In February 2014 Cheryl Heller, Chair of MFA Design for Social Innovation, led a workshop on leadership skills of design for social innovation for members of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy.
2. The New Design
Our understanding of design has traveled far from a
form-giving and styling skillset to become a strategic
business tool, and now, a process for conceiving,
carrying out and conveying meaningful social change.
Design is a verb, an activity with intent and impact,
resources and constraints, actors and audiences.
And it requires leadership at every stage.
3. “As homo sapiens’s entry in any intergalactic
design competition, industrial civilization
would be tossed out at the qualifying round.”
David Orr
4. i
The traditional designer is an individual creator.
Think Raymond Loewy, Frank Lloyd Wright, Paul Rand, Bucky Fuller
@cherylheller
dsi.sva.edu
5. The creative output we recognize and reward is the
product of individual vision.
3
@cherylheller @svadsi
@cherylheller
dsi.sva.edu
8. The new design
emerges from what
from what Paul
Hawkins has called
the “largest
movement on earth”:
9. Inside communities and at a systems level, the
new design re-imagines and reinvigorates
human resources.
@cherylheller
dsi.sva.edu
10. It requires new skills and knowledge
Traditional design skills:
Social design skills:
Skills common to all effective
social impact participants
Visualizing
Critique
Form giving
Interaction design
Project management
Identity Development (visual)
Mapping
Storytelling
Iteration/Prototyping
Communication
Persuasion
Research
Ethnographic methods
Innovation
Critical thinking
Writing
Cross-disciplinary problem solving
Project Management
Identity Development (systemic)
Documentation
Synthesis/analysis
Facilitation
Relationship building
Sympathy (listening)
Humility
Partnering
Collaboration
Entrepreneurship
Theory of Change
Negotiation
Leadership
Systems thinking
Contextualizing
Prioritization
Discipline
Financial management
@cherylheller
dsi.sva.edu
11. It requires the skills of leadership
Social design skills:
Mapping
Storytelling
Iteration/Prototyping
Communication
Persuasion
Research
Ethnographic methods
Innovation
Critical thinking
Writing
Cross-disciplinary problem solving
Project Management
Identity Development (systemic)
Documentation
Synthesis/analysis
Facilitation
Skills common to all effective
social impact participants
Relationship
building
Sympathy (listening)
Humility
Partnering
Collaboration
Entrepreneurship
Theory of Change
Negotiation
Leadership
Systems thinking
Contextualizing
Prioritization
Discipline
Financial management
@cherylheller
dsi.sva.edu
12. It requires seeing reality from multiple perspectives.
You.
End-users.
Your
client,
sponsor.
All other affected
audiences,
stakeholders.
@cherylheller
dsi.sva.edu
19. DSI
Design for Social Innovation
In the collective, leadership is
more important than ever.
February 12, 1809
22
20. DSI
Design for Social Innovation
DEFINITION
1. Definition.
Rectify the language
Define the vision
Brand promise
Name
UNDERSTANDING
2. Understanding.
Allow the brand promise to dictate behavior
Audit communications and experience
Make your case
ENGAGEMENT
3. Engagement.
Find the emotion
Make it participatory
Make sure it’s true
Execute last and less
23
26. isions
g dec
Circum
ventin
habit.
Yeah that’s a good one.
They don’t share.
ow who we are.
We don’t really
kn
I lov
e be
Th
e
GI
There are no assholes here.
VE
in h
ugh.
ere.
me thro
action d
oesn’t c
o
ome
&D
le.
imperatives.
ned we’r
e losing
the cultu
re.
I still marvel that we run at all.
n
bee
Are we just becoming a conventional company?
e
giv
ea
n
oic
av
People have a sense of powerlessness.
the ability to develop here.
People don’t feel like they have
We’re no
t as g
nd
v
a le
Not much transference takes place.
lly hard.
ple work rea
e
alu
nd
el o
o
NoSome pe
one p
ays at
tentio
n to w
We’ve
hat’s g
hired
oing o
levels
n.
of ma
nagem
Th
ent no
is
w that
pla
hires c
ompe
ce
tence
is
.
wh
ac
ke
d.
Some o
f us be
lieve, a
nd othe
rs inter
view w
e
ll.
Absolutely two 7th realities.
uld be.
We’re not as nimble as we sho
We s
ood at w
ay th
hat we do
ey no
or as big
wm
as we thin
k we are. ore than
we u
sed t
o.
I’m sadd
e
cisions and don’
t stick
I am stunned that there are healthy people at 7g who use the to them when they are
elevator.
ed to making de
m
Ti
People aren’t us
er
wonder.
to think and
We’ve hired the wrong people.
the freedom
We’re so internally foc
ave
7G use
used we sometimes d to h
we lose sight of the
reality of our externa
l.
d
un
They made a rule that you can’t wear jeans when the investors are here.
I’m thrilled.
R
We’re
not for
GIVE is Halferee clearly a disc
diff th nt,
giving
onnect there.
compa
enoug
ny love
h.
s it wh
en we
We
say we
’re
want t
not
o be a
col
billion.
lab
ora
ting
.
We don’t have a lot of rigor.
The new people
add a lot more va
lue than the peop
le who have been
here a whi
but the
to c
ge a lot
able
out chan
We just can’t get out of our own way.
We h
ave
a lot
of pe
ople
of ye
sterd
ay.
We’re becoming competent at being conventional.
ing
We talk
ab
-p
I’ve
John Murphy sees the light in it.
ro
po
There is a great sense of community here. i love this place.
People are still excited about the equity of the brand.
I love who I w
sit
ork with. I ha
io
ve a lot of fu
n
n. I like what
I’m here because 7G is what it is.
is
i do.
st
s
ill
er
rig
well.
ck
g to work really
tin
ht
People want to be here.
ere. Do
Marketing is star
on
rk h
g
.
o wo
The vast majority of
in
te t
r
people are here for so
una
to
mething more than a
fortSomeday i wantea run this company.
paycheck.
w
very
0
that.
I’m
enalty for
r5
never a p
ere is
ve
g, and th
O
Cy l do the right thin
e wili
n
ere that w
cs
ctation h
w world.
n expe
a whole ne
ere is a
Th
ioneering in
se we’re p
with becau
ve to work
attracti
We’re very
It’s hard to make a link between the business and those global
ltural
is a cu
Roll-up strategy
f
ta
trus
a
eci
ppr
atio
@cherylheller
n
v
and
.
dsi.sva.edu
33. 8. Creativity is bigger
than innovation.
Design is more than
thinking.
@cherylheller @svadsi
@cherylheller
dsi.sva.edu
34.
35. DSI
Design for Social Innovation
What we did
Stand up.
Organize around an issue
Put up a flag
Say why you care
Draw your greatest hopes and fears
Map your assets
Write your shared vision.
Draw your strategy for getting to that vision.
Everyone, commit to something.
56
36. DSI
Design for Social Innovation
What we didn’t do
Work as individuals. (Be who you need to be but work as a group)
Work in silos (shared vision)
Focus on problems
Laws vs accountability
Heroes vs citizens
Context vs culture
57
37. DSI
Design for Social Innovation
Co-creation
See, Map
Envision
Observe
Inquire
Explore
Connect
Play
Create
Experiment
Define
Strategize,
Prototype
Test
Measure
Accelerate
Implement
Engage,
Amplify
Attract
Adapt
Evaluate
Teach
@ SVADSI
@Cheryl Heller
38. H
“You must forgive me, my dear friend. I’m a lover of
learning, and trees and open country won’t teach
me anything, whereas men in the town do.”
Socrates
39. Thank you.
Anything else you want to know?
DSI
Design for Social Innovation
@cherylheller
62
@svadsi