Service Design Show

Are we actively designing our own future, or just everyone else's? 🔮 Discover how integrating "futures thinking" into your practice can help you spot industry shifts early and make better, more deliberate decisions today. It’s easy to get stuck in the day-to-day grind of deadlines and deliverables. But if we don't think about the long-term role of design, we risk building a world we don't actually want to live in. In this episode, Marc sits down with Professor Lucy Kimbell—author of the upcoming book "Futures for Design"—to tackle a fascinating issue: the "futures blind spot." We explore why designers work tirelessly to shape the future of healthcare or education, yet rarely apply that same forward-thinking lens to our own profession.   🎧 In This Episode The Futures Blind Spot: Why designers often fail to apply futures inquiry to their own professional practice. Strategic Uncertainties: Why studying what you don't know is far more valuable than trying to predict a perfect, clear picture of the future. Growing Your Futures Literacy: Practical, everyday ways to integrate futures thinking into your team's workflow without adding to the overwhelm. Spotting Weak Signals: How to identify early, quiet trends in the design industry before they evolve into dominant, disruptive forces. If you're ready to turn off autopilot and co-create the future of design with intention, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode! We also want to hear from you: If you had to pick one word to describe how you feel about the future of design, what would it be? Drop it in the comments or send us a message! As always, enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact!~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to episode 257 00:00 Episode Introduction 01:30 Breaking Design Autopilot 02:30 Design is Political 03:45 Designing on Autopilot 06:15 Consequences of Financialization 08:30 Surveillance Capitalism 12:00 Next-Gen Design Pressures 14:30 Futures for Design Book 17:00 Oxford Scenarios Methodology 21:00 Transactional vs Contextual 30:30 Institutional Fragmentation 32:45 Weak Signals in Design 35:00 Uncertainties to Scenarios 39:00 Scenario Planning vs Sci-Fi 45:00 Lucy Kimball's Journey 48:30 Limits of Speculative Design 52:15 Value of Writing 54:15 Present-Day Strategy 56:45 Managing Macro Chaos 1:00:45 The 10-Year Question 01:02:30 Final Thoughts --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucykimbell/ UAL web profile and links to publications - https://researchers.arts.ac.uk/1178-lucy-kimbell Design in 2040 project with UAL graduates  - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrcI04iMvZHJNQxiytGv1yU_iVtNchee_&si=nU5nQp9dYYAXsSmd Coming Soon: Futures for Design: Uncertainties, Scenarios, Implications by Lucy Kimbell (Book) --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle --- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/257-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/257-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/257-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/257-snipd

Tired of spending weeks on design strategy only to watch executives scrap two-thirds of your work? 📉 Discover how to drop your design ego, master the "politics" of implementation, and finally get your projects shipped. 🚀 In this episode of Inside Service Design, Marc sits down with JD and Gabriel to tackle one of the most frustrating realities for designers: the translation gap. If you've ever felt like clinging to your design artifacts is actually preventing you from making a lasting impact, this conversation will change how you approach your next stakeholder meeting. In this episode, we will cover: Why your best work doesn't matter if the people in the room don't understand why it's important. Why giving stakeholders a "boring" spreadsheet is often the smartest move you can make to drive decisions. JD’s framework for compromising today while guiding your team toward your overarching north star tomorrow. How to successfully transition from focusing purely on your craft to mastering the political landscape of an organization. Where do you draw the line between practicing "design jiu-jitsu" to get something shipped, and compromising the core values of your craft? Let us know in the comments or tag us on social media! If you want to bridge the gap between strategy and execution, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode, and share this with a fellow designer who needs to hear it today. Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact. ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Inside Service Design EP 04:00 UX & Systems Thinking 07:00 What is a Business Service Architect? 09:15 Managing Strategy & Transformation 11:15 Journey Frameworks 15:00 Using AI for User Archetypes 16:30 Mapping Internal Workflows 20:00 In-House Practitioner Insights 21:15 Design Values in an AI World 24:00 Navigating Corporate Silos 29:00 Empathizing with Stakeholders 31:00 Proactive Conflict Management 35:00 Design vs. Corporate Politics 41:00 Why Research Fails Without Business Context 43:00 Miro Boards vs. Excel Sheets 44:15 Driving Value Through Deliverables 46:45 Proving Your Team's Worth 47:15 Design Jiu-Jitsu & The MVP 52:00 When UX Becomes Just a Verb 53:45 Defending Small Sample Sizes 55:30 Video Gen in Service Design 57:00 Wrap Up & Community Tool Prototype --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondelina-buckley-0631a9 https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-leal-80604aa4/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle --- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-14-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-14-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-14-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-14-snipd

Over-optimized systems are quietly killing the human soul of our services by obsessing over speed and efficiency. In this episode, discover how to break free from the "efficiency trap," embrace design as a genuine practice of hope, and use localized indigenous wisdom to design with authentic care and deep community respect. 🎙️ In this episode The relentless pursuit of transactional and industrialized models has pushed design to prioritize cost-cutting over real human value. In this episode, we sit down with Nan O'Sullivan, former head of the School of Design Innovation at Victoria University, to unpack how to actively push back against this pervasive efficiency trap. We move past standard problem-solving frameworks to explore the transformative power of Mātauranga Māori, positionality, and why designers must learn to look in the mirror before looking out the window to serve others. Here is what we cover: Why treating design like an industrialized assembly line always strips out authentic human care and community reciprocity. How shifting your baseline away from negative problem-solving and toward a practice of hope allows you to forecast a vision of true systemic joy. How to use your positionality as a design professional not to feed your own ego, but to actively enhance the mana (the dignity and respect) of the communities you serve. Why standing out as a distinct human is your ultimate superpower as automated cogs and AI take over routine transactional outputs. How focusing on localized, relational impacts protects incoming practitioners from paralyzing climate and societal anxiety. What is the most important source that helps to ground your design decisions? When the path forward is unclear, where do you look for clues? Let me know, I really do read and reply to all responses. As always, enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact! ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 256 04:00 Practice of Hope 06:15 Indigenous Knowledge 09:15 Personal Values 14:15 Humanity Over Automation 17:00 Co-Design Responsibility 19:30 Reflection and Reflexivity 23:00 Core Curriculum 27:00 Local Grounding 33:00 Inward Research 38:30 Workforce Evolution 40:45 Corporate Accountability 45:15 Professional Bravery 47:15 Commercial Pressures 53:00 Relational Frameworks 55:00 Actionable Hope 57:15 Wrap-up --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nan-o-sullivan-45709759/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/256-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/256-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/256-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/256-snipd

Want to secure executive buy-in? Stop waiting for a strategic brief from leadership—learn how to pitch solutions that solve your VP's biggest headache. Tired of doing incredible journey mapping work only to realize you still aren't invited to the room where important business decisions are made? In this episode of the Journey Management Playbook, Martin and I break down a highly specific, 5-slide pitch designed to get you a seat at the executive table. Learn how to stop being viewed as just the "journey maps person" and start navigating boardroom politics like a pro. in this episode Why asking your VP what could get them fired is the ultimate shortcut to tapping into executive urgency. A tactical, step-by-step breakdown of how to write your own strategic brief and present a high-value proposition. How to handle heavy pushback from stakeholders and turn a painful "no" into meaningful progress. How to reposition customer experience (CX) from a minor workshop activity into a core business solution. We’ve put together an Objection Response Cheat Sheet with the most common pushbacks and ways you can navigate them. You can download it for free using the link in the show notes. Enjoy and keep making a positive impact. ~ Marc [1. LINKS 🔗 ] 👉 Playbook Slides - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/-0sy8 👉 Objection Response Cheat Sheet - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-objection-response-cheat-sheetgn=202606-Global-Marc The Journey Management Playbook - https://www.theydo.com/resources/journey-management-playbook?utm_source=article&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=202605-Global-Marc [ 2. GUIDE 📺 ] 00:00 Season 2 Recap 02:00 Shifting Focus to Business Impact 04:45 The CX Trust Gap Explained 06:30 Breaking Out of the Workshop Box 11:15 Creating a High-Value Proposition 29:45 Repackaging for Time Constraints 35:30 Surface vs. Root Cause Problems 40:15 Aligning Strategy with Backlogs 51:00 Re-evaluating Urgency 55:30 Handling Objections & Silence 57:00 Setting 90-Day Timelines 1:00:00 Turbocharging Your Preparation 1:02:45 Overcoming Presentation Rejection 1:04:15 Wrap-Up --- [ 3. FIND THE SHOW ON ] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-11-snipd

If building digital products becomes instant and free, what happens to the value of a service designer? Discover why traditional discovery is under attack and how to survive the impending "Design Winter." The rapid trajectory of AI development has completely shifted the rules of corporate problem-solving. In this episode, host Marc van Tijn sits down with academic coordinator Pablo Fernández Vallejo to unpack the deep structural changes hitting the design industry. They move past basic chatbot hype to look at the realities of autonomous AI agents, shifting organizational power dynamics, and why designers must quickly transition from "authors" to "editors" to stay relevant. Here is what we cover: Why corporate obsession with cheap, instant builds risks turning upfront design discovery into an operational roadblock. Why automating the messy, time-consuming parts of qualitative work might actually cause our core design muscles to atrophy. How autonomous AI agents are forcing us to redesign websites and platforms for machine consumption instead of human eyes. How to harden your service ecosystems before competitors or angry clients launch automated, voice-cloned agent swarms to overwhelm support desks. Why the future belongs to designers who can let go of the static deliverable and focus on continuous, systemic agility. On a scale of 1-10, how fluent do you feel with AI as a design material right now? Let me know, I really do read and reply to all responses. Enjoy and keep making a positive impact! ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 255 03:45 AI Velocity 08:45 Future Job Market 13:30 Productive Friction 19:15 Impact on Designers 23:15 What happens to our value 28:30 How we combat corporate Proto Bros 34:00 Where we anchor the "real" domain of design 36:45 Impact on Services 37:30 Autonomous Agents 42:15 Designing AX 47:45 Ecosystem Defense 50:15 Broken Journey Maps 52:00 Impact on Organizations 56:30 Authors vs Editors --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablofernandezvallejo Website - https://www.fernandezvallejo.com/ Watch Part 1 of Pablo's Previous Interview on AI on Service Design - https://youtu.be/B142M6lhac8?si=uUKREkC1wztjUSYj --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle --- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/255-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/255-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/255-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/255-snipd

What do you do when you want to drive human-centered change inside your organization, but you don't have the formal authority, you don't hold the budget, and you don't even have the official job title? To dive deeper into this strategy, I sat down with Max Seabrooke and Jennifer Kitchen. According to them, you stop asking for corporate permission and start getting a little bit sneaky. We step away from perfectly polished frameworks to look at the raw, political reality of practicing "undercover influence" from the inside out. In this episode, you will learn: How to quietly embed user-centric design into your organization without triggering corporate resistance or using confusing industry jargon. Why slowly building a toolkit of data on top of your company's existing expertise wins over skeptical executives. How to figure out exactly how other siloed teams measure their own success so you can align your project to their metrics. Why avoiding friction inside your team can quietly destroy project alignment and sabotage quality. So, if you want to hear raw, practical insights from professionals who are in the trenches every single day, you'll really like enjoy this one! I’m curious, if you don't have the official "Service Designer" title, what does your email signature currently say? Let me know. Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact. Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to the April Round Up 2026 03:45 Career Paths to Service Design 05:30 Titles vs Doing the Role 06:15 Modern Human-Centered Design 07:15 UX Design for Kids 09:15 Supply Chain Overhauls 12:15 The Human Side of Blueprints 13:15 Product Repair Operations 15:30 Strategic Sneakiness 18:15 Fixing Complex Mergers 21:00 Politics as Design Material 21:45 Corporate Political Survival 24:15 Active Listening & Handoffs 28:30 Eliminating Corporate Jargon 33:45 Operational Alignment 39:15 Dangers of Toxic Politeness 44:15 Confronting Hard Truths 50:00 Customer Belief Toolkit 54:15 Leadership Evidence Layers --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxseabrooke https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-kitchen-studio --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle --- [ 4. FIND THE SHOW ON ] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-13-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-13-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-13-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-13-snipd

We are moving way past the point of just typing prompts into chat interfaces. We are entering the "agentic era," where a single person can deploy high-level AI agents who manage their own teams of digital workers underneath them. This shift is triggering a massive compression of skills, collapsing separate specialized roles into a single generalist function. If most service interactions shift to agent-to-agent communication, the human experience risks disappearing completely. In this episode, John Ayers joins Marc to explore how to help the "80% in the middle". The people who are curious but completely exhausted by the daily AI hype cycle. You'll learn how to take your existing mapping toolkit and adapt it to build "AI service blueprints," translating human personas directly into digital agents so we don't lose empathy. As you listen, think about John’s closing challenge: When the dust settles two years from now, what do you actually want your career to look like? Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 254 01:00 Introducing John Ayers 02:15 Reality vs AI Hype 03:45 Lessons From Past Shifts 07:15 Why AI is Different 09:00 The Rapid Pace of AI 11:30 The Shift to AI Agents 13:15 Agent-to-Agent Decisions 15:00 Building a Digital Workforce 16:15 Domain Knowledge vs General AI 18:00 Helping the Overwhelmed Majority 26:00 Avoiding Fake AI 29:15 The Governance Gap 31:00 The New AI Giants 34:00 Service Blueprinting for AI 35:00 Anatomy of an AI Agent 39:30 The Democratization Trap 41:30 Human Skills vs Job Losses 45:00 Stop Chasing Tech Tools 46:30 Focus on Humans, Not Jargon 51:45 Human Purpose in the AI Era 54:30 Avoiding AI Burnout 54:45 John’s Disruptor Confessions 56:15 Asking the Hard Questions 58:30 Wrap-Up and Community Call --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlayers/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle --- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/254-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/254-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/254-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/254-snipd

Does your "Master Journey Map" just sit in a digital drawer? You aren’t alone. In this episode, we dive into "Journey Theater"— the trap of performing progress without moving the needle on business outcomes. We’re moving beyond "mapping for mapping’s sake." Learn how to shift from being a service provider to a strategic partner by building a living system that survives the next re-org. Watch this episode to learn: Why your budget holder is your real customer The warning signs of Journey Theater How to shift from project cycles to an operational model Using the Journey Maturity Scorecard to track growth Just like the rest of the Playbook, this episode is best consumed as a video because we walk through specific examples, like the Journey Maturity Scorecard, on screen. If you’re listening on the go, you can always grab the slide deck from the show notes to follow along. Enjoy and keep making a positive impact! ~ Marc --- [1. LINKS 🔗 ] --- Sign up for TheyDo - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/scjwb Journey Health Scorecard - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-10-journey-health-scorecard-podcast The Journey Management Playbook - https://www.theydo.com/resources/journey-management-playbook?utm_source=article&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=202604-Global-Marc --- [ 2. GUIDE 📺 ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Journey Management Playbook S2E2 03:45 Internal Customer 05:30 Decision Maker Needs 07:15 Budget Agenda 10:30 Impact Over Selling 13:15 Organizational Friction 16:15 The Journey Scope 19:15 Journey Theater 21:00 Reporting Progress Live 26:45 Breaking Project Cycles 30:45 Quantifying Wins 40:15 Decision Context 41:30 Continuous Insights 42:45 Common Language 44:00 Cross Vertical Impact 45:30 Eight Success Steps 46:45 AI Data Leverage 48:00 Delivery Authority 49:15 Proactive Influence 50:30 Impact Focus 51:45 Six Month Strategy 53:00 Revenue vs Cost 54:15 Agenda Alignment 56:45 Management Maturity 58:00 Scaling Momentum 1:00:45 Journey Health Score 1:04:30 Summary and Next Steps --- [ 3. FIND THE SHOW ON ] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-10-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-10-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-10-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-10-snipd

Do you show up as an "A-student" constantly seeking the next gold star, only to feel personally attacked when your work is misunderstood? 🌟 In this episode, we tackle the "identity trap" in design and how to stay passionate without letting corporate exploitation drain your soul In this episode, you'll learn: Why wrapping your personal value in professional output leads to burnout and frustration. How the constant need for "exceeds expectations" reviews can actually undermine your professional agency. Strategies to care deeply about your impact without letting it define your humanity. How to feel in control even when your leadership doesn't yet grasp the full value of what you bring to the table Our guest: Sara Wachter-Boettcher Sara is a vocal leader in the design community and the founder of Active Voice, where she has coached dozens of professionals through these exact challenges. She joins Marc to explore how to lean into conversations about value without feeling like you’re constantly pleading for your seat at the table. As you'll hear, Sara brings some "tough love" that helps you come out the other side more confident. It’s about learning to keep your side of the street clean, even when the organization around you feels messy. Enjoy and keep making a positive impact! Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 253 03:30 The collective headspace of design today 05:30 The impact of AI-related layoffs on design morale. 08:15 Era of cheap money 10:00 20-teens tech boom and its consequences 15:00 The ROI trap and identity 18:15 How shifting performance standards destabilize personal identity 22:00 Breaking the spell of work identity 24:45 Discomfort of realizing a job doesn't align with personal values 33:00 Navigating organizational change 38:45 Power mapping exercises 44:45 Empathy for colleagues 51:45 Concept of "humanizing" organizations to reduce isolation 55:15 Radical act of clocking out 57:00 Leadership without the ego 59:15 Strategic patience in a crisis 1:01:15 The value of the human behind the designer 01:14:15 Question to ponder --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraboettcher --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/253-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/253-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/253-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/253-snipd

You look around the room and realize you’re the only one who cares about the customer. 😫 It’s exhausting to be the lone voice begging for user research while everyone else just wants to ship the next feature. In this episode, Elle Beaumont-Bilsby and Nick Gaff join the show to discuss the heavy lifting required to be an in-house service design practitioner. We move beyond "thick skin" and look at how to build a sustainable career in environments that don't fully understand design. You’ll learn: Why surviving as a lone wolf is impossible and how to locate "quiet allies" hidden in other departments. A practical framework for building resilience at an organizational, service, and personal level. How Elle and Nick practice high-impact design without having "Service Designer" on their business cards. Practical tips for staying sane and avoiding burnout when you are the only advocate for the user. How to find a support crew outside your organization to help you carry the weight. I'm curious, if you had to make a guess, how many people do you have around you inside your org that get it? 1, 5, 20... let me know. Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact. ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to the March Round Up 01:45 Defining Resilience 03:30 Service Design in Australia 04:45 Elle’s Design Journey 07:00 Nick’s Career Path 09:00 Effects of Digitization 11:00 Higher Ed Challenges 12:30 Impact Over Tools 14:00 The Resilient Self Season 14:45 3 Altitudes Framework 16:00 Organizational Resilience 17:00 Resilient Service Design 18:00 Personal Development 19:15 Recharging and Self-Care 20:00 Resilience as a Quality 21:00 Individual Resilience Focus 24:15 Peer Support Systems 28:00 Navigating Corporate Culture 31:30 Vulnerability in Leadership 35:45 Building Internal Allies 39:00 Friday Afternoon Reflections 42:15 Success Beyond Metrics 45:30 Managing High-Stress Projects 49:00 Sustainable Innovation 52:15 Resilience as Design Criteria 56:45 Switching Off and Recharging --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellebeaumontbilsby/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ngaff/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle --- [ 4. FIND THE SHOW ON ] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-12-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-12-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-12-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-12-snipd

Imagine making the cover of Time magazine... Okay, maybe not. Nobody gets into service design for the fame. Actually, as we’re always saying on the show, our best work is usually the stuff nobody notices. The spotlight stays on the CEOs. You rarely see the people in the trenches, the ones making sure the "faceless" public services we rely on actually work. Think about it for a moment, you can thank a mailman because he’s a human being standing on your porch in the rain. But when water is coming out of your faucet, there’s nobody to thank. It’s just "the system". That invisibility is exactly why people sometimes get hostile toward the government or big institutions. It's always "us versus them" because there’s no "them" to relate to. So our guest for this episode, Brian Whittaker, decided to change by starting a project called Humans of Public Service (HoPS). In this episode, we talk about the early days of the project and the weirdly difficult task of getting modest, quiet service design professionals to actually talk about themselves (on camera). He also shares hard won lessons on how he finally got the project to take off. It’s an inspiring conversation. It shows how much the vibe changes when you put a human face on a anonymous system. So if you’re trying to build empathy inside a big, messy organization, Brian’s blueprint really might just be what you need. While you’re listening, try to think of one "boring" story in your own org that deserves a spotlight. Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact! Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 252 03:45 Family Roots in Service 05:00 Current US Service Challenges 07:30 Private to Public Transition 10:00 Modernizing Federal Tech 11:00 Passion of Public Servants 13:30 The Shift in 2020 14:15 Humans of Public Service 15:45 Growing on LinkedIn 17:00 Amplifying Unheard Voices 18:15 Shifting the Narrative 21:30 Bridging the Empathy Gap 25:45 The Power of Recognition 32:45 Institutional Design 38:30- Scaling Human Connection 44:55 The Future of Service 51:15 Advice for Change-Makers 53:30 Final Reflections --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/bwhtt/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/252-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/252-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/252-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/252-snipd

How do you get your boss to actually fund journey management? 💰 We’ve all felt the frustration of making an impressive map that everyone "likes" but nobody actually uses. when that happens, our practice loses credibility. Season 2 of the Journey Management Playbook is here to fix that by focusing on the BUSINESS CASE. what we cover in this episode: Why journey management is a strategic asset, not a "nice-to-have." how to calculate the actual cost of bad customer experience. shifting the conversation from "fluffy" CX metrics to boardroom metrics. getting stakeholders to embrace a journey-led way of working. guest spotlight: Martin Palamarz is the chief customer officer at TheyDo. he spends his time helping global organizations scale their CX efforts and understands the language of executive decision-making. Resources: It’s best to watch the video version on Youtube to see the examples on screen, but you can also find the slide deck in the show notes below. --- [ 1. LINKS ] --- Playbook Slides Sign up for TheyDo CX Cost Calculator The Journey Management Playbook --- [ 2. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Journey Management Playbook S2E01 02:00 Martin's background 04:30 Origin story of TheyDo 06:45 Series overview: CX costs 08:45 The CX Toolkit 10:00 Bridging the gap 13:45 Forrester research findings 16:30 CX & business performance 19:30 The Norway story 23:00 Boardroom metrics 30:45 The Cost of Bad CX 38:30 High-value journey steps 40:30 Drop Off Rate Explained 42:30 "Nice-to-have" trap 48:15 Service design & revenue 50:00 Starting small 52:15 Mckinsey research 57:30 AI for customer data 1:00:00 3-minute executive reports 1:01:30 Ticket value & variables 1:08:30 Bad CX VS. CX Investment 1:12:00 Building momentum 1:14:00 the final challenge --- [ 3. FIND THE SHOW ON ] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-09-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-09-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-09-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/journey-management-playbook-09-snipd

Our brains were not designed for this pace... Just think about it. For thousands of years, humans had ages to adapt to new technology. When we discovered fire or the steam engine, we had generations to figure out the implications. Today, things are shifting so fast that trying to keep up by just "learning more stuff" feels biologically impossible. At least to me 🤣 It’s like you’re trying to run 2026 apps on the operating system of a legendary—but limited—Nokia 3310 phone. So, for this episode, I sat down with Nav Qirti from the School of Metaskills to talk about why we’re looking at the "skills gap" all wrong. Nav argues that we should stop chasing "functional skills" (which have a very short shelf life anyway) and focus on the things technology can't touch: judgment, curiosity, and reasoning. We also dive into why you can’t just read a book to get better at empathy or judgment. Nav explains that you need a "proxy environment" to train those muscles. Most professionals I know practice by just following a script, but Nav shows us how to build the mental strength behind the craft. This conversation offers an optimistic path forward by focusing on the core human abilities that technology simply cannot replace. Which of your "mental muscles" feels a bit weak lately? If you’ve got a moment, leave a comment below and let me know. I’d love to hear what a "workout" would actually look like for you 🙂 Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact. Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 251 04:00 The Falling Behind Puzzle 05:30 6Adapting to AI 08:15 Seeing what matters 10:15 Obsolete hard skills 12:30 Outdated learning models 15:00 The 90/10 Imbalance 16:45 Bucketing Skills 17:15 Communication as a base 19:00 Human survival traits 21:15 Building capacity 25:45 Expertise vs. scripts 29:15 Measuring the wrong things 37:30 Leadership and meta-skills 39:45 The shift from "doing" to "leading" 42:15 Why technical expertise has a ceiling 45:00 Identifying your personal meta-skill gaps 48:15 Low-stakes practice 50:00 Defining Proxy Environments 51:30 How to practice judgment daily 55:15 Building empathy without the pressure 58:15 Anxiety to Control 59:00 Reframing the AI threat 1:01:00 Focusing on the human operating system 1:02:15 Regaining professional confidence 1:02:30 Closing thoughts --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/navqirti/ www.navqirti.com www.metaskills.global Skills to make us future ready & future relevant --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/251-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/251-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/251-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/251-snipd

What happens when a service design professional does their job well... Usually? Absolutely nothing. No organizational gears grind. No customers complain. No one panics. You did your job, so the disaster simply stayed in your head instead of becoming a reality. That’s the curse, though. No one's going to congratulate you for a crisis they didn't have to experience. I sat down with Jin Wan and Chad Cheverier for the this episode of Inside Service Design to talk about this "great enabler" trap. To make things practical, Jin had a great example about redesigning an onboarding journey. His biggest win wasn't a shiny new interface. It was moving a step in the verification process to the backend so nobody had to intervene manually. It saved the company (and customers) countless hours, but the solution itself is completely unseen. Chad mentioned a similar struggle. Looking at his quarterly review and realizing he doesn't have many "shiny" deliverables to show. His best work was aligning teams and coaching PMs to do their jobs better, which doesn't look like a "deliverable". So, how do you stay motivated when your best work is invisible and goes unnoticed? And more importantly, how do you sell the value of that work to the people holding the budget? We unpack all of that in this episode. If you had to make an estimate, how much of the work you do is "invisible"? Send me a quick reply and let me know. Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to February Round Up 05:00 Jin's path: From IT and HR to Marketing and CX 07:30 Chad's path: From photography to in-house design 10:45 What a CX professional does at a startup 11:45 Why you should ignore job titles 14:30 Jin’s digital onboarding in financial services 18:00 Why service design feels like internal consulting 24:35 Core competencies missing from design education 31:15 Navigating the "messy middle" of organizational change 39:00 Dealing with stakeholders who bake in solutions 45:30 The power of simplifying complex journey maps 52:00 Strategies for building internal resilience 58:45 Advice for aspiring in-house service designers --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadcheverier/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/wanjin/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle --- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON ] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-11-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-11-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-11-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-11-snipd

I'll let you in on a small secret... Ten years ago, the Service Design Show was never even supposed to be a podcast. And somehow here we are. We've officially hit episode 250. Its been a decade since I published that very first interview. Somewhat of a cliche but, I never expected to reach this milestone. I still remember the early days very well when I was struggling with a "split identity". Torn between running a service design agency and following this pull toward content creation. It took me a good three years to finally take the leap, but looking back, it was the best decision I ever made. As you'll notice, this episode is quite different. Usually, it’s my job to ask the questions, but in this one, I’m the one answering them. I wanted to share some of the messy, behind-the-scenes lessons from the last decade. They are quite personal but who knows maybe you can use them as tools in your own practice. We’re diving into things like my cheat code to gain clarity, the power of friction, what I’ve learned about building real connections and how "remarkable" things are often built through consistent, often unglamorous work. And yes, I even answer some hot questions from the community. I have to say that recording this episode was both difficult and incredibly rewarding. So, if you’ve been on this journey with me, I’d love for you to join me for this reflection. This milestone isn't just mine, it’s ours. By the way, if you prefer our regular interview format, feel free to skip this one. I won't judge! We’ll be back to our normal schedule next week. Thank you again for your attention, your trust, and for being part of this movement. Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to EP 250 03:30 Friction of a "split identity" 05:00 How did I get into service design 06:30 Overlap between engineering and design skills 07:00 Letting go of code 08:15 Biggest lessons I learned in the last decade 08:45 Don’t wait for permission to start your project 10:15 The power of consistency over perfection 12:30 Choosing guests for the podcast 13:00 The "Curiosity Filter" 15:45 The shift from generalist to specialist topics in service design 18:30 One of the most challenging episodes 19:15 Dealing with technical failures and "lost" interviews 22:00 The future of the Service Design Show 22:45 Moving towards more community-driven content 25:15 Some Advice for someone starting their own podcast 26:00 Focusing on the "Why" before the "How" 28:30 Importance of building a platform you own 31:45 The ripple effect of 250 conversations 34:30 Thank you for being part of the journey --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcfonteijn https://www.servicedesignshow.com/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/250-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/250-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/250-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/250-snipd

This episode falls into a pattern that's hard to ignore... I'm seeing a growing undercurrent of design leaders strongly advocating for a more sustainable approach toward work and life. It is hard to separate this development from the rise of AI, which is shaping many aspects of our lives and turning what we know upside down. Sure, there's always been a push to do more, and preferably faster and cheaper, but now with AI, it feels like the volume knob has been turned to 11. Of course, this has a significant impact on us as service design professionals. The "productivity" pressure is rising for us as well. And if we're honest, it often reaches a point where it not only takes away the fulfillment we find in our work, but also leaves us on the edge of burnout. But we're humans, not machines. We're not merely replaceable cogs in a system. So we must find an alternative. One of the leaders advocating for this more sustainable approach toward work is our guest, Birgit Geiberger. She argues that in order for us to thrive in this new reality, we must adopt a different leadership style. Birgit says we need to focus on leading with both head and heart in a way she calls regenerative leadership. In this conversation, we unpack what this form of leadership entails and why it's now more important than ever. Birgit offers ideas on how you can push back and escape the unsustainable pace of work when everything and everyone around us seems to demand more, go, go, go. We discuss what you can do on a day-to-day basis to find your grounding and stay true to who you truly are in a world where compromises are unavoidable. And finally, we investigate how you can show that doing things in a regenerative way is not just good for you, but also accelerates and increases your business impact. A great conversation, packed with hope, inspiration, and practical advice for anyone who wants to bring back the joy in their work again. What might be good to know is that I haven't selected my recent guests based on their interest in this theme, or instructed them in any way to discuss it. This is just something that emerges when I ask them to speak about what is dear to their hearts right now. If you've been listening to the Show, I'm curious if you've noticed this undercurrent as well. Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact! ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 249 04:15 Human-Centered Leadership Legacy 06:30 Post-Pandemic Reflections 10:00 Redefining Growth and Resources 13:00 Introduction to Regenerative Leadership 15:00 The Power of Self-Leadership 18:30 Designing for Mental Capacity 22:00 Moving Beyond Short-Term Business Thinking 24:45 Breaking Functional Silos 33:15 Leading through Global Uncertainty 40:15 Service Design as a Cultural Catalyst 47:30 Empathy as a Business Strategic Tool 54:30 Scaling Influence Through Others 1:00:30 Closing Reflections --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/birgitgeiberger --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/249-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/249-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/249-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/249-snipd

Let's be real for a moment... In the corporate context, what's the thing that usually gets rewarded the most? It’s often the person who "just" grinds through the chaos, works overtime to fix a broken process, and absorbs all the organizational friction without complaining. From very early on in our careers we are taught to treat ourselves like machines that just need to carry more weight. But as Kara Snyder points out in our conversation, that is treating resilience as output. It’s performing professionalism when you are completely depleted. And it is a fast track to burnout. Instead, Kara challenges us to think about resilience as capacity. What do you actually need to sustain yourself so you can stay in this deeply human and emotionally demanding work? Because at the end of the day, the most important tool in your service design toolkit isn't a journey map or a blueprint... well, it's you. In this episode of Inside Service Design, I sit down with Kara and Siddhartha Saxena to talk about the inner game of being an in-house service design professional. We step away from the frameworks and talk about how to actually survive and thrive in this beautifully complex role. This conversation touches on topics like: How to stop measuring your worth by how much stress you can carry. How to create a "liminal space" between you and your work. And how to get to Friday and actually feel a sense of accomplishment, even when the work is messy. So if you’ve been feeling the weight of driving positive change using service design, take a deep breath, slow down, and tune into this one. How do you protect your own capacity? Have you found any specific rituals particularly helpful? Let me know, I’d love to hear how you're dealing with this. Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to the January 2026 Round Up! 03:30 Kara’s Journey: From Accounting to PWC 06:30 Facing Burnout and Personal Loss 09:00 Sidd’s Journey: From Architecture to Startups 11:30 Discovering Service Design as a Business Bridge 12:30 Remote Healthcare in India 14:00 Designing the "Nervous System" of an Organization 15:45 Navigating Complexity 19:00 Why Service Design Feels Like the "Wild West" 19:50 Tool Spotlight: Using the Emotional Culture Deck 21:30 Moving from Doing to Being 24:00 Resilience in Startups vs. Corporate Safety 26:15 How Personal Grief Shapes Professional Perspective 31:15 The Gap Between Self and Work 34:30 Why Service Designers are Natural "Absorbers" 38:30 Building a Protective Layer Against Burnout 41:15 Mapping the Invisible Organizational Nervous System 44:45 Managing Design at Scale 48:15 When to Say "No" to the Machine 52:30 The Power of Invisible Labor 56:15 Measuring the Value of What Can't Be Seen 59:00 Protecting Your Design Culture from Company Culture 1:00:15 Final Takeaways --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/karamartinsnyder/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddhartha-saxena --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle [4. FIND THE SHOW ON ] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-10-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-10-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-10-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-10-snipd

It’s the one thing they didn't teach in design school... We spend years learning how to understand what drives our users, map out complex journeys, and deliver useful service prototypes. But when it comes time to sit down with business stakeholders, compliance teams, or yes even legal departments? That’s when the friction sets in. For this episode, we're joined by Belén Tello, who has a very interesting take on how we can overcome this struggle. As the Head of Design for the largest bank in Peru, Belén leads a massive team of over 150 designers. As you might imagine, because they operate in the highly regulated financial sector, they are constantly in negotiations with the rest of the business. Over the years, Belen has experienced firsthand that even the most talented design professionals often freeze up when talking to their business partners. To our own demise, we often retreat to our comfort zones, simply handing over the work and letting the business decide whether it's "good or not". Deep down, we sometimes feel like the business folks just know more than we do (not the case!). To fix this confidence gap, Belén started doing something quite radical, at least for design teams. Before a big stakeholder meeting, she runs "role play" sessions with her team. Yes, almost like lawyers preparing for a mock trial! They sit down and strategize. What do you want to say here? Who are your strongest stakeholders? Do you need me to step in and ask a specific question so you can explain your rationale? Add to that that she's been helping her team learn to speak the "common language" of the bank. And that language? It's numbers and data, obviously. As you'll hear Belén argues that we already do the hard work of gathering qualitative and quantitative insights, but we frequently fail to actually bring that data to the table in a convincing way. When you stop arguing based on subjective perception and start negotiating with facts, everything changes. You move away from being seen as just an "add-on" to the process and finally become a true strategic partner. So if you've ever felt that imposter syndrome kick in during a big meeting, this episode is pretty much a masterclass in building your confidence and growing your influence. As you listen to the episode, I’d love for you to reflect on your own work. How often are you actively translating your insights into a language the business understands? And what would help you to do that more often? Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact! Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 248 05:00 Banking in Peru: Education over digital tools 09:00 The danger of designing only for the capital city 17:30 Negotiating with Legal and Compliance 21:00 Using data to find a common business language 23:00 Why designers struggle to speak up in business 27:00 Prepping for stakeholders like a mock trial 28:45 Finding internal sponsors who understand design 33:30 Quantifying design's impact on the business 36:15 Redesigning 200+ physical branches 41:00 Moving from transactional to relational models 45:30 Connecting with rural users 51:15 Using design's systemic view as an unfair advantage 55:30 Why listening is a designer's true superpower 58:00 Positioning design strategically 1:00:30 Closing thoughts --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/belen-tello-91028731/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/248-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/248-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/248-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/248-snipd

Are we being left behind... Let's think about this for a moment. Architects have AutoCAD. Finance folks have Excel. Sales teams have Salesforce. The list goes on. But what do we as service design professionals have? If we're a bit cynical, you could say that often it’s a wall of sticky notes (that the cleaners throw away at night). This brings up a deep and often unspoken insecurity in our field. Could it be that our work is seen as "fluffy" or "invisible" because we lack the "hard" tools that other departments have? That is the provocative question Maxe van Heeswijk brought to the Circle community recently. She challenged us to think about whether having "our own software" would help us claim our territory and be taken more seriously by stakeholders. But to which extent can a tool be the answer to our problems? Will Sharples joined the conversation with a different take. He argues that stakeholders don't actually care about our process or our "proper" service design tools, they just want their problems solved. So in this episode of Inside Service Design, we explore this tension between wanting to be "seen" as experts and the messy reality of getting work done in-house. This conversation is packed with spicy topics like: Whether having a dedicated tool makes you more legitimate, or does it just create new silos? Why our most important work is often the hardest to measure (and get budget for). A brutal method for stripping away busy work to focus on the assets that actually tell a story. And why you are "always selling" the value of service design, even years after you’ve been hired. So, if you’ve ever felt like you’re doing important work... that nobody sees, this episode is for you. What do you feel is the service design tool at the moment? Do we even have one? Let me know, I’m really curious to hear your take! Be well, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to December Round Up 01:00 Meet the Guests 04:00 From Physical Engineering to Digital Services 06:30 From Philosophy & Advertising to SD 10:15 Balancing Financial Goals vs. Trust 15:15 Securing Long-Term Funding 18:00 Why Patience is a Superpower 21:45 Thought Experiment 26:30 Do We Need Professional Software? 35:00 Is Design Too Democratized 44:15 Relationship Building is Slow Farming 51:00 Pragmatism vs. The Design Bibles 52:45 The Hidden Skill 55:45 Navigating Company Politics 59:30 Wrap-Up --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxevanheeswijk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-sharples-85a40580/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- If you're an in-house service design professional and want to learn from the stories of your peers, take a look at the Circle, it might just be the thing you're looking for. Join our private community for in-house service design professionals: ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle --- [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] --- Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-09-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-09-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-09-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/inside-service-design-09-snipd

If you look at the current job market, you might notice something strange... The words "service design" seem to be slowly disappearing from job titles. Does that mean our field is shrinking, or worse, becoming obsolete? Well, according to our guest, Giulia Di Gregorio, that's definitely not the case. If anything, the opposite is true. Giulia argues that while the titles might be vanishing, the practice is actually spreading. Service design is everywhere now; it's just hiding under different names. But this "diversification" creates a new challenge. If everyone has a different job title, where do you find your professional peers? Where's that safe space where you can get together to commiserate, find inspiration, and learn from each other? That's what Giulia and a few folks were thinking as well. But instead of just thinking about it they rolled up their sleeves and decided to revive Service Design Drinks Milan. This didn't become just another meetup; it became a "pirate version" of a community. And it’s been a pretty successful one. In this conversation, we explore what it looks like to run a community that's driven by volunteers, has no hierarchy, and is governed by the energy people actually have to give. We also talk about building "synergies" with other communities instead of acting like isolated islands. And we dig into why the best way to scale might be through small, independent nodes across the world rather than one big centralized network. So if you’ve been feeling a bit "homeless" in your service design role lately, this is a great conversation about reclaiming your identity and connecting with your tribe. What stuck with me is the idea that when a project starts feeling like "work," you might be heading in the wrong direction and should reconsider your options. Something to think about both in our professional context as well as in our passion projects. Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact! ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 247 07:30 Flat Hierarchies & Freedom 09:30 Global Nodes vs. Centralized Networks 13:30 The Toolkit Takeover 17:45 Managing by Time 23:15 Pirates vs. The Navy 27:30 The Cost of Being Brave 31:45 The Un-conferenced Model 36:30 Turning Points: From Branding to COVID 43:00 Learning Effortless Leadership 48:00 How to Start Your Own Pirate Node 55:30 Question to ponder on --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/giulialogodigregorio/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/service-design-drinks-milan https://creativemornings.com/cities/mil --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle [4. FIND THE SHOW ON] Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/247-youtube Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/247-spotify Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/247-apple Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/247-snipd