Have you ever thought about...

What a therapist, a grandma, and an organ donor teach you about service design?

I know, this might sound like the start of a strange joke, but it gets to the heart of a big truth about our work.

We invest a lot of time perfecting our journey maps, blueprints, and personas.

But as we know, the challenges we work on won't be solved by a deliverable.

They're solved through invisible "tools" like subtle influence, creating space for others, and building strategic relationships.

So, where do you find these tools? Well, this episode is a great start.

This episode is part of our "Inside Service Design" series, where we explore the real, unpolished practice of driving change from within organizations.

And just like in the previous episodes you get to hear two brilliant in-house professionals, share some of their most powerful, non-traditional strategies. This time we're joined by Irina Damascan and Gina Mendolia.

Gina walks us through her concept of "Setting the Trap" for engagement, and how she draws inspiration from the roles of therapists, coaches, and even grandmas to master the art of creating space and enabling teams to connect the dots themselves.

Irina introduces a powerful model for influence she calls the "Organ Donor Chain," a strategic way to build networks of reciprocity by doing "favors" that enable change across the organization, often in unexpected ways.

I have to say, it was refreshing to hear about effective mental models that go beyond design-as-usual, which aren't just theories but truly help to design better services.

Want to add some (unconventional) tools that help you drive change to your toolkit? Grab your notebook and join us for this conversation.

What's the most unconventional place you've found inspiration for your work? Maybe a different profession, a hobby, a movie? Share your inspiration in the comments on YouTube and let's continue the conversation there.

Keep making a positive impact!

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome

04:30 Who is Ben

06:00 How Heydn got his role

07:15 What Heydn is currently doing

08:15 Ben working at a financial services firm

10:15 who Ben is reporting to

11:30 where Autodesk sits

13:15 what a good looks like for Heydn

16:30 indicators of success

17:30 what success looks like for Ben

23:30 Why Context Determines Your SD Strategy

27:00 Ben's topic: the first 90 days

30:45 Heydn's key takeaway

35:00 Making Your Map Complicated on Purpose

37:00 Ben's takeaway

43:00 the last time he has done the first 90 days

46:45 Heydn reacting

48:45 Learning things the hard way

51:00 Ben's hard lessons

55:00 what keeps him motivated

57:30 what will Heydn get back there

1:00:00 Ben to summarize

1:00:30 Heydn's final words of wisdom

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/heydn
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmccammon/

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

[4. FIND THE SHOW ON]

• Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-06-youtube
• Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-06-spotify
• Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-06-apple
• Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-06-snipd