What if your next competitive advantage wasn’t a new product, but a new kind of leader?
Doug Powell believes designers and design thinkers have the skills business needs most right now: the ability to connect human needs with strategic goals, to navigate uncertainty, and to see opportunities others miss. In a world of rapid technological change and economic contraction, that perspective can be the difference between falling behind and defining what’s next. Powell has spent his career proving it. At IBM, he helped build one of the largest corporate design programs in history, hiring over 1,000 designers, embedding human-centered design across global teams, and aligning design thinking with enterprise strategy. He’s led at the highest levels of AIGA, advised Fortune 100 leaders, and now coaches executives on integrating design into the core of their decision-making.
This is an essential time for design and designers. In the face of unprecedented global challenges and a rapidly evolving technological landscape, the core skills of human-centered design, empathy, curiosity, inclusion, collaboration, and craft are needed more than ever. Powell believes designers are made for this moment.
For business leaders, Powell’s perspective is a wake-up call: designers and design thinkers are not just executors of creative work; they are catalysts for innovation, culture change, and long-term growth. Research from McKinsey shows that companies excelling in design outperform industry peers by up to 2x in revenue growth and shareholder returns. A 2023 InVision report found that 92% of high-maturity design organizations report a strong connection between design and business strategy. Powell argues that in a time of technological disruption and market uncertainty, leaders who integrate human-centered design into the decision-making core of their companies will be the ones defining what’s next.
In this conversation, you’ll hear about:
Why companies that integrate design at the leadership level grow faster and create greater shareholder value
Lessons from building IBM’s global design program from scratch in under four years
How human-centered design can break down silos and speed decision-making across functions
Why downturns are a prime opportunity to invest in innovation and talent
The lasting influence of Tibor Kalman and the responsibility of design to challenge complacency
How AIGA builds leadership capacity across industries and the value of giving back
Why designers will be at the center of AI’s most transformative breakthroughs, and what leaders should do now
Whether you’re a CEO, CMO, or innovation lead, this episode will show you how to harness design as a strategic advantage, not just for better products, but for stronger teams, sharper strategy, and sustainable growth.
The Design Of podcast shares inspiring conversations on how people design their lives to create extraordinary projects, impact, and careers. Hosted by Justin Ahrens, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Rule29, each episode explores the stories behind creativity, purpose, and leadership. Ahrens sits down with designers, entrepreneurs, story, and makers to uncover how they built a life and work with meaning.
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