Lynn Juang’s Post

The design leader’s ultimate tool? Creative Direction. In my opinion, the meaning of creative direction is often misunderstood by non-creatives, and there’s often confusion about its value and how and when it should be implemented within the creative process and the wider business. 💡 Here are my thoughts on how creative direction can be successfully implemented. #DesignLeadSucceed #CreativeDirection #DesignLeadership

I found 4 similarities between Design Thinking Action Plan vs Strategy Action Plan- PART 2 2️⃣ Problem Framing 🧩 Both Design Thinking and Strategy Action Plans- emphasize the importance of framing the problem accurately. By leveraging insights gained from Empathize Phase (Design Thinking) or Diagnose Phase (Strategy), we can define a current problem or forecast a future challenge effectively. This clarity helps in focusing efforts on what truly matters. Remember, a well-framed problem is half-solved! Key mindsets: Ask the right questions. Think critical. Collaborate and discuss as a team. Be structured. Align with business and creative lens. However, higher difficulty of Frame & Forecast Phase (Strategy) is the fact that the challenge may only happen in the future- it may or may not happen! This requires more than just defining a VUCA problem perceived right now but a potential VUCA challenge in the FUTURE. So on top of the above convergence mindsets, we also need divergence ability to brainstorm the future scenario as well! _______________ 👋🏻 I'm Daniel Ling- CEO / Founder of Emerge Creatives Training Co and was Head of Design in the financial and e-commerce industry. Author of Design Thinking Guide for Successful Professionals. 👆🏻 Click my name + follow + 🔔 for more posts on Design Thinking, Innovation, Strategy and Design Leadership. 👍🏻 Like or repost this to your network if you learned something new about this post. 🤘🏻 Get 222-page FREE BOOK (Pay Only Shipping) via my profile link 👀 Save this post to review and reflect later! #design #networking #designthinking #innovation #leadership #coaching #creativity #strategy #businessplanning #designleadership #designleaders #mentorship #reflection #designcommunity #training

The emphasis on avoiding generic advice is crucial. Can you share an example from your own experience where providing specific, value-added content made a noticeable impact on engagement or feedback?

I became a Top Design Voice in 2 Weeks That’s all I gave it - 2 Weeks.  14 days are enough to get you one step closer to that shiny badge.  Here’s how I did it. Save this post so that you don’t miss it! 🧡 1) You’re late. Be strategic. - Pick a niche that has a relatively lower level of contributors.  - Most big categories are oversaturated. - The riches are in the niches. Example :  Instead of “Design” you can pick  -- Design Leadership -- Design Research -- Design Thinking -- Design Strategy  -- and so much more You get the point. 2) 5x per week.  4x per day.  3x per article - Contribute to articles 5x a week, 4 articles at a time, and 3 contributions per article. - It might seem like a lot, but you’ll get into the groove of it quickly. 3) Cut the BS Don’t give generic advice.  Don’t tell people what they already know.  Add value. 3 Ways :  - Tell a story - Share what NOT to do - Craft a plan of action (like this one!) Have a question? Comment below and I will answer all your questions for first 10 comments! 🧡 Follow me for more hacks :)

Leading a creative team requires finding ways to unblock and empower your team's creative potential. In this post, I dig into how leaders can help create the circumstances for their teams to have incredible creative conversations. Enjoy! https://bit.ly/4bfRVQd

"𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱." This old saying seems to hold a lot of wisdom, especially when it comes to 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀. Larger teams, with their sweeping array of resources, expertise, and abilities, are often seen as powerhouses. But, there's a flip side. More stakeholders mean more opinions, which can lead to extended decision-making processes. Progress can slow, frustration can brew, and decisions can get stuck in a cycle of endless deliberation. Smaller teams, however, have agility on their side. Decisions can be made more swiftly and efficiently, keeping the team focused and the momentum going. For instance, when I needed a logo for 𝗥𝗲𝘅 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵, I whipped a decent one up in an hour using Canva. It wasn't about perfection—it was about progress. I'm not sure that same speed would have been possible in a larger team setting. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Can smaller teams, even with limited resources, outmaneuver larger ones through their nimbleness and decisiveness? While larger teams certainly offer a broader skill set, the ability of smaller teams to act quickly without delays is a potent advantage. Both small and large teams have their merits, but in an environment where speed is of the essence, being small, agile, and swift can make all the difference. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲? #Teamwork #Efficiency #Leadership #DecisionMaking #BusinessStrategy

I found 4 similarities between Design Thinking Action Plan vs Strategy Action Plan- PART 1 1️⃣ Understanding and Empathy 🔍 In both Design Thinking and Strategy Action Plans- understanding and empathy are foundational. By deeply comprehending the context and perspectives of the target audience, we create solutions that truly address Needs. Pain points. Delighters. This approach not only ensure insights and clarity that will help to define the issue or problem better. For example- the Empathize Phase (Design Thinking) focus on target users to understand their needs so that you can further define the key problem to solve later. In Diagnose Phase (Strategy)- we take a different approach to look for an organisational perspective in understanding context, trends, competitors and future personas in order to have empathy. These Phases (Empathize and Diagnose) in the both Action Plan- are easily the most crucial mindset shift amongst all frameworks - EMPATHY - where most of us so readily leave out in our quest to solve problems or make strategies. _______________ 👋🏻 I'm Daniel Ling- CEO / Founder of Emerge Creatives Training Co and was Head of Design in the financial and e-commerce industry. Author of Design Thinking Guide for Successful Professionals. 👆🏻 Click my name + follow + 🔔 for more posts on Design Thinking, Innovation, Strategy and Design Leadership. 👍🏻 Like or repost this to your network if you learned something new about this post. 🤘🏻 Get 222-page FREE BOOK (Pay Only Shipping) via my profile link 👀 Save this post to review and reflect later! #design #networking #designthinking #innovation #leadership #coaching #creativity #strategy #businessplanning #designleadership #designleaders #mentorship #reflection #designcommunity #training

Strategy Action Plan vs the Design Thinking Action Plan? 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ Strategy Action Plan and Design Thinking Action Plan serve different purposes- one is focused on delivering strategies to overcome future challenges while the other is focused delivering solutions to solve complex problems. Here's the similarities: Understanding and Empathy Both Action Plan focused on understanding the problem or challenge from the perspective of the users. Problem Framing: Both frame the problem or opportunity based on insights gained from the previous Phase. Ideation and Decision Making: Both will generate and evaluate potential solutions to address the identified problem or opportunity. Implementation and Iteration: Both will implement the chosen solutions and continuously iterate based on feedback and insights Here's the difference: Design Thinking Action Plan: Solve Complex VUCA Problems Focus on Current Adopt Inside-out and Outside-in mindset Impact Customer Experience, Innovation and Productivity Strategy Action Plan: Solve Future Scenarios Focus on Planning Adopt Forward-back or Present-forward mindset Impact Business Readiness, Viability and Competitive Advantage With this two Action Plans- if Design Thinking can 10X your value in the marketplace- then Strategy can double your 10X easily. Let's deep-dive into their similarities and differences.. get to work. 💪🏻💪🏻 _______________ 👋🏻 I'm Daniel Ling- design leader in the financial and e-commerce industry and author of Design Thinking Guide for Successful Professionals 👆🏻 Click my name + follow + 🔔 for more posts on Design Thinking, Innovation, Strategy and Design Leadership. 👍🏻 Like or repost this to your network if you learned something new about this post. 🤘🏻 Get 222-page FREE BOOK (Pay Only Shipping) via my profile link 👀 Save this post to review and reflect later! #design #networking #designthinking #innovation #leadership #coaching #creativity #strategy #businessplanning #designleadership #designleaders #mentorship #reflection #designcommunity #training

Setting the Stage: More Than Just Prep Work What does that even mean "Setting the Stage"? It's about laying the groundwork for impactful conversations with clients, team members, or contractors. But it goes deeper than just prep work. It's understanding your direction, crafting your approach, and entering every chat with confidence. It means tackling internal challenges and fine-tuning your mindset to lead with authority. And when the talk ends? It's time to reflect and learn, just like a coach reviewing the game tape. The best part? The results speak for themselves. Not only will you see your numbers climb by partnering with the right people, but you'll also enjoy the journey. Watch your confidence skyrocket and master the art of steering meaningful conversations. #coachalexgoldau #designersdreammastermind #designers #leadershipcoaching

As a Designer, Design Manager or Design Leader while it’s exciting to talk about Design, Design Method or Design Thinking, what the rest of the business [AND YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM] may want to hear about is… Our team contributed to [REVENUE GROWTH] by doing... Our work reduced [CUSTOMER ACQUISITION COST] by designing... Our work in Q1 increased [CSAT] through delivery of... This year we helped to reduce customer [CHURN RATE] by... When we talk about business savvy Designers, this is what we mean. You don’t have to sacrifice Ideals, Design, or become someone else… Craft team value the way you approach designing products & services: - understand the humans you engage with - segment your audiences - identify each of their needs and opportunities - know what is important to them--and what isn't - learn how they expect to consume it And then, craft your team's narrative and deliver the right message to the right people… Note: insert the metrics that pertain to your organisational strategy and vision, e.g. public services will have different sets of measures - thanks Christian Crumlish for the prompt. #design #designthinking #designleadership #designing #leadership