On episode 7 of the Service Design Show Adam Lawrence once said this..

"If you can only do one thing in the entire design process, do research."

I don't have to convince you of the importance of proper user research. It's the lifeline of our work.

Unfortunately in a lot of organisations research is still seen as something that just slows everything down. It can be hard to get buy-in and support to actually do proper research.

Recently I sat down with the Circle community to discuss this challenge. 

And it quickly became clear that the struggle is real. 

Everyone in the community had their own story of how company culture stood in the way of them just doing their work.

When started to look at the solutions and workarounds people had found to get over these cultural barriers, 6 best practices emerged. And in this episode the Show you're going to hear what these best practices are.

What I enjoy about the Circle is that it's a space where people aren't afraid to share the dirty secrets of our work. It's a refreshing alternative to all the polished case studies we otherwise see.

--- [ EPISODE GUIDE ] -—

00:00 Welcome to the Show
03:30 Who is Taylor
04:00 Who is Tim
05:00 What are cultural barriers
06:30 Evaluating services
09:45 Where are we today
12:00 The struggles
14:00 The consequences
18:15 Make it into a habit
21:00 Reframing what research is
21:30 Quantifying qualitative research
23:30 Don't ask for permission
28:15 Create psychological safety
30:45 Getting over egos
36:30 Identify your champions
41:15 Tools & budget
44:00 Closing thoughts

--- [ CIRCLE ] -—

Join our community of in-house service design professionals at the Circle.

https://www.servicedesignshow.com/circle/

The 6 best practices to overcome cultural barriers and do proper research / Circle #08

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My daughter dared me to 15 meters free-fall... I was on a climbing track with her, and this was one of the "attractions." Of course, she had taken the plunge without shedding a sweat.

So, there I was standing on the edge, ready to take the jump, while everything in my body was screaming NO. I hesitated, terrified... but backing out was not an option. Especially not when a 10-year old girl is cheering dad on from the ground.

Sometimes, you just have to leap into the unknown and trust that things will turn out alright.

Our guest this week, Lilli Graf, also took a massive leap. She left a safe job at a respected design agency to go independent and start her own business. Why? Because she knew 'less bad' isn't good enough anymore when it comes to our climate crisis.

Her journey in the last few years has thrown up many challenges. So, I wanted to know what kept her going, what she had learned so far, and what she would have done differently, looking back.

Of course, we also had to talk about what pushed her over the edge to make the leap in the first place. This episode is about way more than climate solutions (though those are fascinating).

It's about YOU... As service design professionals, we champion change. We push our clients to step into the unknown. But how often do we do that same?

I hope this honest and open conversation will inspire you to leap more often. What fascinated me is how well Lilli's story shows the ripple effect of our choices. From childhood to career, it all connects.

What will your next ripple be?

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 
00:00 Welcome to Episode 201
03:00 Who is Lilli
04:00 how Lilli heard about SD
05:15 Lightning Round
06:15 Community needs to reflect
11:15 Why Lilli needed to Step Back
13:30 Moving to the sustainability spectrum
19:30 World that's not going to be here
22:30 Black foot tribe 
25:00 The responses / the results
29:15 Crisis to nature and to ourselves
33:15 How do I preserve this life?
39:15 What Imma Collective is doing
45:00 The biggest challenge
49:00 Do it with Joy and patience
50:30 The journey most proud of so far
51:30 One piece of advise
54:30 How to embark in this journey too


 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- 

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabeth-lilli-graf/
 https://www.immacollective.com/
  Change by Design by Tim Brown (Book) 
  Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life by Kristen R. Ghodsee (Book)



 --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---  
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.  ⁠
https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

What it takes come out stronger from a crisis / Lilli Graf / Ep #201

Recently, I turned 43... I don't really celebrate my birthdays anymore. 
Don't worry; I have an amazing wife who makes sure there's always cake. 
But I do always try to take a moment and reflect on my past year because “The only time you should ever look back, is to see how far you've come.”
Well, today, it's not just about my journey; it's about ours. 
We've hit a massive Service Design Show milestone: 200 episodes!
That's a new interview every two weeks for over 8 years.
And by now, we've clocked in over 500.000 listens to our conversations. Truly mind-boggling.
Especially when you consider how niche our field is (still). It tells me what I do matters to people like you.
Honestly, if I had to, I'd still do this show just for my own learning... but knowing you're out there makes it so much better.
To celebrate, I'm flipping the script. For this episode, it's me answering YOUR questions. Some are about service design, some get a bit personal...
Here's a sneak peek:

 Is Journey Management the next big thing?
 Will service design disappear?
 How does the Show make money?
 How do I keep sane working solo?

You might be surprised by some of the answers.
Guess, there's only one way to find out...
This episode was a lot of fun and quite a challenge to produce. Let me know if you like this format – maybe we'll do a follow up...
Take care,
~ Marc


--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to episode 200
01:50 Why Service Design
04:30 Lessons learned from 200+ conversations
10:15 The business model
16:15 How to stay healthy and sane
25:00 Communicating service design
31:00 Designing timeless services
36:00 Is Journey Management the next big thing
40:00 Where are things going


--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcfonteijn/
  https://www.servicedesignshow.com/circle/



--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---
Join our private community with smart and generous in-house service design professionals.  
⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

Your Burning Questions Answered / Marc Fonteijn / Ep #200

Is design facing a crisis? You don't have to spend much time on LinkedIn to read about the recent layoffs, studio closures, and debates about our value. 
Whether or not you call it a crisis, it's hard to deny that things have been shaken up recently. But instead of focusing on surface level symptoms, let's dive deeper. 
In this episode, we sit down with Yvonne Tran, design director at the New York Times, to explore the underlying forces that shape design. Where are we coming from, and what could be its next destination. Why is design in its current state?
Is this a backlash against the widespread understanding of "design thinking"? If everyone's a designer, what's the unique value a professional brings?
Despite the challenges, Yvonne still sees a bright future for design. As our clients and colleagues evolve and mature, so must we. In our conversation, Yvonne outlined three key areas where design can continue to provide unique value.
A thought-provoking episode for anyone interested in new ways to think about how to keep playing a meaningful role in the future.
It's all too easy to get bogged down in the daily grind. What I enjoyed about this conversation with Yvonne is that we zoomed out and challenged our perspectives. Let's look beyond the horizon of this quarter and make decisions that are grounded in a long-term perspective.
Inspired? Share this with someone who needs to hear it.
Take care,
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 
00:00 Welcome to Episode 199
03:30 Who is Yvonne
04:30 How she stumbled to SD
06:00 Lightning Round
10:00 Design, Designers, & Innovation
14:00 The promise of design thinking
17:30 What's the impact 
27:00 The new role of design community
37:00 Aligning people's expectations
39:30 How to accelerate demand 
44:00 How to measure success
48:30 One takeaway
 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- 

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonnetran/
 Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Book) -   https://a.co/d/3Jho54D

 --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---  
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.  ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

What Design(ers) Needs to do to Stay Relevant / Yvonne Tran / Episode #199

This has to stop... I don't care what they say. Chatbots s*ck.
But we, as service design professionals, have the power to make things better.
Sure, ChatGPT and Google Gemini are impressive tools, but a chatbot on a company's website? Probably one of the most frustrating experiences you can have these days.
This trend toward replacing humans in service delivery is a growing concern. 
There's nothing wrong with trying to optimize processes. It becomes a problem when it's done in a mindless way to solely cut costs at the expense of the user experience.
Our guest, ​Cameron Tonkinwise​, makes a compelling case for preserving the human element in service delivery. Because removing this vital component erodes something incredibly valuable that AI (or any other tech) can't and will never be able to replicate.
As you can imagine, simply pointing out the problem isn't enough.
So, in our conversation, we explore how to make a strong case for human-driven services... even to the most skeptical stakeholders.
Spoiler: Waiting for our clients to change their minds isn't the answer. It requires a proactive approach on our part.
If you work in a product or tech-driven environment, this episode will hopefully give you the energy and ideas to challenge the relentless push for short-term optimization.
The chat with Cameron reminded me that we have a responsibility to design the future we want to see rather than just being of service to others.
Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact!
Take care,
~ Marc


--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 
00:00 This is Episode 198
04:00 Who is Cameron
05:00 How he stumbled to SD
12:30 the current perspective to SD
15:00 the ideal outcome
16:45 A vastly uneducated community 
24:00 Why the model isn't adopted
26:00 How to support the current economy 
29:30 Hockey puck story
33:30 Thoughts in AI
39:00 What you can be offering
41:30 Expressing the need 
45:00 Importance of frontline observation
50:00 One practical takeaway
52:00 Connect with Cameron
 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- 

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-tonkinwise-80a5987/

 --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- 
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

How to Stop the Erosion of Great Services? / Cameron Tonkinwise / Episode #198

Imagine that you had the power to look into the future...
That you could escape from the short-term focus and envision a world years or even decades away. And on top of this, you'd be able to turn this vision into something real, a roadmap to guide your decisions today.
Wouldn't that change everything?
Now, this episode won't give you a crystal ball, but it might be the next best thing.
We all know that the challenges we face today require different ways of thinking in order to solve them. If we continue on the trajectory we're currently on, our future isn't looking very bright, to say the least. 
In order to create a different, better future, we have to first imagine it.
But with our world changing so fast, how can we even predict tomorrow, let alone years from now? Aren't we just better off focussing on the here and now?
Not according to our guest, Ali Draudt. Ali teaches us that predicting the future is a hidden superpower of designers. Lucky for us, Ali is an expert – author of "What the Foresight," holding a degree in Design Strategy and Strategic Foresight, and is currently the Head of Innovation and Design Strategy at Nike.
In this episode, you'll hear how to:

 Explore worldviews that might be radically different from your own.
 Challenge your existing beliefs and biases to imagine the seemingly impossible.
  Use practical tools to make abstract futures tangible.

So, if you're to unleash your hidden superpower and make better decisions today you'll be in for a treat!
Talking with Ali reminded me that the dots only connect in hindsight. The only way to make those breakthrough, serendipitous connections is by continuing to explore things that seem irrelevant now.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 
00:00 Welcome to Episode 197
04:00 Who is Ali
04:45 How Ali Stumbled into Service Design
06:30 Lightning Round
08:00 Moving beyond antromorphic design
10:30 What's truly human-centered
17:30 Adopting to this practice
21:00 Next big thing to go beyond
24:00 Changing levels of zoom
31:00 Coping mechanism on the speed
38:00 Using the Steep Model in Teams
40:00 4 archetypes to future potentials
45:30 What good work look like
49:30 Co-creation mode
50:45 What I hope you'd remember
 --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- 

  https://www.linkedin.com/in/alidadraudt/
  The Thing from the Future (Team-building game) https://situationlab.org/project/the-thing-from-the-future/
  The Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson (Book) https://a.co/d/992fmv5

 --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---  
Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.  ⁠
https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

The 6 best practices to overcome cultural barriers and do proper research / Circle #08

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