DeepSummary
The episode begins by introducing the podcast, Design Nerds Anonymous, and explaining that this is the first installment of a mini-season exploring the changing landscape of decision-making processes in four different sectors: corporate, education, healthcare, and hospitality. The focus of this episode is on the corporate sector, where 87% of decision makers say the decision-making process has changed significantly in recent years.
The episode features interviews and insights from various corporate decision makers, who describe the challenges they face in the new decision-making environment. Some of the key issues discussed include a lack of information and benchmarks, the need for more stakeholder involvement and change management, and the challenge of "managing up" to decision-makers who may not have a deep understanding of the industry.
In the second half of the episode, the host is joined by Kaylin Reed, a design futurist, who provides a broader perspective on the changing nature of work and its implications for decision-making. They discuss potential solutions and ideas, such as shifting to performance metrics instead of space metrics, clarifying roles on decision-making teams, and helping contacts "sell up" to decision-makers.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Corporate decision-making processes have become more complex and challenging in recent years, with an increased number of stakeholders and decision-makers involved.
- Key challenges include a lack of information and benchmarks, the need for change management, and the challenge of "managing up" to decision-makers who may not have a deep understanding of the industry.
- Potential solutions discussed include shifting to performance metrics instead of space metrics, clarifying roles on decision-making teams, and helping contacts "sell up" to decision-makers more effectively.
- The changing nature of work, including hybrid models and the desire for more amenities in the workplace, is likely to further complicate decision-making processes in the future.
- Increased transparency, collaboration, and adaptation to evolving needs and behaviors will be crucial for effective decision-making in the corporate sector going forward.
- Engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, including end-users and the local community, may become increasingly important in the decision-making process.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many of these changes and created a sense of uncertainty and confusion among corporate decision-makers.
- Leveraging new technologies and data sources, while maintaining ethical practices around data usage and privacy, could help inform decision-making processes.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We have to be nimble in the fact that we are dealing with still a lot of change, both from our clients and from the people that our clients might even still need to answer to. Because sometimes my client isn't the end user, right? So their end users may have new demands, schedules have demands. So we've had to be extremely nimble in being able to switch position, pivot, to still service them in the way that they need and expect.“ by Matt Rebbe
- “There's pain up front because we're dealing with so many people and we're having to appease so many opinions and investors and money. But then once I'm with my team in my silo, yes, things happen on a project. Of course I have to ve something. A chair I spec'd is no longer here. That's frustrating. But I'm with my people in my pod, and we can fix that. That's part of the job. But that's an annoyance. That's a frustration. That's not the pain.“ by Luke Roberts
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Episode Information
Design Nerds Anonymous
ThinkLab and SURROUND
5/16/24