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Want to secure executive buy-in? Stop waiting for a strategic brief from leadership, learn how to pitch solutions that solve your VP's biggest headache.
Tired of doing incredible journey mapping work only to realize you still aren't invited to the room where important business decisions are made? In this episode of the Journey Management Playbook, Martin and I break down a highly specific, 5-slide pitch designed to get you a seat at the executive table. Learn how to stop being viewed as just the "journey maps person" and start navigating boardroom politics like a pro.
📌 In This Episode
We’ve put together an Objection Response Cheat Sheet with the most common pushbacks and ways you can navigate them. You can download it for free using the link in the show notes.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.
~ Marc
[1. LINKS]
Playbook Slides - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/-0sy8
[ 2. GUIDE]
00:00 Introduction
05:30 Season Two Recap
06:30 Insights vs. Decisions
09:15 The Journey Manager
11:15 Owner vs. Manager
15:45 The First Week
20:15 Finding the Owner
25:45 Sophia's Story
36:45 The Horizontal Role
39:45 Monday Rhythm
45:15 Executive's Monday
46:45 Building Briefs
51:15 Closing the Loop
54:15 Season Wrap-Up
[ 3. FIND THE SHOW ON ]
Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-12-youtube
Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-12-spotify
Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-12-apple
Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-12-snipd
Are you tired of design feeling boxed in by limiting beliefs and endless support tickets? In this episode, we explore how to break free from the status quo and tackle meaningful, system-level challenges that actually change lives.
There isn't a single service design professional who got into this industry to just solve support tickets all day. You got into this to make a positive impact. But what happens when the systems we operate in are designed to keep things exactly the way they are?
To answer that, Marc sits down with Meghan Bausone, who recently earned her Doctor of Design degree. Drawing from her firsthand experience redesigning maternity care, Meghan shares actionable advice on how to find opportunities to experiment, overcome the frustrations of a rigid environment, and turn your desire to question everything into your greatest professional superpower.
Being stuck in a system doesn't have to be paralyzing. It’s time to recognize the opportunities around you, or even better, create them yourself.
🎧 In This Episode
If you want to find ways to work on challenges that truly matter, this conversation is for you! What is the biggest limiting belief you’ve had to overcome in your design career? Let us know in the comments!
Don't forget to Subscribe to stay updated on future episodes that help you make a positive impact through design.
Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact.
~ Marc
[ 1. GUIDE 📺 ]
00:00 Welcome to episode 258
00:00 Introduction
00:45 Megan's Background
03:30 Invisible Constraints
05:45 Path to UX Design
09:15 Maternal Health Crisis
12:00 Pursuing a Doctorate
14:15 Improving Systems
21:00 Embracing Biases
25:15 Localized Solutions
31:00 Questioning HCD
37:15 Leverage Points
41:45 Managerialism Ideology
49:45 Institutional Deserts
56:00 Practical First Steps
59:15 Final Reflection
[ 2. LINKS 🔗 ]
[ 3. NEXT STEP 💪 ]
Looking for more? We've got you covered.
Click the link below to join the Service Design Show community.
https://servicedesignshow.com/subscribe/
You'll get access to inspiring stories and practical advice that helps to level up your service design career!
[ 4. FIND THE SHOW ON ]
Are we actively designing our own future, or just everyone else's? 🔮 Discover how integrating "futures thinking" into your practice can help you spot industry shifts early and make better, more deliberate decisions today.
It’s easy to get stuck in the day-to-day grind of deadlines and deliverables. But if we don't think about the long-term role of design, we risk building a world we don't actually want to live in.
In this episode, Marc sits down with Professor Lucy Kimbell—author of the upcoming book "Futures for Design"—to tackle a fascinating issue: the "futures blind spot." We explore why designers work tirelessly to shape the future of healthcare or education, yet rarely apply that same forward-thinking lens to our own profession.
🎧 In This Episode
If you're ready to turn off autopilot and co-create the future of design with intention, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode!
We also want to hear from you: If you had to pick one word to describe how you feel about the future of design, what would it be? Drop it in the comments or send us a message!
As always, enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact!~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to episode 257
00:00 Episode Introduction
01:30 Breaking Design Autopilot
02:30 Design is Political
03:45 Designing on Autopilot
06:15 Consequences of Financialization
08:30 Surveillance Capitalism
12:00 Next-Gen Design Pressures
14:30 Futures for Design Book
17:00 Oxford Scenarios Methodology
21:00 Transactional vs Contextual
30:30 Institutional Fragmentation
32:45 Weak Signals in Design
35:00 Uncertainties to Scenarios
39:00 Scenario Planning vs Sci-Fi
45:00 Lucy Kimball's Journey
48:30 Limits of Speculative Design
52:15 Value of Writing
54:15 Present-Day Strategy
56:45 Managing Macro Chaos
1:00:45 The 10-Year Question
01:02:30 Final Thoughts
--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---
--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.
https://servicedesignshow.com/circle
--- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] ---
Tired of spending weeks on design strategy only to watch executives scrap two-thirds of your work? 📉 Discover how to drop your design ego, master the "politics" of implementation, and finally get your projects shipped. 🚀
In this episode of Inside Service Design, Marc sits down with JD and Gabriel to tackle one of the most frustrating realities for designers: the translation gap. If you've ever felt like clinging to your design artifacts is actually preventing you from making a lasting impact, this conversation will change how you approach your next stakeholder meeting.
In this episode, we will cover:
Where do you draw the line between practicing "design jiu-jitsu" to get something shipped, and compromising the core values of your craft? Let us know in the comments or tag us on social media!
If you want to bridge the gap between strategy and execution, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode, and share this with a fellow designer who needs to hear it today.
Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact.
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to Inside Service Design EP
04:00 UX & Systems Thinking
07:00 What is a Business Service Architect?
09:15 Managing Strategy & Transformation
11:15 Journey Frameworks
15:00 Using AI for User Archetypes
16:30 Mapping Internal Workflows
20:00 In-House Practitioner Insights
21:15 Design Values in an AI World
24:00 Navigating Corporate Silos
29:00 Empathizing with Stakeholders
31:00 Proactive Conflict Management
35:00 Design vs. Corporate Politics
41:00 Why Research Fails Without Business Context
43:00 Miro Boards vs. Excel Sheets
44:15 Driving Value Through Deliverables
46:45 Proving Your Team's Worth
47:15 Design Jiu-Jitsu & The MVP
52:00 When UX Becomes Just a Verb
53:45 Defending Small Sample Sizes
55:30 Video Gen in Service Design
57:00 Wrap Up & Community Tool Prototype
--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---
--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.
https://servicedesignshow.com/circle
--- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] ---
Over-optimized systems are quietly killing the human soul of our services by obsessing over speed and efficiency. In this episode, discover how to break free from the "efficiency trap," embrace design as a genuine practice of hope, and use localized indigenous wisdom to design with authentic care and deep community respect.
🎙️ In this episode
The relentless pursuit of transactional and industrialized models has pushed design to prioritize cost-cutting over real human value. In this episode, we sit down with Nan O'Sullivan, former head of the School of Design Innovation at Victoria University, to unpack how to actively push back against this pervasive efficiency trap. We move past standard problem-solving frameworks to explore the transformative power of Mātauranga Māori, positionality, and why designers must learn to look in the mirror before looking out the window to serve others.
Here is what we cover:
What is the most important source that helps to ground your design decisions? When the path forward is unclear, where do you look for clues? Let me know, I really do read and reply to all responses.
As always, enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact!
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to Episode 256
04:00 Practice of Hope
06:15 Indigenous Knowledge
09:15 Personal Values
14:15 Humanity Over Automation
17:00 Co-Design Responsibility
19:30 Reflection and Reflexivity
23:00 Core Curriculum
27:00 Local Grounding
33:00 Inward Research
38:30 Workforce Evolution
40:45 Corporate Accountability
45:15 Professional Bravery
47:15 Commercial Pressures
53:00 Relational Frameworks
55:00 Actionable Hope
57:15 Wrap-up
--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---
--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.
https://servicedesignshow.com/circle
[4. FIND THE SHOW ON]
Want to secure executive buy-in? Stop waiting for a strategic brief from leadership, learn how to pitch solutions that solve your VP's biggest headache.
Tired of doing incredible journey mapping work only to realize you still aren't invited to the room where important business decisions are made? In this episode of the Journey Management Playbook, Martin and I break down a highly specific, 5-slide pitch designed to get you a seat at the executive table. Learn how to stop being viewed as just the "journey maps person" and start navigating boardroom politics like a pro.
in this episode
We’ve put together an Objection Response Cheat Sheet with the most common pushbacks and ways you can navigate them. You can download it for free using the link in the show notes.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.
~ Marc
[1. LINKS 🔗 ]
[ 2. GUIDE 📺 ]
00:00 Season 2 Recap
02:00 Shifting Focus to Business Impact
04:45 The CX Trust Gap Explained
06:30 Breaking Out of the Workshop Box
11:15 Creating a High-Value Proposition
29:45 Repackaging for Time Constraints
35:30 Surface vs. Root Cause Problems
40:15 Aligning Strategy with Backlogs
51:00 Re-evaluating Urgency
55:30 Handling Objections & Silence
57:00 Setting 90-Day Timelines
1:00:00 Turbocharging Your Preparation
1:02:45 Overcoming Presentation Rejection
1:04:15 Wrap-Up
--- [ 3. FIND THE SHOW ON ] ---
If building digital products becomes instant and free, what happens to the value of a service designer? Discover why traditional discovery is under attack and how to survive the impending "Design Winter."
The rapid trajectory of AI development has completely shifted the rules of corporate problem-solving. In this episode, host Marc van Tijn sits down with academic coordinator Pablo Fernández Vallejo to unpack the deep structural changes hitting the design industry. They move past basic chatbot hype to look at the realities of autonomous AI agents, shifting organizational power dynamics, and why designers must quickly transition from "authors" to "editors" to stay relevant.
Here is what we cover:
On a scale of 1-10, how fluent do you feel with AI as a design material right now? Let me know, I really do read and reply to all responses.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact!
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to Episode 255
03:45 AI Velocity
08:45 Future Job Market
13:30 Productive Friction
19:15 Impact on Designers
23:15 What happens to our value
28:30 How we combat corporate Proto Bros
34:00 Where we anchor the "real" domain of design
36:45 Impact on Services
37:30 Autonomous Agents
42:15 Designing AX
47:45 Ecosystem Defense
50:15 Broken Journey Maps
52:00 Impact on Organizations
56:30 Authors vs Editors
--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---
--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.
https://servicedesignshow.com/circle
--- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] ---
What do you do when you want to drive human-centered change inside your organization, but you don't have the formal authority, you don't hold the budget, and you don't even have the official job title?
To dive deeper into this strategy, I sat down with Max Seabrooke and Jennifer Kitchen.
According to them, you stop asking for corporate permission and start getting a little bit sneaky. We step away from perfectly polished frameworks to look at the raw, political reality of practicing "undercover influence" from the inside out.
In this episode, you will learn:
So, if you want to hear raw, practical insights from professionals who are in the trenches every single day, you'll really like enjoy this one!
I’m curious, if you don't have the official "Service Designer" title, what does your email signature currently say? Let me know.
Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact.
Be well,
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to the April Round Up 2026
03:45 Career Paths to Service Design
05:30 Titles vs Doing the Role
06:15 Modern Human-Centered Design
07:15 UX Design for Kids
09:15 Supply Chain Overhauls
12:15 The Human Side of Blueprints
13:15 Product Repair Operations
15:30 Strategic Sneakiness
18:15 Fixing Complex Mergers
21:00 Politics as Design Material
21:45 Corporate Political Survival
24:15 Active Listening & Handoffs
28:30 Eliminating Corporate Jargon
33:45 Operational Alignment
39:15 Dangers of Toxic Politeness
44:15 Confronting Hard Truths
50:00 Customer Belief Toolkit
54:15 Leadership Evidence Layers
--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---
--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.
https://servicedesignshow.com/circle
--- [ 4. FIND THE SHOW ON ] ---
We are moving way past the point of just typing prompts into chat interfaces. We are entering the "agentic era," where a single person can deploy high-level AI agents who manage their own teams of digital workers underneath them.
This shift is triggering a massive compression of skills, collapsing separate specialized roles into a single generalist function. If most service interactions shift to agent-to-agent communication, the human experience risks disappearing completely.
In this episode, John Ayers joins Marc to explore how to help the "80% in the middle". The people who are curious but completely exhausted by the daily AI hype cycle. You'll learn how to take your existing mapping toolkit and adapt it to build "AI service blueprints," translating human personas directly into digital agents so we don't lose empathy.
As you listen, think about John’s closing challenge: When the dust settles two years from now, what do you actually want your career to look like?
Be well,
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to Episode 254
01:00 Introducing John Ayers
02:15 Reality vs AI Hype
03:45 Lessons From Past Shifts
07:15 Why AI is Different
09:00 The Rapid Pace of AI
11:30 The Shift to AI Agents
13:15 Agent-to-Agent Decisions
15:00 Building a Digital Workforce
16:15 Domain Knowledge vs General AI
18:00 Helping the Overwhelmed Majority
26:00 Avoiding Fake AI
29:15 The Governance Gap
31:00 The New AI Giants
34:00 Service Blueprinting for AI
35:00 Anatomy of an AI Agent
39:30 The Democratization Trap
41:30 Human Skills vs Job Losses
45:00 Stop Chasing Tech Tools
46:30 Focus on Humans, Not Jargon
51:45 Human Purpose in the AI Era
54:30 Avoiding AI Burnout
54:45 John’s Disruptor Confessions
56:15 Asking the Hard Questions
58:30 Wrap-Up and Community Call
--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---
--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.
https://servicedesignshow.com/circle
--- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] ---
Does your "Master Journey Map" just sit in a digital drawer? You aren’t alone.
In this episode, we dive into "Journey Theater"— the trap of performing progress without moving the needle on business outcomes.
We’re moving beyond "mapping for mapping’s sake." Learn how to shift from being a service provider to a strategic partner by building a living system that survives the next re-org.
Watch this episode to learn:
Just like the rest of the Playbook, this episode is best consumed as a video because we walk through specific examples, like the Journey Maturity Scorecard, on screen. If you’re listening on the go, you can always grab the slide deck from the show notes to follow along.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact!
~ Marc
--- [1. LINKS 🔗 ] ---
--- [ 2. GUIDE 📺 ] ---
00:00 Welcome to Journey Management Playbook S2E2
03:45 Internal Customer
05:30 Decision Maker Needs
07:15 Budget Agenda
10:30 Impact Over Selling
13:15 Organizational Friction
16:15 The Journey Scope
19:15 Journey Theater
21:00 Reporting Progress Live
26:45 Breaking Project Cycles
30:45 Quantifying Wins
40:15 Decision Context
41:30 Continuous Insights
42:45 Common Language
44:00 Cross Vertical Impact
45:30 Eight Success Steps
46:45 AI Data Leverage
48:00 Delivery Authority
49:15 Proactive Influence
50:30 Impact Focus
51:45 Six Month Strategy
53:00 Revenue vs Cost
54:15 Agenda Alignment
56:45 Management Maturity
58:00 Scaling Momentum
1:00:45 Journey Health Score
1:04:30 Summary and Next Steps
--- [ 3. FIND THE SHOW ON ] ---
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