6 BREADTH AND DEPTH: Rewiring to position design at parity

Now that we've established a sense of the impact we wish to make, we need to drill into how we actually arrange our design and innovation capabilities to begin the journey. How can we organize our talents for maximum impact? Ifwe think about our teams, we need to clarify roles and responsibilities, whether we're part of a small start-up or a large enterprise carving a path for multidisciplinary innovation. Once we understand that, we need to arm our talents with the right methodologies that provide guidance and direction when and where they need it. We also need to empower them with the right tools, platforms, and infrastructure to be successful. These elements together imply taking a systematic approach toward implementing these capabilities to facilitate and deliver meaningful innovation work. Design bears a unique responsibility to provide leadership within a multidisciplinary team. I am not implying that design should lead everything (though situations could require it), but unique leadership from design will be required. I view leading multidisciplinary teams much like managing an orchestra. There may be a conductor standing on the podium directing the musical score, and this may be the person the executive stakeholder calls when things go awry. But the conductor may look to the lead clarinet, lead saxophone, or lead trombone to take charge during certain portions of the song. Design has an opportunity to lead during parts of the journey while respecting other disciplines’ leadership in balance.