Power of Ten with Andy Polaine

Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine. Indi Young is a solution strategist who uses purpose-focused qualitative data science. She created her method over a 30-year span, and teaches that method in courses, coaching, workshops, books, talks, and through working with teams on research studies. Indi discusses how people are complex and nuanced and their mental models and thinking styles are not fixed personas or personalities. They changed based on context and it is essential that organisations listen to and consider different ways of thinking and addressing user needs. Indi was a joy to speak with and this is a long episode, but she articulates her thinking and insights so well I could not bear to edit out more. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction 01:25 Indi's background 04:12 Origin's of design and strategic research - before UX research existed! 08:50 Persuading stakeholders to trust research 18:25 On Netflix, bias and unintentional harm 26:42 On Mental Models and interior cognition 33:20 The gobstopper/jawbreaker model 40:01 Thinking Styles 47:35 Why do companies still get this wrong all the time? 55:07 One small thing 56:52 Where to find Indi online 57:45 Outro SHOW LINKS INDI Website: https://indiyoung.com/ Indi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/indiyoung/ Indi on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/indiyoung.bsky.social Indi's Newsletter: https://indiyoung.substack.com Indi on Medium: https://indiyoung.medium.com Time to Listen - https://indiyoung.com/books-time-to-listen/ Practical Empathy - https://indiyoung.com/books-practical-empathy/ Mental Models: https://indiyoung.com/books-mental-models/ ANDY Website: https://www.polaine.com Newsletter: https://pln.me/nws Podcast: https://pln.me/p10 Design Leadership Coaching: https://polaine.com/coaching Courses: https://courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/apolaine/ Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@apolaine MENTIONS Lisa Dance's Today is the Perfect Day to Improve Customer Experiences: https://serviceease.net/book

Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine. While every app rushes to add an AI assistant, iA Writer's Oliver Reichenstein asks, "Why should I bother reading what you haven't written?" Here he talks tells about the deep thinking behind the latest version 7 of IA Writer and the new feature that dims the text you paste from AI tools, keeping track of what is yours and what isn’t. SHOW LINKS OLIVER iA - https://ia.net iA Writer - https://ia.net/writer iA Presenter - https://ia.net/presenter Writing with AI - https://ia.net/topics/writing-with-ai Oliver on Mastodon - @reichenstein@mastodon.net iA on Mastodon - @ia@mastodon.net ANDY Website: https://www.polaine.com Newsletter: https://pln.me/nws Podcast: https://pln.me/p10 Courses: https://courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/apolaine/ Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@apolaine

Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine. Has the product and design obsession with frameworks and process led to everyone working on autopilot, churning out a bland monoculture of design? When are they useful and when do they simply become a crutch? Have we hit "peak framework"? My guest is Jaimes Nel, founder of Path, a consultancy that helps organisations play the long game through design-led strategy. Jaimes was Head of Insight for pioneering service design agency Livework in the early years of service design practice. He’s worked on service transformation for brands such as the NHS, BBC, Aviva, Johnson&Johnson, Ebay, GOV.UK / HMRC and led a transformation design team at Westpac in Australia, delivering their digital mortgage service. SHOW LINKS JAIMES • Path Ventures - https://pathventures.io • Jaimes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimesnel/ ANDY • Andy's website - https://www.polaine.com • Andy's coaching practice: https://www.polaine.com/coaching • Subscribe to Power of Ten - https://pln.me/p10 • Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - https://pln.me/nws • Andy's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@apolaine • Andy's online courses - https://courses.polaine.com • Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine • Andy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/apolaine/ • Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - https://www.polaine.com/contact

Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine. My guest in this episode is Peter Merholz. We talked about the state of the design nation, the burst bubble of the Cambrian explosion of design from the last 10-15 years, product, business and the issue of mediocrity. Peter has worked at the intersection of design, technology, and humans for over 25 years. Currently, he’s an independent consultant focused on improving the effectiveness of design organisations. He was a co-founder of Adaptive Path, acquired by Capital One in 2014 and he co-wrote Org Design for Design Orgs, still the premier book on building in-house design teams. He co-hosts the Finding Our Way podcast exploring design leadership along with another Adaptive Path co-founder, Jesse James Garrett. He also coined the word “blog.” Show Links Peter Peter’s website: https://www.petermerholz.com Org Design for Design Orgs: https://www.petermerholz.com/writing/#orgdesign Finding Our Way podcast: https://findingourway.design/ Peter on Mastodon: https://sfba.social/@peterme Peter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermerholz/ Andy Website: https://www.polaine.com Newsletter: https://pln.me/nws Podcast: https://pln.me/p10 Courses: https://courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/apolaine/ Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@apolaine

Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine. My guest in this episode is Linn Vizard, one of Canada’s leading advocates of service design who co-founded Service Design Toronto in 2013. She’s the founder of, Made Manifest, a service design consultancy on a mission to make services better for Canadians, whether that’s getting a blood test done, visiting City Hall to pay your property tax bill or buying the perfect luxury jewellery gift. Linn and Andy discussed the state of Service Design in a Product world. She argues the case that service design needs to focus on services for real world outcomes — services that actually get made and out there for people to use. Show Links Linn https://www.linkedin.com/in/linnvizard/https://www.made-manifest.com Andy https://www.polaine.comhttps://pln.me/nwshttps://pln.me/p10https://courses.polaine.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/apolaine/https://pkm.social/@apolainehttps://www.youtube.com/@apolaine

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the workplace should be driven by data and transparency. But, says Aparna Rae, it is not enough. The real work is deep structural change to the organisation if we are to make our systems more equitable, more fair, more just, and not take dignity and humanity away from people. Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine. My guest in this episode is Aparna Rae, an educator by training, innovator by chance and disrupter by choice who loves to solve problems, connect people and build power. She is an award-winning multi-startup founder and founder of Moving Beyond, leveraging data to create workplaces that work for everyone, building products that solve complex DEI and people challenges using real-time Employee Voice & Impact data, grounded in human-centered design. In 2021, she joined a cadre of female founders - just 2% of all women-owned businesses whose companies reach $1M in revenue. SHOW LINKS: APARNA Aparna's website: https://www.aparnarae.com Aparna's newsletter: https://aparnarae.substack.com ANDY Website: https://www.polaine.com Newsletter: https://pln.me/nws Podcast: https://pln.me/p10 Courses: https://courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/apolaine/ Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@apolaine

If you're a designer who has been told to “Prove your value.” “Justify your presence.” “Demonstrate impact.” only to find yourself throwing yourself against the wall of immutable organisational structure and culture, what do you do?" asks Sara Wachter-Boettcher Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine. My guest is author, strategist, facilitator, speaker and coach Sara Wacther-Boettcher recently wrote on Medium an insightful essay called "Hey designers, they’re gaslighting you". She explains why these phrases have convinced designers that they’re the problem — that if they just worked harder, they’d be taken seriously. But if just doing more we're going to fix the problem… it’d be fixed by now. SHOW LINKS SARA - Sara's website - https://www.sarawb.com - Sara on Medium - https://medium.com/@sara_ann_marie - Sara on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraboettcher/ - Hey designers, they’re gaslighting you. - https://medium.com/nice-work-from-active-voice/hey-designers-theyre-gaslighting-you-e02e5a4d9cff - Design for Real Life - https://abookapart.com/products/design-for-real-life - Content Everywhere - https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/content-everywhere/ - Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech - https://bookshop.org/p/books/technically-wrong-sexist-apps-biased-algorithms-and-other-threats-of-toxic-tech-sara-wachter-boettcher/11186625 - Per My Last E-Mail podcast - https://pmleshow.com ANDY • Andy's website - https://www.polaine.com • Subscribe to Power of Ten - https://pln.me/p10 • Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - https://pln.me/nws • Andy's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@apolaine • Andy's online courses - https://courses.polaine.com • Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine • Andy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/apolaine/ • Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - https://www.polaine.com/contact

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. This episode's guest is Alison Coward, a strategist, workshop facilitator, coach, and an author with 20 years' experience in leading creative teams. Alison speaks about her professional journey, her perspective on collaboration in the creative industries, and the importance of workshops in a business environment. We discuss her book, "Workshop Culture: A Guide to Building Teams that Thrive", and the five pillar system it presents - alignment, cohesion, communication, design, and change. Show Links This show's web page Alison Workshop Culture book siteBracket CreativeAlison on LinkedIn Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy's YouTube channelAndy on MastodonAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is Kate Tarling, a service leader and specialist who helps large organisations create successful services, by changing their working practices. She does this through consulting, training and writing, and regularly advises boards, executives and teams. She’s managing director of a services consultancy she founded in 2012 and previously held senior leadership roles in government and the private sector. She is the author of best-selling book The Service Organization. Here we speak about her must-read book, ways to enable change and service design within large organisations, how to understand and help people get aligned, and the relationship of service design to product design. I really enjoyed our conversation and could have gone on much longer. I hope you enjoy it too! Show Links This show's web page Kate Kate’s websiteKate on LinkedInKate on TwitterThe Service Organization book site Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on MastodonAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is Dr Pierce Otlhogile-Gordon, known as Doctor OG, an innovation catalyst, researcher, facilitator, and evaluator, based in Botswana. Pierce is impassioned by the space between transformation and liberation, and researches the complexity, evaluation, and emergence of design and innovation across the world. Here we explore what that space between transformation and liberation actually is, the issues of power dynamics of politics in design, and why Human-Centred Design (HCD) can often exacerbate problems as opposed to being their solution. Show Links This show's web page Pierce Moving BeyondEquity Intuition LabPierce on LinkedIn Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on MastodonAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is Sheryl Cababa, author of Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers. Sheryl is a design researcher and strategist, and is the chief strategy officer at Substantial, a research insights and development studio based in Seattle. Her practice is focused on systems thinking and equity center design, and she’s worked with a diverse base of clients, including the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Ikea, and Khan Academy. Show Links This show's web page Sheryl Sheryl on LinkedInSheryl at SubstantialSheryl on TwitterClosing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on MastodonAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is Alex Schmidt, author of Deliberate Intervention: Using Policy and Design to Blunt the Harms of New Technology. Alex has pursued interests in public service and design through different avenues over her career. As an award-winning reporter and producer for NPR and others, she covered arts, business, technology, and urban development. Alex has published work in The New Yorker and The Los Angeles Times , among other outlets. Her writing about UX, privacy, and other design topics has appeared in A List Apart and The Columbia Journalism Review. As a researcher, strategist, and UX designer, Alex has worked both for agencies and in the public sector. Her greatest interest lies in the wicked problems inherent in enterprise design and the mysterious ways of large systems. Show Links This show's web page Alex LinkedInTwitterpersonal websiteDeliberate Intervention book Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on MastodonAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is the wonderful Abby Covert, an author, teacher and community leader in the field of information architecture who aims to make information architecture and sensemaking skills accessible to everyone. Abby’s first book, How to Make Sense of Any Mess, demystified information architecture into a practical skillset that anyone can apply to any context where sense might need to be made. She recently published her second book, Stuck? Diagrams Help a field guide for the trek from diagram novice to diagram nerd. Show Links This show's web page Abby Abby’s websiteStuck? Diagrams HelpHow to Make Sense of Any MessAbby’s Etsy shopAbby on LinkedInAbby on Twitter Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on TwitterAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is Natalie Dunbar, UX-focused content strategist with a unique blend of skills as a journalist, content writer, and user experience researcher. Natalie excels in balancing the creation of delightful user experiences with strategic content that supports the needs of a business or organization. She is author of the newly released Rosenfeld Media book, From Solo to Scaled: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice. Here Natalie talks about the various flavours and roles of content, the challenges and key inflection points as content teams scale. Thanks to Rosenfeld Media, listeners can get Natalie’s book at 20% off the purchase price when you purchase directly from them using the code, POWEROFTENSTS. Show Links This show's web page Natalie Natalie's websiteNatalie on TwitterNatalie on InstagramNatalie on LinkedInNatalie's NewsletterWomen Talk DesignContent Strategy Los Angeles meetup group.From Solo to Scaled: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on TwitterAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is Jason Mesut who many know from IXDA conferences and his writing on Medium, particularly Shaping Design. Here we talk about design's role in helping cope with the complex wicked problems facing us, design leadership, design teams and how they self-reflect, direct their future and develop others. Show Links This show's web page Jason Jason on LinkedInJason on TwitterJason on MediumShaping DesignResonant Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on TwitterAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is my friend and ex-colleague, Joff Outlaw, Managing Director of DesignIt for Australia and New Zealand, having taken over from Katja Forbes who was on the show a few months ago. Joff has led design and consulting teams across the UK and Australia, with project work spanning across all industry verticals. He has a passion for Design, CX consulting and building successful and happy teams. Here Joff talks about his key passion of helping clients through the sales process, which means taking the the time to truly understand an organisation’s short term and long term goals. And why he hates sourdough. Show Links This show's web page Joff Joff on LinkedInDesignItThe Perfect Sourdough Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on TwitterAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is KA McKercher, a designer and writer living on Aboriginal land in Australia. They have over 10 years experience leading social innovation and co-design approaches across Australia and New Zealand, previously working as Principal at The Australian Centre of Social Innovation, the Innovation Unit and the NSW government. Most recently KA has gone independent offering service design and co-design training, coaching, resources and support for senior leaders. Show Links This show's web page KA Beyond Sticky NotesKA on LinkedInKA on Twitter Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on TwitterAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is Seb Chan, Chief Experience Officer at ACMI - the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne - championing human centred design approaches across the museum. Prior to ACMI, Seb led the digital renewal and transformation of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York (2011–15) and the Powerhouse Museum’s pioneering work in open access, mass collaboration and digital experience during the 2000s. He's also Adjunct Professor, School of Media and Communications, in the College of Design and Social Context at RMIT. In this episode we talk about Seb's work, but also some of the history of interactive media that informs our views and understanding of where the state of the art is today. Show Links This show's web page Seb Seb on MediumSeb's site, Fresh and NewnewsletterSeb on LinkedInSeb on TwitterACMIRobin Sloan piece Seb mentionsbackstory on the Cooper Hewitt interactivity Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on TwitterAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is Thejus Chakravarthy, an operational consultant that focuses on people, process, and technology, in that order. Currently, he says he has his hands full as the full-time COO of one company and a C-suite consultant for another. His primary focus is on how we can make work suck less. To that end, he spent 15 years designing instructional systems, the last 5 years expanding into operational systems, and wrote Brushfire and The Flywheel and The Lever. In this episode we talk about why operations is the place to make the structural changes in organisations to make work suck less and why systems thinking is the underlying key to it all. Show Links Show homepage and transcripts Thejus Thejus’s websiteHircinousBrushfireThe Flywheel and The LeverLinkedInTwitter Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on TwitterAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!

Power of Ten is a podcast hosted by Andy Polaine about design operating at many levels, zooming out from thoughtful detail through to organisational transformation and on to changes in society and the world. My guest in this episode is Teresa Torres, an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and coach. She teaches a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery that helps product teams infuse their daily product decisions with customer input. She’s coached hundreds of teams at companies of all sizes, from early-stage start-ups to global enterprises, in a variety of industries and is the author of the book Continuous Discovery Habits. In this episode we talk about continuous discovery habits, why discovery is a team sport and not just the domain of design, and why product (and service) teams need to address the ethics of what they're creating. Show Links Show homepage and transcripts Theresa Teresa’s blog - ProductTalkTeresa’s online coursesTeresa on TwitterTeresa on LinkedinTeresa on YouTubeTeresa’s Membership Community Andy Subscribe to Power of TenSubscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s NoteAndy's online coursesAndy on TwitterAndy on LinkedInPolaine.comGet in touch!