Design Meets Business Dan Makoski on Compassion and Putting Design at the Core of Business (Ex Walmart, Lloyd’s, Google, Microsoft)
Dan is a seasoned design executive who's led teams at Microsoft, Google, UnitedHealth Group, Walmart, and Lloyd's, among others. From working on the Surface Tablet, starting Project ARA at Google, leading the efforts to redesign Walmart.com, and more recently writing his own book, Uplifting Design, Dan believes in the importance of Design at the core of any business, and that's what we're talking about today. We also chat in detail about how his design team has doubled conversion for walmart.com, and about why he believes that you should look at your career from a perspective of two year stretches.
Timestamps:
- 00:00 – Intro
- 02:42 – Dan's journey into Design
- 04:06 – Why Dan thinks Design is at the core of business
- 09:11 – The forces that come down to devalue Design
- 15:51 – Companies that show Design matters
- 23:24 – Designing software vs. hardware and how compassion fits into this
- 42:54 – On the redesign of Walmart.com
- 51:29 – Dan's new book, Uplifting Design
- 56:08 – Managing your career in two-year stretches
- 01:04:18 – End of show questions
Connect with Dan
LinkedIn, Uplifting.Design, Website
Selected links from the episode
Neol
McKinsey Design Report
Fuelling Creative Renewal Report