Business Thinking for Designers

‘Making it’ is different than we expected
When lists of the top innovation companies are published, a lot 
of familiar faces show up. From Airbnb to Netflix to Nike, these 
organizations invest heavily in design to gain a competitive 
advantage. While many popular narratives describe how these 
companies turn to design, what’s equally important (and less-
discussed) is how design leaders at these companies look to 
business to drive value.
For many design leaders, “making it” involved years of painful 
business lessons. And there are many more designers out 
there today who still struggle to learn these lessons on 
their own. There has to be a better way forward. Here’s my 
assertion:
01. Designers with the most success in our industry are 
business-aware.
02. The world needs more successful designers involved in 
strategic decisions, therefore more designers need to 
learn the language of business.
03. Applying known methodologies and tactics provides 
designers with practical steps to develop business 
acumen faster.

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12 
Why you need to know business
Ethics matter
“Are we enabling others to do harm?” 
“What do we capture from customers in exchange for money?” 
“If customers aren’t paying, how do we make money?”
Be it privacy, security, or politics, many companies face 
backlash and/or gain a competitive advantage because they 
align their ethical positions to those of their customers. 
(Recent surveys confirm ethics has become an important 
purchasing factor.) 
This trend is so significant that the Business Roundtable, the 
most influential group of corporate leaders in the U.S., recently 
changed their mission statement for the first time since 1997. 
Rather than addressing only shareholder value, the new 
mission statement speaks to valuing customers, employees, 
suppliers, communities, and shareholders. Even if this move 
is merely symbolic, leading organizations now realize ethical 
perceptions matter a lot.
With customers using their purchasing power to support 
purpose-driven companies, organizations around the globe 
are aligning corporate values to customer values. As designers 
gain business acumen, we can influence the ability of our 
organizations to understand and live up to these values. Also, 

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13 
Why you need to know business
as employees, we grow more capable of finding companies 
whose values align with our own.