While at NCR, I recall mentor and VP Jack Beduhn coming back from an executive review in which he presented our vision was to 'achieve an unsurpassed reputation for design excellence'. Chuck Exley, the CEO at the time allegedly stumped Jack with the question..."fantastic...how will we know when we get there"? What followed was a pioneering study entitled The Search for Design Excellence. Months of ground level and executive interviews across industries led by Metaphase and Design Science yielded an invaluable tombe housed in a limited number of fabric wrapped binders. For me this process was just a starting point for a career long exploration and thought process underscored by the importance that everyone needs to have a common understanding of what makes a design excellent. Without it, there is little chance an organization can march together towards success. I have refined this to a fairly simple, but flexible algorithm, and use it as the foundation for almost everything I work on. design excellence = fit (performance + personality) ! There are layers to how to use this effectively, and it is as much about how to behave as a team as it is about how to evaluate results. A process white paper and case study is forthcoming. footnote: Exley was a star CEO, and his interaction with Jack shows how executive design engagement can change companies. (see organize) |
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