How to Escape the 'Stuck Middle' of Design Maturity / Giles Colborne / Ep. #238
Service Design Show
Why Many Organizations Stall in the Middle
Giles discusses the 'stuck middle' where teams have skills but the organization fails to integrate design effectively.
I recently started playing Padel...
And like with all my new hobbies, I enjoy getting good gear.
So after some research, I treated myself to a racket from the higher end of the market.
Now, when I'm on the court playing and lose, I could (might) complain that my racket sucks.
That it was "false advertising" because all the specs indicate that this is almost an unbeatable racket.
But let's be honest, we both know that's probably not the case.
It’s far more likely that I just don't yet know how to use this new "tool" to its fullest potential.
You may be surprised to learn that this is strikingly similar to what happens in many organizations.
They invest in building a service design capability, but after a while, they complain that it’s not delivering the game-changing results they hoped for.
So, does service design suck?
Well, according to the research our guest Giles Colborne has done, the answer is a definitive no. In fact, he found that companies with high design maturity grow at 9x times(!) the pace of everyone else.
The problem, as Giles argues, isn't the tool. It's the interface between the design team and the rest of the business.
It's like spending a small fortune on that pro-level racket, only to hold it upside down in the wrong hand, and then wonder why you're not winning any games.
When organizations bring in service design without creating the right conditions for success, they end up frustrated and disillusioned.
So, what can we do about it?
The go-to response I often see in our field is that we tend to shout louder, to do a "roadshow" and "educate" the business on our value. But Giles explains why this is actually often the least effective approach.
That's why in this episode, we explore how we can stop explaining the tool and start changing the way our organizations use it, making it easier for them to unlock its full potential.
What's great about this is that it helps shift the perception of service design from an afterthought, a "nice-to-have" for keeping customers happy, to an engine for growth. And once that clicks, it becomes a whole different game. Now, I'm just hoping the same will be true for my padel skills...
Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact.
Be well,
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to Episode 238
01:00 Proving Measurable Impact
03:30 Design is seen as a 'Nice-to-Have'
05:00 The Board's View: Money First, UX Second
08:30 The Checkout Gail
11:00 Research: 9x Growth via Design Maturity
15:00 The "Messy Middle" is an Interface Problem
17:45 Stakeholder Trap: "Build Us One of These"
22:15 Strategy: Investigate, Don't Educate
26:30 Flipping the narrative
28:30 Why Benefits Don't Resonate
30:30 The "Gaslighting" Feeling
33:30 Design is Not Incompatible with Business
35:30 The Next Level: Culture and Governance
36:45 Example: Flipping Compliance
38:45 Process vs. Culture
32:00 Start Point: Ask About Business Goals
43:15 What the Org Really Values (Cost)
44:45 Tough Questions for Stakeholders
46:45 Anchoring CX in Governance
49:00 Our Role in Measurement
51:45 Mapping Value to Commander's Intent
54:00 The Uncomfortable Aspect of Rigor
57:30 Cultivating Confidence in Your Toolkit
59:45 Leadership Over Arrogance
1:03:00 3 Final Key Takeaways
1:06:30 Resource Use: Automation and AI
1:07:15 Question to Ponder
1:08:15 Resources
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