The Designful Company: How to Build a Culture of Nonstop Innovation [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Marty Neumeier calls his books "whiteboard overviews" and indeed in format they attempt to avoid long stretches of gray and make their points without elaborate argument or proof. In this book, Neumeier attempts to come at contemporary corporate cultures as they face our breakneck markets, and convince us all that we need to be more creative and innovative. You might say, "Duh."

The problem, though, is not that we lack creativity, but that the corporate cultures we build up around innovative products and services soon stifle that creativity in the name of control, power, and ego. Thus the GMs of this world, where new ideas have not been seen since your father's Oldsmobile, are dying under the weight of what they have built.

Neumeier's theory sets out the proposition that if we put design (in a broadened definition) at the forefront of our priorities and our processes, we can build companies that can respond to the innovative demands of the culture. This means rescuing the high creatives from their pigeonhole of "exotic menials" in a "professional ghetto" and empowering them. As someone who is probably regarded as such an "exotic menial" in a highly bureaucratic, hierarchical organization, I can only say "good luck." It may be better to let natural selection do its work.

Still, Neumeier makes an appealing if not compelling case, and offers a good many useful ideas for techniques to break down barriers to innovation. The book is, if nothing else, a good conversation starter.

Those of us who have read Marty Neumeier's The Brand Gap (2003) and/or Zag (2006) realize that he has a tough act to follow: himself. In these previously published "whiteboard overview" books, he shared his thoughts about the gap "between logic and magic," and then zoomed in to help readers "build a sustainable competitive advantage." He explained how and why, when focus is paired with differentiation, supported by a trend, and surrounded by compelling communications, "you have the basic ingredients of a zag"--in other words, a point of radical differentiation. In his most recent book, Neumeier briefly reviews these and other key ideas before shifting his attention to the challenge of organizing a company for agility by developing a "designful mind": that is, a perspective that enables decision-makers to invent the widest range of solutions for the "wicked problems" now facing their company, their industry, and their world.

Neumeier is president of Neutron, a San Francisco-based firm, that designs and facilitates culture-change programs that spur innovation. In co-sponsorship with Stanford University, his firm conducted a survey to identify "wicked problems"--problems so persistent, pervasive, or slippery that they seem insoluble. Ten are listed on Page 2 and range from "balancing long-term goals with short-term demands" to "aligning strategy with customer experience." In this book, Neumeier explains how to establish and then sustain a culture of nonstop innovation, one that is guided and informed by a discipline of design so that it generates nonstop solutions to whatever wicked problems it may encounter. (Note: The solution process must be nonstop in response to constant changes of the nature and/or extent of each problem to be solved.)

According to Neumeier, a designful company inserts "making" between "knowing" and "doing." Its designers don't actually solve problems. They "work through" them. They use non-logical processes that are difficult to express in words but easier to express in action. They use models, mockups, sketches, and stories as their vocabulary. They operate in the space between "knowing" and "doing," prototyping new solutions that arise from their four strengths of empathy [i.e. understanding the motivations of stakeholders to forge stronger bonds], intuition [a shortcut to understanding situations], imagination [new ideas are generated by divergent thinking, not convergent thinking], and idealism [an obsession with getting it right, obtaining what is missing, making whatever changes may be necessary, etc.]. One of Neumeier's most important points is that any organization (regardless of its size or nature) needs designers at all levels and in all areas of its operations. "To build an innovative culture, a company must keep itself in a perpetual state of reinvention. Radical ideas must be the norm, not the exception...Companies don't fail because they choose the wrong course--they fail because they can't imagine a better one."

As is also true of two predecessors, The Brand Gap and Zag, The Designful Company is a "whiteboard overview" rather than a traditional book in terms of both its design and content. Although Neumeier's unorthodox approach will no doubt irritate some people, I think his approach is both appropriate and effective. To those who are thinking about purchasing this book, I presume to offer several suggestions. Keep in mind that the presentation of Neumeier's counterintuitive ideas requires the format and illustrations selected. He offers a briefing on options to consider when designing and then building a culture of nonstop innovation. It remains for readers to work their way through the material in whatever order works best for them. Read all of the customer reviews of it that Amazon features. (FYI, I never read other reviews until after I have submitted my own.) This is not a book for everyone, nor does Neumeier make any such claim.

If you read the book and then decide to act upon several of his suggestions, be prepared to encounter what James O'Toole has aptly characterized as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." Radical ideas and their advocates are perceived to be--and they are--serious threats to those who defend the status quo. Neumeier has much of value to say about the power of effective storytelling when attempting to engage others in change initiatives. He correctly observes that stories aligned with key messages should be simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, and emotional. (Please see Pages 88-95.) I also highly recommend books on business narratives written by Stephen Denning (The Leader's Guide to Storytelling), Doug Lipman (Improving Your Storytelling), and Annette Simmons (The Story Factor).

As these brief remarks indicate, I think this is Marty Neumeier's most important--indeed his most valuable--book thus far because he addresses issues that are relevant to an organization's entire culture whereas, previously, he focused on a specific organizational imperative such as bridging the distance between business strategy and customer experience with five interconnected disciplines or using the first and most strategic of those disciplines to achieve radical differentiation.

I find that Marty Neumeier's books (and I will refer to him as Marty, from here on) raise more questions than they provide answers...and it is my experience that they stimulate great professional dialogue and a fair share of stimulating thinking. And "The Designful Company" is no exception.

In this book, Marty proposes big ideas in simple words that leave you wanting for more (in a good way). As a branding expert with a career that spans over 25 years in this profession, I have read few books that are more inspiring or thought provoking.

The premise of The Designful Company is that in order to gain control of a company's future we need to embrace the practice of design. Of course, in Marty's language "design" is a very powerful transformational tool that does a lot more than just "styling". Instead, Marty's design is about process and people and ideas driven by a desire to improve "performance" not aesthetics. He completely re-designs the idea of design.

Within our business, I've always insisted that "design" has little or nothing to do with "art". I believe that design is about creating purposeful change for the better...and I think that for design to be effective one must have a clear set of goals. In his book, Marty argues that the ultimate goal of a sustainable business is long term profit....and design is the starting point for a chain reaction that goes something like this: Design drives innovation; innovation powers brand development; brand builds loyalty; and loyalty results in profits.

Of course, I don't agree with everything that Marty proposes...but there's plenty in the book that I found to be intriguing and inspiring. For example, I loved the way that Marty re-invents the idea of aesthetics, and catapults it to an entirely new level that goes well beyond making things pretty. Marty's chart titled the "Aesthetics of Management" completely redefines the meaning of aesthetic principles in terms of business issues...and I will definitely be using this in future meetings and presentations (and, obsequiously credit the author). In this chart "Contrast" deals with "How do we differentiate ourselves?". "Depth" defines "How can we succeed at many levels". And, "Focus" refers to "What should we NOT do?".

Halfway through the book, Marty suggests that there are 16 "levers for change"...and that these "levers" hold the key to designing a new future for business. Apparently, you don't have to use all of them...and they need not be applied in any particular order. I found that some are more helpful than others...but I guess that this is exactly the point: Marty is inviting us to pick and choose which to use and which not to use...and therefore become the designers he invites us all to be.

In summary I really recommend this book to anyone interested in "designing" a better company, however, I found Marty Neumeier to be a little misleading when he described his book as a "quick read". That may very well be, but The Designful Company is far from light reading. It is a thought provoking, idea changing, extremely powerful book that will greatly influence the way I think about how design can change my company, the companies of my clients, and the world as a whole.

Read it and be ready to change your mind about a lot of things.

Alfredo Muccino
Chief Creative Officer
Liquid Agency | Brand Marketing
www.liquidagency.com