Why your next CEO should be a designer.

I need to clarify what I mean by designer as the term can throw a wide net that is going to catch some stragglers that don't really belong on the “must hire list”.  To name just a few my list of desireable designers are architects (arch, interior arch and landscape arch), industrial designers, fashion/ film designers and graphic designers.  I stick to this basic list because it encompasses professions that have degrees specifically designed to produce the professionals.  Meaning college isn't some arbitrary list of classes, but a program specifically curated to produce an end product...trained young professionals.  The list should also lean towards design professions that have options for becoming licensed.  

Ok, now that we got the boring crap out of the way, let’s talk about what makes these people such a great pool of leaders.  It’s really quite simple; process.  Any designer that has reached some level of success in their career has developed a process for identifying and evaluating problems and a clear path for finding a solution for said problem.  What this means is that as a business grows and problems need to be solved in general they will approach these problems pragmatically.  This is not a guarantee of success and I have actually considered writing the counter article to this on why designers could make bad CEOs.  Such is the foundation for a good design analysis is seeing the pros and cons of any solution.  After all there are no absolutes.  

It is really easy to jump to identify these people coming from shops we consider to be a good balance of creativity and business acumen.  Leo Burnett, Digitas, etc.  But often times within these walls teams are comprised of production vs client management personnel where you have to “cross aisles” to complete projects and work is divided into silos.  This is no indictment on any of those great organizations, rather trying to highlight the off shoot opportunities to find the owner operators, small business owners and leaders that have climbed the ranks from entry level positions.  Conceptually these are the people that have a foundation in design, but have found enough success to become leaders within their organizations.  This is the person that can talk gross margins, P/L statements and organizational charts, but still has a good old yellow #2 pencil and triangle within arms reach.  They understand the importance of time management to remain profitable, but also know there are times when a project just needs a little more attention.  Always ask and architect “does form follow function?” as this should give you some great insight to their foundations as a designer and potentially a leader.  

If you ever find yourself interviewing a designer (and you are not a designer) here are a few questions to ask:

What was the worst design mistake you ever made?

Tell me about a pitch meeting that went poorly?

Who is your favorite designer?  Ok, this one is a trick.  I can’t answer this question as I’m not a student of history, but it fun to watch a designer squirm.  

Kids these days, right?  This has nothing to do with millennials and work habits, but how technology has changed the entire design industry in the last 10-15 years.  

What you should come to expect from a designer as a leader is someone that is inquisitive and thoughtful.  Someone that will approach problems pragmatically and will deliver a critical thinking process to any problem.  Process is foundational to all design programs no matter the field and would be a welcome trait to any leader.  

Collaboration is the death of the ego and I don’t like it.

Self-appreciation is probably the longest standing design trend in human history.  No doubt the first two cavemen to design a wheel would still be arguing about who actually drew the first conceptual sketch.  Cast aside the influence the actual invention bestowed on the human race. The factual accuracy of who named it ‘the wheel’ might be the bigger story. 

What we fail to recognize is that nobody really acts alone in the creation of anything even though we love to lay the claim or blame solely at the feet of just one person.  This fact goes well beyond the creation of gadgets.  I am sure Steve Jobs didn’t actually create the ipod, any more than Lee Harvey Oswald worked alone, Rosa Parks started the civil rights movement, or Michael Jordan won six titles playing 5 vs. 1.  Most likely someone else was involved, we just conveniently remember the tallest, or loudest, person in the room. 

As a designer the lone wolf approach is enlightening.  It gives me hope that one idea conceived in a vacuum can be revolutionary and pushes me to think beyond my own means.  It is also terrifying that a failure to execute thoughtful design would result in the death of my productive creativity.  The edge is a wonderful place to live.  Collaboration will be the fool that will push me off the ledge into ‘think inside the box’ oblivion and the tape deck would reign supreme. 

My Ego refuses to allow me to believe I couldn’t solve a problem on my own without a ‘partner’ but I am a realist enough to acknowledge I don’t know everything.  It is a classic internal Spy vs Spy type debate of which I am destined to be the winner and loser.  What we love to hate most about our self-appointed titles of ‘designers’ is the air of superiority that comes with the distinction.   The cringe is reflextionary when someone tries to ask me about the flowers in their backyard.  I immediately tell them about the time I was the lead designer on a substantial project for the city of Chicago.  The statement is bound to leave an impression but the facts are rarely impressive.  To the aforementioned project I had the pleasure of working with a renowned architect, Jeanne Gang.  Pause for dramatic effect or self-reflection on your professional failures in life for not reaching such a high water mark.  Her talent was palpable and ego as distant as the boys and girls at a middle school dance.  Fully engaged in the collaborative process my ideas were embraced as equal and I was subjected to an intense session in executing humility and grace.  It was repulsive.  While I bragged to co-workers about our genuine exchange of ideas, as if we were equals, I longed for her to confidently place me under her thumb and bestow a cornucopia of knowledge that could not satisfy a Viking horde.

Today the project is hers and the lasting impression will be that Jeanne Gang designed a 91 acre park for Chicago known as Northerly Island.  You will find me in the 10th row of the ribbon cutting ceremony as an uninvited, unknown, and hardly welcomed guest.  My sole contribution to the project will be the emasculating financial donation I made to the project through a former employer, parking tickets and property taxes.  Maybe it was her grace as a collaborator that has lead her and other designers to such lofty perches.  Certainly Steve Jobs only ever shared the stage with the ipod/pad/ phone but even he hated the dual spot light and ultimately why he made the devices so small and eventually black as if to blend with his standard black turtle neck.  That is so “designer” of you.  I can only hope that one day I deliver a crushing blow to my collaborators and watch as they fall into a wasteland of middle management.  Let’s just hope that my assentation more closely follows Rosa Park’s and not Lee Harvey Oswald’s.  Someone find me a black turtleneck and Sharpie.