What is the thing biggest stopping you from doing meaningful work...

When I listen to the service design professionals around me, it's often not the tools or methods they have access to.

Rather, and you might recognize this, its often the organizational culture that's the biggest roadblock.

Culture isn't the set of company values that are displayed on the wall. If only things were so simple

Culture is materialized by actions. It's made up of the lived experiences of the people doing the work day in and day out.

So, if the existing org culture is a roadblock, how can we change it?

Because as we know, if there is one thing that's great at resisting change, it's culture.

And do we even have a place here as service design professionals. Isn't this the field of expertise of strategy consultants?

Well, our guest, Dan Szuc has been working on this question for the last 20 years.

He's so deep into it that he written two books on this topic Make Meaningful Work and Make Meaningful Culture.

And the good news is that, yes culture is 100% an area where we need to play a role.

We can look at culture as a design material that can be shaped.

In this episode we explore how that works in practice, where you even start and the pitfalls that you should be mindful.

We get into practical techniques like "practice spotting", talk about "moments that matter" and explore the influence of leadership (and lack of it).

This episode is for everyone who want's to contribute to making "shitty" work environments into ones that are better equipped to help you do meaningful work!

Culture often feels like a huge, intangible and sometimes even scary topic to touch.

I hope that this conversation help see that there are small, practical, tangible actions you can do to start shaping a better culture today and the confidence to do so!

Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.

Be well,

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 239

04:00 Culture at work

04:30 Moving Beyond "Soft Skills"

06:45 Professional Acting to Organizational Culture

10:30 Introducing SPARKLE

13:00 the SPARKLE Acronym

16:00 Small Acts, Big Change

23:30 Power of Practice Spotting

30:30 Why People Hesitate to Change

34:00 Rules vs. Practice

41:00 How to do practice spotting

45:30 Challenge of Engagement

50:30 Introducing New Practices to Your Team

54:30 Small Practice to Organizational Shift

57:00 Best case transformation

1:00:15 What Dan is Working on Next

1:02:30 Resources

1:04:30 Question to ponder

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielszuc
• MMW LinkedIn Newsletter - https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/make-meaningful-work-7327884648296972288/
• Apogee - https://www.apogeehk.com/
• Make Meaningful Work - https://www.makemeaningfulwork.com/
• MMC Book - https://www.amazon.com/dp/173792823X

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

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

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I recently started playing Padel...

And like with all my new hobbies, I enjoy getting good gear.

So after some research, I treated myself to a racket from the higher end of the market.

Now, when I'm on the court playing and lose, I could (might) complain that my racket sucks.

That it was "false advertising" because all the specs indicate that this is almost an unbeatable racket.

But let's be honest, we both know that's probably not the case.

It’s far more likely that I just don't yet know how to use this new "tool" to its fullest potential.

You may be surprised to learn that this is strikingly similar to what happens in many organizations.

They invest in building a service design capability, but after a while, they complain that it’s not delivering the game-changing results they hoped for.

So, does service design suck?

Well, according to the research our guest Giles Colborne has done, the answer is a definitive no. In fact, he found that companies with high design maturity grow at 9x times(!) the pace of everyone else.

The problem, as Giles argues, isn't the tool. It's the interface between the design team and the rest of the business.

It's like spending a small fortune on that pro-level racket, only to hold it upside down in the wrong hand, and then wonder why you're not winning any games.

When organizations bring in service design without creating the right conditions for success, they end up frustrated and disillusioned.

So, what can we do about it?

The go-to response I often see in our field is that we tend to shout louder, to do a "roadshow" and "educate" the business on our value. But Giles explains why this is actually often the least effective approach.

That's why in this episode, we explore how we can stop explaining the tool and start changing the way our organizations use it, making it easier for them to unlock its full potential.

What's great about this is that it helps shift the perception of service design from an afterthought, a "nice-to-have" for keeping customers happy, to an engine for growth. And once that clicks, it becomes a whole different game. Now, I'm just hoping the same will be true for my padel skills...

Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact.

Be well,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 238

01:00 Proving Measurable Impact

03:30 Design is seen as a 'Nice-to-Have'

05:00 The Board's View: Money First, UX Second

08:30 The Checkout Gail

11:00 Research: 9x Growth via Design Maturity

15:00 The "Messy Middle" is an Interface Problem

17:45 Stakeholder Trap: "Build Us One of These"

22:15 Strategy: Investigate, Don't Educate

26:30 Flipping the narrative

28:30 Why Benefits Don't Resonate

30:30 The "Gaslighting" Feeling

33:30 Design is Not Incompatible with Business

35:30 The Next Level: Culture and Governance

36:45 Example: Flipping Compliance

38:45 Process vs. Culture

32:00 Start Point: Ask About Business Goals

43:15 What the Org Really Values (Cost)

44:45 Tough Questions for Stakeholders

46:45 Anchoring CX in Governance

49:00 Our Role in Measurement

51:45 Mapping Value to Commander's Intent

54:00 The Uncomfortable Aspect of Rigor

57:30 Cultivating Confidence in Your Toolkit

59:45 Leadership Over Arrogance

1:03:00 3 Final Key Takeaways

1:06:30 Resource Use: Automation and AI

1:07:15 Question to Ponder

1:08:15 Resources

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• https://uk.linkedin.com/in/gilescolborne

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Do you ever wonder about the "so what?" of your journey maps...

To this day, I often see that journey mapping is treated as a "documentation" exercise.

Basically as a way to visualize our customers experiences. And while having that visual overview is useful, it's just the beginning.

As you probably know, the real challenge is turning that understanding into action that actually impacts your customers (and your business). Not a small challenge by any means.

That's why this episode of The Journey Management Playbook is fully dedicated to it.

We're already into episode six of the series, and if you haven't seen the previous ones, you can find the full playlist in the show notes.

So far, we've gone from defining a business challenge to using AI to generate and enrich insights. We’ve covered how to structure and simplify your journey to be more action-biased.

But all of that work is just a foundation.

The journey map we've created is a reflection of the current state, and the key question still remains: What do we do now?

In this episode, Tingting Lin from TheyDo and I finally answer that question. We dive into the crucial building blocks of opportunities and solutions, and you’ll see what is key to turning your journey maps from static documents into dynamic drivers of lasting business impact.

We also tackle a few common pitfalls to avoid like:

• Jumping to solutions before defining opportunities.
• Cheating with the opportunity statement.
• The tendency to over-document.
• And turning journey management into a separate workflow.

As you'll hear, this episode is again packed with practical advice to help you move beyond mapping to true journey management in the most effective way.

What are your biggest challenges in moving from insights to action? Leave a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or reach out on LinkedIn. We'd love to hear from you.

Enjoy and keep making a positive impact!

Be well,

~ Marc

---[1. LINKS 🔗 ] ---

👉 Playbook Slides - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/ofmtc

✅ Sign up for TheyDo - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/prcde

--- [ 2. GUIDE ] ---

01:00 Recap from previous episode

04:00 Core Problem with Static Journey Maps

06:00 Introducing the "Solutions" Building Block

10:00 Defining "Opportunities"

12:00 The triple diamond workflow

15:30 Real-world opportunity

16:00 Why we separate Opportunities & Solution

18:30 Where to look for the opportunity first

22:00 Off-boarding Problem as a Case Study

24:30 Connecting the Problem to the Solution Quickly

28:00 Distinguishing Between Problems and Opportunities

32:00 Pain Point to an Opportunity

36:30 Importance of Language in Naming Opportunities

38:00 Debate About Using AI in this Process

40:00 Who are we writing these opportunities for

45:00 Connecting Opportunities to Strategic Objectives

47:00 Summary of Opportunities

49:00 Transitioning to "Solution" Blocks

51:00 Example of a Concrete Solution

59:45 Practicality of Using Solution Types

1:02:00 Defining Statuses

1:06:00 Connecting Solutions to Opportunities

1:08:00 Final Summary

--- [ 3. FIND THE SHOW ON ] ---

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The things service design professionals have to deal with...

Okay, so your boss tells you drive to a place with “a great view,” hands a full tank of gas, and wished good luck. Oh and by the way, we need to be there in 30-days, no compass, no map.

Now take a guess, how likely is it that after a month you'll have arrived at exactly the location they had in mind. I'd say anything higher than 0 is an optimistic perspective.

This sounds pretty absurd, right? But I'm not making it up.

But how often have you been in that exact situation at work?

The destination is vague, nobody can tell you where you are today, and there’s no way to know if your actions are actually moving you in the right direction.

And the cherry on top is when you're asked for hard evidence that you're getting closer, while someone else gets praised for reporting a higher average speed than last week. Yeah, but dude, are we even moving in the right direction? So painful and frustrating.

If you didn’t know better, you might think this is the plot of a bad comedy. But based on the conversations I'm having, this isn't an exception; it's the daily reality for most of you.

So, what are we going to do about it?

Even though the situation might feel a bit hopeless, the good news is that it’s certainly not.

Last year, I had Stacey Barr on the show to talk about measurement. She’s spent her career becoming an expert in using measures as a truth seeker.

Guess what that conversation became the most-watched episode of the year.

In this episode, Stacey is back to show us how to untangle this mess.

There’s a remarkably simple process, that looks a lot like design, to get from vague goals to meaningful measures, clear targets, and effective actions.

It’s a method that gives you real leverage to achieve the impact you want to make.

So if you want to learn how to put measures in place that are actually meaningful, prove your work is moving the needle, and do it with more confidence, definitely don’t miss this episode.

What's becoming clear to me is that we’re actually really good at this. We thrive in scenarios where things are undefined. We know how to figure stuff out and iterate our way forward. So once you grasp that finding the right measurements is just another design challenge, you might actually start looking forward the process...

Enjoy and keep making a positive impact!

Be well

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 237

03:45 Measurement's surprising popularity

04:30 Stacey Barr on Service Design

06:00 Breaking down the measurement puzzle

09:00 Measuring for empowerment

10:00 addressing the gap

16:30 Company cultures

22:30 Beyond shipping stuff

23:30 The problem when starting with measures

24:00 What does influence actually mean

27:00 Reverse engineering the goal

29:00 The Net Promoter Score Trap

32:00 Measuring across silos

34:00 Challenge of individual KPIs and quotas

37:00 Strategies for creating paradigm shifts

40:30 Setting meaningful targets

45:45 Challenge of human-related data

52:45 defining and measuring the gap

56:45 Casuality vs correlation

01:1:45 The patience to shift big goals

1:03:45 The PUMP Results Map

1:04:15 Introducing PUMP Light

1:07:00 Where to Sign Up

1:07:45 Discount for the program

1:08:15 Question to ponder

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceybarr/
• The PuMP Lite Program - https://pump.academy/pumplite/
• https://pump.academy/

--- [ 3. PROMO ] ---

Use code SDS10 to get 10% off the PuMP Lite program, running November 11-13 and 25-26, 2025.

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Are you tired of proving the value of service design… over and over again?

Well, I'm happy to share that you're not alone. It's one of the most common frustrations I hear from professionals in our field.

You work hard, you get a win, you move the needle... and then the next project starts, and it feels like you're right back at square one, making the case all over again. Sound familiar.

Many of us feel stuck in this endless "prove it" loop, wondering how to get service design to move from a special invitation to a fundamental expectation.

So, how do you break the cycle? How do you build momentum that lasts?

That’s the challenge we take head on in this episode of our Inside Service Design series.

In this series we explore the real, unpolished practice of driving change from within organizations.

For this conversation, I was joined by two brilliant in-house professionals, Nancy Samayoa and Sara Langston, who are deep in the reality of this work every day.

They share some honest and insightful perspectives on this struggle.

• Why service design can sometimes be perceived as a "threat" to the status quo.
• The moment they realized very few actually have seen service design at a true "scale" stage, and why that can feel so disheartening.
• And a powerful reframe: how to (re)define success by celebrating the small, daily, "invisible" wins that truly build momentum and prevent burnout.

As with all the conversations in this series what you'll be getting isn't just some interesting theory. It's a practical guide to shifting your mindset from chasing big, elusive victories to appreciating the daily progress that ultimately leads to lasting change.

So if you’re ready to hear how to play the long game and find sustainable ways to make an impact, this conversation is for you.

I'm curious, have you made a habit of celebrating the small, "invisible" wins? If so how are you doing that? And if no, what's stopping you?

Enjoy the conversation!

Be well,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to August Round Up

04:30 Sara's unexpected journey in service design

06:30 Unexpected transferability of skills

09:30 Nancy's path from architecture to service design

12:30 "Gung-ho" applicant and a surprising hiring manager

14:30 Challenges of working on in-house projects

17:30 The "ooh," "ah," and "oh no" moments

19:30 How service designers are approached for projects

20:30 Service design as a perceived "threat" in government

23:00 Linking service design activities to positive outcomes

25:30 Getting past the "endless proof" stage

28:30 Garden metaphor = design maturity

31:45 Challenge of getting from the "prove" to the "scale" stage

33:45 Risk of service design

36:30 Applying models without feeling disheartened

38:00 What scaffolding looks like in service design

40:30 Focusing on celebrating the wins

42:00 Why we tend to focus on problems over success stories

43:15 Redefining success and progress

44:00 How Nancy views her wins

46:00 The Circle as an extended SD team

48:15 Sara's expectations

51:15 Nancy's service design expectations

52:45 SD skill: Relationship building

56:45 Treating stakeholder relationships like a research project

57:00 Other key skill: Curiosity

59:30 Question to ponder

1:02:15 Final words of wisdom from Sara

1:03:30 Final words of wisdom from Nancy

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-designer/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-langston/

--- [ 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-05-youtube
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I'm sure you've seen the news...

At the outset, the recent announcement of the "America by Design" initiative and the new "National Design Studio" is quite exciting. It’s a huge spotlight on our field.

But it also feels a bit strange, doesn't it?

Because it wasn’t so long ago that the US government had 18F, an entire organization dedicated to improving the user experience of its services. And then, in early 2025, it was deemed "non-essential" and unceremoniously "deleted".

One of the people right in the middle of it all was our guest, Ron Bronson. As the Head of Design at 18F, he was at the forefront of applying service design within the complexities of government.

So, you can imagine that when Ron sat down with me for the conversation, it wasn’t just a walk in the park.

We dove into some juicy questions that challenge the very core of our practice.

1. Is service design too opaque and stuck in its own craft?
2. What if we reframed our work as a form of “design as repair”?
3. Why might AI actually be the biggest blessing for service design yet?

I can assure you, this is a conversation that will get you out of your comfort zone in the best way possible.

So, if you’re ready to be challenged with some fresh perspectives, make sure you tune in to this one.

Even though we tackle some pretty huge topics in the episode, Ron brings it all back to a simple, powerful idea right at the end of the conversation. Can you take a guess? (Hint: it’s about zooming in, not out ).

Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact!

Be well,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 236

04:00 Who is Ron

05:30 Service design is too opaque

07:45 Importing service design to the US

09:30 Conversations designers should be having

10:00 The "best service experience" during a crisis

12:50 The Trojan Horse strategy for designers

14:30 Creating a "pull" for service design from within

17:30 The power of doing "uninvited" work

23:00 Examples of a golden nugget

26:00 Trust as a core deliverable

27:00 What students get wrong about design

29:45 The gap between conferences and reality

32:00 Idea of consequence design

34:30 Design as repair: A new mindset

37:30 The "forward deployed" designer.

39:30 What would change if we adopt this mindset

45:00 Making service design ubiquitous

46:30 Right way to frame a problem

48:30 Are organizations in the service business?

51:30 The blessing & curse of "doing the work"

54:15 How he hopes service design would look in 3-5 years

57:00 AI: A blank space for service designers

59:15 Questions to ask about AI

1:01:14 Malicious path vs. ideal path

1:02:45 A question to ponder

1:04:30 What can you fix

1:07:15 Get in touch

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronbronson/
• BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/ronbronson.com
• Website - https://www.ronbronson.design/
• https://consequencedesign.org/

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All you want to do is run away…

Okay, so you’re standing in a boardroom overlooking a beautiful vineyard, leading a workshop for a major client, and the only thing that's going through your mind is: How do I get out of there?

This was a real moment for this episode's guest, Ben Rennie.

And it's a feeling that I think many of us can relate to, even if the setting is different (vineyards sound good though).

We’ve all heard stories of people who achieve incredible success. The entrepreneur, the athlete, the professional, only to end up feeling empty and miserable.

They had their eye on "the prize," did everything to get it, but upon achieving their goal, they end up more unhappy than before.

Well, this story is about what happens next.

Ben co-founded a design agency that, by all external measures, was a huge success.

He was working for leading brands and riding the wave.

But one day, during that exact workshop overlooking the vineyard, he had enough.

He quit his own agency.

That single decision sparked a new journey, one full of unknowns.

But one thing was certain: Ben was going to rebuild his life around work that was deeply meaningful and aligned with his core values.

He traded fossil fuel clients for partnerships with Patagonia, driven by a new manifesto that took him 15 minutes to write on a piece of paper, not days in a boardroom.

For me, Ben’s story is a powerful reminder that we need to define what success truly looks like for ourselves... before it’s too late.

So how do we define that? And what can we do to get one step closer to it every single day?

That's what we're exploring in this episode.

The message of this episode is so important, and surely not solely limited to service design.

Because when you spend your most precious possession — your time and energy — for often 40+ hours a week, it better be towards something that gives you fulfilment and pride.

The stakes are just too high.

Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact!

Be well,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to the show

04:30 What is creativity?

07:00 The price we pay

08:30 The imposter syndrome story

10:30 The two lives

13:30 A different turn

17:00 Momentum without boundaries

19:00 From profit to purpose

20:00 How Patagonia became a client

22:00 What is systemic design?

23:30 Creativity as confidence

33:30 What needs to change?

36:45 A word of advice

41:00 The accountability of design

42:30 Transition design examples

45:00 Vote with your money

50:00 A good starting point

52:30 Legacy for the next generation

54:00 Questions about creativity

57:00 Fewer experts, more curiosity

59:00 Resources

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrennie
• Lessons in Creativity (Book) - https://benrennie.com/collections/create/products/lessons-in-creativity
• Website: https://benrennie.com/

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

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What makes time go fast for you, and what makes it go slow...

It's a powerful question that might just help you find more meaning and heck, yes even more joy in your work.

We see a brighter future, but the system moves slowly. This mismatch can lead to frustration and burnout. What if the secret to creating change wasn't about the system, but about you?

In this conversation with Martha Edwards, a public sector veteran, we talk about powerful personal habits that keep her effective and optimistic.

In this episode we explore topics like:

How to find satisfaction in work that might not bear fruit for years

Why the energy you bring to a room is one of your most powerful professional tools

And how a simple practice like writing "week notes" can be a hack to recognize your small wins and give you the motivation to keep going.

This framing takes the pressure off and allows us to be kinder to ourselves, knowing we’ve contributed a piece to a larger, longer story. I'm curious if this metaphor resonate with you too.

Enjoy the episode and keep planing seeds .

Be well,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 234

04:00 The current state of public sector design

07:30 How Systemic Uncertainty Affects Designers

08:30 From "Designer" to "Public Servant"

09:30 Finding Meaning in Government Work

12:30 How she can find herself still grateful

16:00 Big learnings: working as a creative writer

18:00 Seeing a "Parallel Universe" at UK's GDS

20:00 Avoid the "Design Colonialist" Mindset

22:30 How it shifted

23:30 government digital service to canadian government

28:30 How Sharing Work Waters the Seeds of Change

30:30 what she recommends to share

36:30 staying patient in a government organization

38:00 how do we navigate that?

43:30 Exercise to Recognize Your "Small" Wins

45:15 Being flexible with your role in the public service industry

48:30 How to Make Smart Compromises

54:30 Finding Your Joy

57:30 Question to ponder

59:30 Connect with Martha

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marthaedwardscan/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/maredwards.bsky.social
• Website: marthaedwards.ca 

Readings:

• Going beyond planting seeds
• I’m a service designer and I’ve never done co-design
• Leading with design at the Ministry of Environment
• The long slog of public service transformation - by Martin and Kara
• Barriers to Service Design in Government - Created by Linn Vizard, Marie Serrano and Spencer Beacock

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

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What if we’ve been led down the wrong path…

When it comes to service design, we’re often told the main goal is to break down silos. And that makes sense, right?

Our organizations are structured vertically, but the experiences we design flow horizontally. This clash creates friction, so the natural instinct is to declare war on silos.

But what if that’s sending us in the wrong direction?

Silos exist for a reason; they bring focus and efficiency to specific tasks. The real problem is often the broken connection between them. So, what if instead of trying to eliminate silos, we focused on repairing them?

In this episode, I talk with Ellen Pittman, a researcher who shares a fascinating case study from a high-stakes organization struggling to meet a critical, time-sensitive performance target. On the surface, the pressure was on a single department to solve it.

But as they dug deeper, they discovered the true bottleneck wasn't in that department at all, or even on the organizational chart. The real roadblocks were less visible and far more human.

So what does it take to overcome these hidden barriers?

Ellen found a specific mix of ingredients that allowed them to collaborate across team boundaries and address the issue with great success.

In our conversation, we explore what those ingredients are and why it seems so hard for most organizations to get them right.

This episode has the potential to reframe your thoughts on silos, leadership, and the roadblocks you think are in your way.

A theme that I really loved exploring was how easily organizational metrics can be "gamed". We've all seen it, you hit the target but miss the actual goal... we talk about antidote in the episode.

Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact.

Be well,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 233

05:00 Vertical vs. Horizontal Structures

06:00 Ellen's Journey into Healthcare Change

07:30 Hospital Case Study

10:30 Real Challenge: System-Wide Impact

12:30 Breaking Silos: A Hospital's Approach

15:30 Leadership Beyond KPIs: True Purpose

23:30 Top-Down Initative, Bottom-Up Ownership

25:30 The Consultant's Fear of ED Patients

27:45 Overcoming Fear with Data Experiments

30:00 Data as Curiosity, Not Blame

35:30The CEO's Risky Vulnerability

39:30 Leadership Flexibility: When to Take Control

44:30 Repairing Silos vs. Breaking Them

45:30 Overcoming Jadedness

48:30 Reconnecting to Shared Purpose

52:30 Principles Etched in Minds, Not Walls

55:30 Why Cultural Change Takes Time

59:00 Insulating Change at Every Level

1:01:00 Leaders & The System: Mutual Understanding

1:04:00 Alan's Book: The Hive Model of Fluidity

1:07:45 Question to Ponder

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ellen-pittman-27311421a/

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

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

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