WWJ no. 54 10 Reasons Why Designers Struggle for C-Suite Access with José Manuel dos Santos

 If designers are innovators, why do designers struggle to get to the top seats of Fortune 50 companies? After 30 years of field experience and a long PhD, José identified 10 main reasons keeping designers from those top seats and we will take a dive into a selected few of those reasons, from lack of preparation to a lack of a design agenda at board level. Pedro Janeiro chats José on these aspects of challenges and structures. 

These are the 10 blocking reasons keeping designers away from top Fortune 50 companies

• Design CEO – The board has not enough understanding of the value of design
• Necessity – You are not needed there, design is already well represented
• Effectiveness – Not the best place to lead a design team, too many distractions
• Desire – Designers don’t want or don’t aspire this role
• Access – Designers are not selected for the job, not invited, not mentored and groomed for it
• Preparation – Designers don’t have the right education and training, skillset, mindset
• Scarcity – There are not enough qualified designers with the right experience in the market
• Flexibility – Designers tend to stick to design, no experience in managing other areas
• Advice – Management consultancies and advisory boards don’t influence CEOs about design
• Ethos – What makes a designer a designer is at the same time seen as an asset and a liability

Resource

 http://zemanel.com/