144 / Embracing the Human Dynamic in Product Design, with Ryan Rumsey

In this episode, Paul and Sean catch up with Ryan Rumsey just moments after his poignant keynote at the 2024 ITX Product + Design Conference. During his keynote and follow-up conversation, Ryan explained that the biggest challenges product builders face are people challenges, “deeply rooted in our own personal experiences and feelings.”

Ryan Rumsey is the CEO of Second Wave Dive, an on-demand strategic consultancy, and the founder of Chief Design Officer School, a learning platform for design leaders.  He is also the author of two books and – as conference attendees can attest – a captivating speaker.

Assess Workplace Power & Influence

Ryan also highlighted the significance of power and influence in the workplace, especially within the design and creative domains where his expertise lies. He pointed out that people in design roles sometimes lack influence within corporate structures, leaving them with a sense that their ability to contribute value is somehow diminished.

“We can’t really talk about any of this without talking about power. In this sense, we’re talking working inside of corporations, where power typically doesn’t reside with people who are more on the creative thinking, artistic, exploratory, empathy side of the spectrum,” Ryan says.

Reframe the Meaning of Value Metrics

Designers and creatives can escape this perception by reframing what it means to deliver value and be successful, Ryan adds. We need to shift the focus from traditional metrics like lifetime value (LTV) and return on investment (ROI) to the emotional and personal aspects of work, he explains, stressing that personal fulfillment and how we make ourselves and others feel are crucial in our professional journeys.

“For a lot of us, we don’t tend to see value through our own eyes,” Ryan comments. “Instead, we tend to see value in ourselves as others see value in us. So if the culture is of LTV and that’s not your domain, it’s really hard to feel validated in value if that’s not your love language.”

Prioritize the Human Element

When we prioritize the human element, Ryan offers, we begin to focus on the well-being, motivation, and development of individuals within the team, and we create an environment where people feel supported, trusted, and empowered to contribute their best work. But even then, individuals working alone have limits to what they can achieve.

Invite Others To Be Right with You

“That’s why I embrace the advice I received from a friend and mentor some years ago,” Ryan shares. He said, ‘Look, you know what you’re doing. You’re doing all these things that, you know, are right. But you can’t reach your potential on your own; you’ve reached the limits of your aloneness here. You need others to be right with you.’  And I absolutely felt that double entendre aspect of other people are right, too, just from different angles.”

You can also catch the episode with Ryan Rumsey in video on the Product Momentum YouTube channel!

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