- Karim Marucchi, Crowd Favorite

How important is physical space to team success?

28%

72%

Somewhat Important

Very Important!

“We needed to take management into our own hands and become

proactive. Especially in communicating with the team.”

- Peter Kang, Barrell.

Safe, productive spaces to be creative

and supportive

British Cycling2010

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David Brailsford

DD D

DD DD

DD

1%

Adapted from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

Aggregation of Marginal Gains

Adapted from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

Aggregation of Marginal Pains

British Cycling2012/13

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Bradley Wiggins:

2012 Tour de France winner

British Olympic Team:

win 70% of cycling medals

Chris Froome:

2013 Tour de France winner

“Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day;

while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.”

— Jim Rohn

digitaldesignleadership.com

My grandmother, she had that business for like 40 years. She just

still just shrugs it off. She’s like, “You’re never gonna know what

the hell you’re doing.”

— Matt Bertulli, Demac Media

Thank you!

richard@freshtillsoil.com

@freshtilledsoil