TODAY'S GUEST

Jake Knapp is one of the most influential product designers living today. Formerly a product designer at Microsoft, Google, and Google Ventures, he’s the creator of the Design Sprint process, which transformed the way hundreds of enterprises and thousands of designers around the world approach new product design. He is also a bestselling author of two books, Sprint, and Make Time.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this conversation we talk about:

Surviving Covid and chaos
Finding positivity in hard things
Jake’s childhood and the sense of possibility
What is Design? Problem-solving or gooey rainbows?
What’s broken with how companies approach new products?
How did the idea of the Design Sprint come about?
How to explain Design Sprints to an unsuspecting person
Writing a science-fiction novel, resistance

We also discuss:

Dogs
Spiders in Thailand
Quotes on the Internet
US Presidential History
The ReMarkable Tablet, and more

TIMESTAMP CHAPTERS

[2:59] Life During Covid

[13:45] The Art of Political Speaking

[19:53] Reclaiming Design

[24:50] Childhood Magic

[34:00] Creating Possibility Amidst Walls of Reality

[46:55] Revolutionary Shifts and the Birth of the Design Sprint

[1:04:10] The Growth of the Design Sprint

[1:14:50] Core Ideas of the Sprint

[1:20:23] Building Decision Making

[1:26:14] The Motive Behind Deadlines

[1:32:26] Passion Projects and Parenting

EPISODE LINKS

Jake's Links
- 🌍 JakeKnapp.com
- 🌍 TheSprintBook.com
- 🌍 Jake on Medium
- 📘 Sprint: Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just 5 Days
- 📔 Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day
Other Links
- 📙 Getting Real by 37 Signals
- 📘 Getting Things Done by David Allen
- 📕 Brain Rules by John Medina
- 📗 Decisive by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
- 🍿 Amadeus (Film)
- 📘 On Writing by Stephen King
- 📗 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King
- 📕 The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
- 📙 Rework by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried
- 📗 Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath

ABOUT US

004. Jake Knapp: How the Design Sprint Was Born