Management Tip of the Day: 3 Ways to Get What You Need from Design

Are you having trouble viewing this email? If so, click here to see it in a web browser. HOME   |   BLOGS   |   THE MAGAZINE   |   BOOKS   |   AUTHORS   |   STORE RSS   |   Mobile JUNE 24, 2011 3 Ways to Get What You Need from Design While the business world may have developed a full-blown love affair with design, very few companies are doing it well. If you're taking on a corporate design effort, follow these three rules: Don't design for everybody. Design succeeds when it serves as a differentiator. A Ferrari, while beautifully designed, is not for everyone. Nor is a minivan. Tightly define who you are designing for and why. Don't try to be Apple. Good design needs to be aligned with the company's purpose and values. Delivering an Apple-like experience is not sustainable for most companies because they don't have the culture or resources to support it. Know your company's limits and deliver within them. Don't treat it as an add-on. Design isn't just bells and whistles you add at the end or put into your existing processes—most companies need to transform to accommodate it. Be open to change. Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Five Ways to Fail at Design" by Sohrab Vossoughi. Read the full post and join the discussion » Share Today's Tip: FEATURED PRODUCT Communicating for Success Collection Harvard Business Review Special Collection This specially priced 7-volume collection will help you improve both your written and oral communication skills. Save more than 25% off the individual component prices when you order this collection. ADVERTISEMENT Follow the Tip: PREVIOUS TIPS Praise as Much as You Criticize 3 Tips for Responding to Failure Do What Only You Can Do Know the 6 Steps in Cost/Benefit Analysis You Can Prevent Silo Thinking Use Constraint to Instigate Innovation Prepare Your Speech, but Be Ready to Change It 3 Rules for Making Your Writing Clear Look Beyond the Financials Don't Mix Business with Pleasure BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials HBR's Must Reads Library Set Guide to Persuasive Presentations Guide to Better Business Writing Guide to Getting the Right Work Done Free HBR Interactive issue Download the iPad app HBR Reads, and get your issue with audio and video interviews and multimedia slideshows. Learn more » UNSUBSCRIBE   |   UPDATE YOUR PROFILE   |   MORE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS   |   PRIVACY POLICY Was this email forwarded to you? If so, sign up to start receiving your own copy. ABOUT THIS MAILING LIST You have received this message because you subscribed to the "Management Tip of the Day" email newsletter from Harvard Business Review. If at any point you wish to remove yourself from this list, change your email address, or sign up for other email newsletters and alerts, please visit the Harvard Business Review Email Newsletter Preference Center. OPT OUT If you do not wish to receive any email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here. ADVERTISE WITH HBR This enewsletter is read by thousands of decision makers every day. Learn more about connecting your brand with this audience. Copyright © 2011 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing | 60 Harvard Way | Boston, MA 02163 Customer Service: 800-545-7685 (+1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada)