The Powerful Decide

Scott Berkun, How Design Makes the World:

Few think of it this way, but executives are designers, too. Organizational designers. By choosing the strategy, the budget, the culture and who they hire, they have more impact on whether good design is possible than the designers themselves. Alfred Sloan would never had called himself a designer, but his choice of strategy redefined what the words design and designer meant for the world. Even the simple fact that the first designer hired at any organization is likely chosen by someone who doesn’t know much about design tells you a formidable truth. What makes good or bad design happen anywhere depends on who has the most power.

February 6, 2021