The 5 Business Skills Every Design Professional Needs to Master / Ryan Scott / Ep. #222
FEB 27, 202565 MIN
The 5 Business Skills Every Design Professional Needs to Master / Ryan Scott / Ep. #222
FEB 27, 202565 MIN
Description
<p>When advice goes wrong...</p><p>My daughter is an avid soccer player.</p><p>On a recent cold and dark Saturday morning, I was standing on the sideline cheering her on at a match - the priceless perks of being a dad.</p><p>At some point, the opposing team coach was shouting to their players, "You need to defend better!" </p><p>And all I could think to myself at that moment was, "That's terrible advice." </p><p>Not because they were defending well - rather the opposite. </p><p>But, I mean, "defend better" - would you know what you're supposed to do? </p><p>Should I press higher, get closer to the attacker, make more forward runs? </p><p>This type of advice often just leads to more confusion and coordination problems.</p><p>Now, in design, we also get this type of well-intended but counter-productive advice all too often.</p><p>Want a classic example? </p><p>How about "designers need to understand business"? </p><p>No sh*t Sherlock.</p><p>We hear this ALL the time.</p><p>Very rarely does someone go beyond the surface and get specific about what "understanding business" actually means.</p><p>Fortunately for us, we have someone on the Show today who does - Ryan Scott. </p><p>Ryan has an impressive track record in design, but he also holds an MBA degree. </p><p>This combination is quite unique and gives him the ability to look at challenges from different perspectives with empathy for both sides.</p><p>So in this episode, we unpack what it actually takes to bridge the gap between business and design. </p><p>You'll be surprised to hear how many skills you already have to make this crossover successfully. </p><p>It's not easy, but it's not as hard or distant as you might think, either. MBA degree not required.</p><p>So, if you've ever felt frustrated by the lack of respect and appreciation for design from "the business side," this conversation might just hold the clue on how you can turn that around.</p><p>I've always said that designers can be some of the best salespeople. </p><p>It's really time that we start using this power to our advantage. </p><p>Because we are all selling already, every single day.</p><p>Enjoy and keep making a positive impact!</p><p>~ Marc</p><p><br></p><p>--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- </p><p>00:00 Welcome to episode 222</p><p>03:00 Broad Designer Role</p><p>05:00 Business vs. Users</p><p>07:30 Why an MBA?</p><p>11:00 Business for Designers</p><p>14:00 People Skills & Clout</p><p>15:30 Design Gaslighting</p><p>21:00 Joining the Conversation</p><p>22:30 The Gap</p><p>32:00 Management-Led Design</p><p>34:00 Shaping Your Perspective</p><p>36:00 Sales & Brand</p><p>38:00 Biggest Roadblock</p><p>41:30 Reframing Our Identity</p><p>46:15 Adapting to the System</p><p>48:45 Imposter Syndrome</p><p>51:45 Proving Your Impact</p><p>54:00 Competitive Analysis</p><p>56:30 Design Career Path</p><p>1:01:00 Question to Ponder</p><p>1:02:15 Resources</p><p> --- [ 2. LINKS ] ---</p><ul> <li><a href=" https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanscottcreative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanscottcreative/</a></li> <li>How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie (book) - <a href="https://a.co/d/0VTXtJ3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://a.co/d/0VTXtJ3</a></li> <li>48 laws of power by Robert Greene (book) - <a href="https://a.co/d/ftLLRom" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://a.co/d/ftLLRom</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.acceleratedesign.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.acceleratedesign.com/</a></li> <li>Maven Learning - <a href="https://maven.com/ryan-scott " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://maven.com/ryan-scott </a></li></ul><ul> </ul><p><br></p><p> --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- </p><p>Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. </p><p><a href="https://www.servicedesignshow.com/circle/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_id=222&utm_content=v2" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://servicedesignshow.com/circle</a></p>
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Sign In![<p>When advice goes wrong...</p><p>My daughter is an avid soccer player.</p><p>On a recent cold and dark Saturday morning, I was standing on the sideline cheering her on at a match - the priceless perks of being a dad.</p><p>At some point, the opposing team coach was shouting to their players, "You need to defend better!" </p><p>And all I could think to myself at that moment was, "That's terrible advice." </p><p>Not because they were defending well - rather the opposite. </p><p>But, I mean, "defend better" - would you know what you're supposed to do? </p><p>Should I press higher, get closer to the attacker, make more forward runs? </p><p>This type of advice often just leads to more confusion and coordination problems.</p><p>Now, in design, we also get this type of well-intended but counter-productive advice all too often.</p><p>Want a classic example? </p><p>How about "designers need to understand business"? </p><p>No sh*t Sherlock.</p><p>We hear this ALL the time.</p><p>Very rarely does someone go beyond the surface and get specific about what "understanding business" actually means.</p><p>Fortunately for us, we have someone on the Show today who does - Ryan Scott. </p><p>Ryan has an impressive track record in design, but he also holds an MBA degree. </p><p>This combination is quite unique and gives him the ability to look at challenges from different perspectives with empathy for both sides.</p><p>So in this episode, we unpack what it actually takes to bridge the gap between business and design. </p><p>You'll be surprised to hear how many skills you already have to make this crossover successfully. </p><p>It's not easy, but it's not as hard or distant as you might think, either. MBA degree not required.</p><p>So, if you've ever felt frustrated by the lack of respect and appreciation for design from "the business side," this conversation might just hold the clue on how you can turn that around.</p><p>I've always said that designers can be some of the best salespeople. </p><p>It's really time that we start using this power to our advantage. </p><p>Because we are all selling already, every single day.</p><p>Enjoy and keep making a positive impact!</p><p>~ Marc</p><p><br></p><p>--- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- </p><p>00:00 Welcome to episode 222</p><p>03:00 Broad Designer Role</p><p>05:00 Business vs. Users</p><p>07:30 Why an MBA?</p><p>11:00 Business for Designers</p><p>14:00 People Skills & Clout</p><p>15:30 Design Gaslighting</p><p>21:00 Joining the Conversation</p><p>22:30 The Gap</p><p>32:00 Management-Led Design</p><p>34:00 Shaping Your Perspective</p><p>36:00 Sales & Brand</p><p>38:00 Biggest Roadblock</p><p>41:30 Reframing Our Identity</p><p>46:15 Adapting to the System</p><p>48:45 Imposter Syndrome</p><p>51:45 Proving Your Impact</p><p>54:00 Competitive Analysis</p><p>56:30 Design Career Path</p><p>1:01:00 Question to Ponder</p><p>1:02:15 Resources</p><p> --- [ 2. LINKS ] ---</p><ul> <li><a href=" https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanscottcreative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanscottcreative/</a></li> <li>How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie (book) - <a href="https://a.co/d/0VTXtJ3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://a.co/d/0VTXtJ3</a></li> <li>48 laws of power by Robert Greene (book) - <a href="https://a.co/d/ftLLRom" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://a.co/d/ftLLRom</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.acceleratedesign.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.acceleratedesign.com/</a></li> <li>Maven Learning - <a href="https://maven.com/ryan-scott " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://maven.com/ryan-scott </a></li></ul><ul> </ul><p><br></p><p> --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- </p><p>Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. </p><p><a href="https://www.servicedesignshow.com/circle/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_id=222&utm_content=v2" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://servicedesignshow.com/circle</a></p>](https://us-central1-podcastguru-217d6.cloudfunctions.net/gcf_get_image?image_url=https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts126/v4/44/82/12/4482120c-859a-b927-ee5e-712692c98f67/mza_2086360667211686713.jpg/600x600bb.jpg&width=300&height=300&api_key=xqFmUFX5BHLBTA)
