In a world of great uncertainty, why is not the evolution of our own thinking and the ideation of how we share ideas the highest of priorities? And by this I don’t mean evolving technologies but rather to question with conviction the diamond like resistance to change within organizations.

I believe we need to move the discussions beyond the myopic scope of the iPhone screen to a much broader perspective. I believe the capacity to create is unlimited, and only by evolving ideas based on those for whom we design will we gain the creative insights we all aspire too.

Conviction is rooted in belief and belief is founded from passionate experiences in life. As Taylor Mali declares:

I implore you. I entreat you. And I challenge you to speak with conviction! To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it. Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker it is not enough these days to simply “question” authority… you gotta to speak with it, too.

In my professional experience, including those I’ve interviewed and mentored around the world, this approach to landing design opportunities is unfortunately, still a common practice.

As they suggest – and as I have done throughout my career – try attempting the following when looking to build your own design portfolio:

• Design for a local charity
• Design for a friend’s new business
• Spend time coming up with creative design solutions

Titles come and go in the design world. Today it is more important than ever to build strong relationships offline and start demonstrating our creative solutions to the business community.

• the explosion of new technology, that could be expected to result in major new industries emerging and older ones disappearing.
• the change which he saw taking place from an “international” economy to a “world” economy.
• the need which he saw for organizations of all kinds to learn new responses to the rising pressures imposed on them by society as a whole, and by individuals – whether those inside them or those outside them.
• the emerging “knowledge society” and “knowledge economy” and their implications on all of us.

How right he was! And how ill-prepared most of us were …and most businesses and governments still are to this day.

As I look back over the last 2 decades, the pace and scope of change is breath-taking. Businesses and governments today face a dramatically new and different environment.

• Low rates of growth in demand and in income, at home and overseas
• Under-employment of resources
• Major fluctuations in the value of our dollar, and of other currencies against each other, bringing radical shifts in competitive advantage.
• Old markets, old customers, and old suppliers changing and often disappearing
• New technology to master, in every job.
• New knowledge to acquire, in every job.
• New public and social demands.
• New and changing expectations from within organizations as new values, new faces and new skills replace old

As Clifford Stoll, author of High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian, Silicon Snake Oil, and The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage has noted:

Data is not information. Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not understanding. Understanding is not wisdom.

To address these new realities we must take the time to stop and think. We need to question for clarity with our peers and especially with those for whom we are designing. We need to take the time to learn from a variety of cultures, values, and ideals the world over.

There is no top 10 list that will resolve an organizations’ fundamental issue with staff or clients. There is no application that you can download or purchase that will make you millions of dollars.

I believe the essence of the UX discipline has the potential to push beyond the usual conversations of the tools and methodologies we hear about everyday. This is possible if we take the time to think about the variety of values, ideals, and insights of others whose culture and experiences differ greatly from our own.

The average person cares little about technology so long as it works and becomes a ubiquitous part of their everyday lives.

I believe that collectively there is nothing we cannot accomplish so long as we don’t make such findings about any one individual, process, or company. Our problems are global. Our solutions must take these realities into account for the benefit of all.

If only we stop to think.

If only we take the time to question the experts and to consistently look to others outside our discipline for inspiration and new ideas.

The design of the corporate culture and our interactions with others should be at the center of all that we build.

We must move the discussion beyond the tools, policies, and processes that “define” us and provide solutions that address our global community.

It’s no longer enough to be given a leadership title – we must lead by example.

Think about our changing world. Think about the challenges. Think about new kinds of leadership.

As Richard Seymour has noted, we now live in an era where we can do anything. As such we must shift the conversation from what we can do to what we ‘should’ be doing.

Connectivity is a given. And we all have an interest in working together. Because for all the wonders that technology can do, here’s what it can’t do. It cannot make our choices for us.

The Jamaica Design Association (JDA) is a volunteer led organization set up to foster a spirit of camaraderie, sharing of knowledge, and the advancement of Jamaica through the advancement of its design industry as well as its design practitioners. From design hobbyists, design newbies, design students, to seasoned design professionals, all are welcomed to band together and learn from each other, thus helping each individual member to become better at his or her craft. Whether you’re a Designer living or working in Jamaica, or a Jamaican Designer living or working overseas, you are welcomed to join the Jamaica Design Association.

Please email Roger Davis, President of the JDA for more information. You can also follow Roger on Twitter @layerphase.

Kristina and I look forward to returning to Jamaica to share our own professional experiences and those of thought leaders in design and writing the world over for workshops that are hands on, interactive, and fun!

Online Journals / Peer-Written Web Magazines

Books

Blogs

Articles & Podcasts

Writing Apps

Videos

Content Marketing & Analytics Tools

When there’s a disconnect between the choice – and even spelling – of the words that you use internally versus those of your target audience, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to:

• attract new customers
• increase your website’s traffic
• build community

Corporate Lexicon Problems In The Digital Age

Does your corporate lexicon contain acronyms?

While an acronym might seem familiar to you, there’s no telling what the acronym means to anyone who doesn’t have the same industry or corporate context that you have.

Case In Point – One of my clients argued that the widespread brand recognition of their company name’s acronym could not possibly be affecting their website traffic. A quick Google search revealed that their “unique” acronym was shared with 5 other companies around the world, including a radio station in Texas whose call letters were exactly the same.

Bottom Line – Don’t ever use acronyms in any digital content, unless the acronym is as ubiquitous as Scuba, Radar and Laser

Does your corporate lexicon contain alternate spellings?

Since most corporate lexicons are the domain of communications departments, they are often used in tandem with publications guidelines or internal style guides. Your company’s decision to only use the Queen’s English, for instance, might not only impact the traffic to your website, it could also hinder important messaging directed at specific target audience groups.

Case In Point – One of my clients is responsible for disseminating national security information to members of the traveling public. Unfortunately, they didn’t realize that any website messaging directed to “travellers” only had a 50% chance of actually communicating critical safety information to this group. With a simple edit to “traveler” (with 1 “L”), they were able to direct their announcements to twice as many people with a much broader global audience reach.

Bottom Line – Don’t just stand by spelling on principle. Make sure there is a reason for choosing one spelling over another.

Does your corporate lexicon contain made up words?

One of the first rules of marketing is differentiation. Many scramble to define their business in a way that sets them apart from the competition by creating “branded” names for their products or services. This practice can be taken too far when newly minted companies try to come up with “cutesy, made-up names” to describe commonly used products or services.

Case In Point – One of my clients insisted on using a really slick sounding term that she had come up with to describe her new company’s service creating newspaper advertising supplements. Despite incredible efforts to build relationships and brand awareness offline, her initial marketing push was undermined by an underperforming website that attracted very little traffic. While the term she came up with was undeniably better than “advertising supplement”, her target audience had absolutely no idea that this was the term to search for should they wish to engage her company.

Bottom Line – Make sure your corporate lexicon refers to the steak …not the sizzle. While the pen is mightier than the sword, don’t try to fight your entire industry by using words nobody else uses.

How To Digital Proof Your Corporate Lexicon

It doesn’t take much to digital proof your corporate lexicon.

Start by identifying common words that members of your organization might use to communicate online, whether through the company’s website or via popular social media channels like Twitter or Facebook. Once you’ve culled these terms, use a free keyword selector tool like Google AdWords to research alternate spellings, synonyms or other words with more accurate meanings to describe your products or services.

You’ll quickly be able to align and adjust your corporate lexicon to the vocabulary of your target audience by choosing the most popular words that they use to search online for:

• information
• conversation

about your company and its products and services.

This new controlled vocabulary should be used anytime someone in your organization posts anything online, regardless of whether it’s on your company website or not.

In many training sessions and conferences I’ve attended over the years I’ve watched as people write furiously trying to capture every slide and bullet point – rather than taking the time to consider how such ideas might assist them in their professional endeavors.

As such, when watching this video attempt the following:

• Listen carefully to the ideas shared within this framework. Don’t just copy the outline, but rather listen as if I was telling you a story and understand how the parts together create the whole.
• Master the central ideas such that you’re comfortable in conversation with others without having to grab a piece of paper and pen to draw out the framework again.
• Understand and value the different processes and approaches within the multi-disciplinary teams that make up nearly every sector today; guiding conversations around their values and goals – not your own.
• Create a clear end state in your own mind, and then guide people to their own insights by asking questions without instructing.

A specific title matters far less than an individual’s ability to effectively communicate the value behind various approaches. Designers the world over have tremendous capacity to make real changes in organizations!

As Mario Bourque has pointed out, the ability to give up control and focus on empowering others will free us to work on design issues that go beyond the tools that have defined each discipline, and impact people at a human level.