Experience by Design

• Better Sales Experiences with Doug C Brown

  I’m lucky enough to live in a spot where there are a lot of trails that I can enjoy whether running, walking, biking, and even snowshoeing if we get enough snow. No matter what I am doing, I have one simple rule: if there is a friendly dog on the trail, I must stop to pet it. The opportunity to pet and engage with random dogs is one of the things that just brings me a lot of happiness. It is hard for me to understand those who are not “dog people”, especially since I mostly prefer dogs to people. I’m a sucker for dogs. It turns out that those cute faces that dogs make and the way they endear themselves to us is not by accident, but by evolution. Being cute helps them to worm their way into our worlds. In that way, dogs are a bit of a salesperson, selling us on giving out treats, walks, toys, outfits, food, cuddles, and all kinds of pampering. I mean, sales is just about convincing someone of a course of action. Dogs are great at this, or at least they are to me because I am such an easy mark for dogs because they play on my emotions. In preparing this, I hesitated at connecting dogs with sales because dogs are revered people and sales people less so. In fact, you could say that sales has a bad rap. Rather than seeing sales as a way of getting people what they need, sales is often viewed as a way of convincing people to get things that they don’t need and will not be helpful. But our guest today is here to talk about how when sales is done well, it is a win-win-win situation. Doug C. Brown has spent a career trying to do sales right, creating positive experiences for customers and sellers alike. Doug talks about how sales is probably the world’s “oldest profession.” He also talks about the challenge of overcoming the bad rap of selling to get to a better outcome for customers. He describes how the metrics being tracked often are not those connected to CX success, which lead to worse outcomes. He finally takes us on the long strange trip of starting out as a vocal major at Berklee College of Music, moving to nuclear medicine, serving in the Army for 12 years, and finally ending up in sales (all of which have more in common than you might think!).LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbrown123/CEO Sales Strategies: https://ceosalesstrategies.com/

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  54:02
• Stand Out Experiences with Judy Winslow

  We are rapidly approaching the end of semester, which can only mean one thing: freedom. The end of the semester is always a weird time. It kind of reminds me of the end of a relationship where both parties have just had enough and know that it is time to move on. Let us conclude the business at hand and get on with our lives. Sure we can stay friends, and perhaps even hold out the potential of getting back together at some point in the future in another class. But right now, its best if we go our separate ways. For those students that are graduating, it means something else entirely: time to put all that book learning to work and try to get a job. Of course calling it book learning makes me show my age, because who reads books anymore! But the point still stands: graduates are on the hunt for a job that will provide the opportunity to start adulting on a larger scale. To get a job, one of the things that they need to be able to do is stand out from the pack of others who are also trying to get jobs. Here in lies one of the unique ironies that we have in at least American culture. The belief that we are individuals who are unique and can stand out, coupled with a strong anxiety and aversion to being different from other people. For as much as we like to think of ourselves as unique and distinctive, we really have a strong streak of conformity. This makes us no different from other societies in which standing out can be stigmatizing and sanctioned. Being the first in a parade feels a lot safer than standing out.But standing out is important in terms of showing others who we truly are, and living in a way that feels authentic. My guest today on Experience by Design knows all about the challenge and importance of standing out. Judy Winslow of Unforgettable Brands is a self-described Brandologist who has spent her life standing out and being around creatives who do the same. Judy moved to Sarasota, Florida because it was a place for unique personalities and creative artists could come together and celebrate standing out. As a person trained in graphic design, she knew the importance of self-expression in her work. Now, she works with leaders to create cultures in which people can celebrate their unique characteristics, have freedom to express it, and transform vision into reality. We talk about giving permission to be audaciously authentic. She describes how our brand is in action all the time, and that as humans we are here to stand out. She talks about how she was influenced by Marty Selligman, the godfather of positive psychology, focusing on what works well and how to build on those successes. She also reinforces the point that before you have customers, you have employees, and that personal and professional development is not just about improving ourselves, but helping to improve others as well by being able to better show up for them. Judy Winslow https://unforgettablebrands.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judywins/

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  1:06:11
• Co-Creating Experiences with Jaime Schwarz

  Springtime in New England is the worst. As I sit here on another cold and rainy “spring” day, I’m reminded of what I was told by someone when I first moved to Boston 25 years ago: “Springs in New England are wonderful.” I never trusted another word that person said after I experienced it for myself. Part of it is the waiting for something better that you hope is right around the corner in terms of sunny skies and warmer weather. And then two weeks later it will be 87 with 1000% humidity. But those two weeks of actual nice weather are pretty wonderful. But the waiting is rough, as transitions often are. Any kind of transition can be painful and wrought. Think about the transitions that you have gone through in your life, what it felt like, and what it took to get through it. It turns out that in many ways we are in another transition right now: something called Late-Stage Capitalism. We can look at the technological transitions taking place, the accumulation of wealth and the growing disparities it is bringing, environmental degradation, and the seemingly increasing number of financial crises as indicators of this transition being underway. But what comes next? To talk about social transformations and transitions, we welcome Jaime Schwartz to the Experience by Design studios. Jaime's expertise crosses a lot of areas, which is a good thing because we talk about the need to have breadth of knowledge and experience as we enter what he calls the Co-Creation Economy. Part of this lies in finding better ways for people to work together, using AI as a tool to help facilitate collaboration and flow. Another part of this is focused on helping corporations align their brands with a higher mission and purpose. Finally, we have co-creationism in art, where new technologies and approaches to expression create new ways of sharing, owning, and co-creating artistic expression. Overall, our conversation digs into how we successfully transition to embrace the promise that technological innovations have for making our lives better, and hopefully not being run over by it. And how by coming together we can accomplish great things. Team Flow Institute: https://teamflow.institute Mrkd Art: https://mrkd.artBrand Therapy: https://brandtherapy.coach

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  56:55
• Designing Aging Experiences with Sheng-Hung Lee

  I always feel a bit bad complaining about getting older, because getting older is not a privilege afforded to everyone. At the same time, getting older does present certain challenges. I was able to get a glimpse into aging the other day when I went to get my eyes examined. Turns out that the middle of the day at the eye doctor is peak time for those who are, shall we say, of a demographic much more advanced than I. It definitely was a glimpse into a future that I am steadily approaching, and makes me reflect on what it will be like to be older then. There are so many things that have increased accessibility for those who are older, designs that make life more manageable and easier to negotiate. At the same time, a lot of challenges remain, especially in a society in which technological change is fast enough to make even the most savvy feel left behind. So, clearly there is a lot of work to be done. And that is why we welcome our guest today on Experience by Design. Sheng-Hung Lee is a Doctoral student at MIT. There he is involved in the AgeLab, where they have the aim “to improve the quality of life of older people and those who care for them.” Sheng-Hung has been involved in a wide range of service design initiatives, and has a list of awards and recognitions to prove it. He also has worked at companies like Ideo as well as Continuum, and is part of organizations such as the World Design Organization and the Industrial Designers Society of America. We talked about a range of topics related to designing, systems, and aging. He talks about what brought him to the field of design out of his background in engineering. Sheng-Hung describes how we have to move from the idea of designer as hero, and work more collaboratively to address complex challenges. Part of that is the need to go beyond siloed thinking and integrate ideas from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. And we talk about the need to move beyond focusing on tangible stuff as a primary motivation, and have the space to explore, learn, and synthesize.Sheng-Hung Lee Website: https://shenghunglee.comMIT AgeLab: https://agelab.mit.edu/

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  1:07:08
• Participatory Artistic Experiences with Will Owen

  As I’ve mentioned before, one of the great things about doing a show like this is the fascinating people I get to talk to who are coming at experience design from many different approaches, perspectives, and backgrounds. One of the groups that I perhaps enjoy talking to the most (no offense to anyone else) is artists. I’ve always admired the ability to turn imagination and passion into something that expresses one’s soul in a way that can move others. Talking to artists about their work kind of creates a sense of purity of work in terms of representing an authentic self. I don’t want to overly dramatize or prematurely canonize them. But artists can do really cool stuff that brings life and light into the world.And it feels like every day more and more, we need some life and light brought into the world. While art changes, our need for art never changes.My guest today is artist Will Owen. Looking at Will’s website, it lists his primary mediums as sound, sculpture, and food. That’s right. Food. Without that is a larger preoccupation of culture and the world in which we live, seeking to represent it in ways that stimulate thought, expose us to its beauty, and contemplate its possibilities. Growing up in Appalachia provided an opportunity to explore how to have fun and create with whatever was available. Before we had the concept of a ‘maker space,’ his childhood was a maker space in which risks could be take in the pursuit of having fun and filling time. Out of that comes a creative spark and fundamental appreciation for the natural world. He describes himself as being ‘obsessively curious’ and being promiscuous with materials, which he owes to his childhood and the collaborative explorations with his friends.Today he is part of many different collectives around the world. He is part of the Flux Factory in New York, and has worked with artists in Russia and Taipei,We talk about making something loud with no budget, the indelible reciprocity of making together, the porousness needed to engage with performative audiences, and his obsession with supertemporary communities. We also talk about the bus experiment, a traveling exhibit from Manhattan to Philly. Will Owen - https://willowen.netFlux Factory - https://www.fluxfactory.org/

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  1:09:11

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