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Registration for this popular D+B lab reached capacity within hours of opening up, and now I know why. Presentation guru Hanna Phan captured our attention right away with her présumé (a résumé in presentation format), which she used SlideRocket’s own software presentation tools to ultimately land her a dream job at SlideRocket. After we agreed that 99% of presentations suck, we learned about the three elements about a great presentation: creating a great story, supporting with visuals, and delivering by you! 

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We had our first Design Lab of the school year today, with an INSIGHT – Design Research workshop led by Leah Hunter, Global Head of Insights and Innovation from Idea Couture. We started the workshop right away with a couple exercises to understand personal biases, and we had a very Californian “zen” moment to brainstorm the feelings and environments associated with “I Don’t Know”. We also explored the tool of ethnography, and we dug through Leah’s handbag – literally. Through observations of her three lipsticks (all the same color), a used Splenda packet, and a photo of her daughter, among many other things, we all came up with different conclusions as to what that might say about her, her behaviors, and her personal style. We learned that the same data point will likely lead to multiple conclusions; therefore, we must gather as much information as possible during the observation process, ask questions along the way, and then use these insights to form strategic conclusions. The workshop ended with a prototying activity on how to influence people. As we continue to understand attitude, behavior, and demographics, we hope that we can differentiate ourselves by uncovering consumer insights that others miss, through key observations into what is meaningful to consumers.

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This past week the D+B Board [re]introduced the club to the incoming MBA class and invited them to apply to be the next generation d+b leadership. If you didn't have the good fortune of being there, check out the presentation below.

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Yesterday 95 students packed into 4 hour, hands-on, storytelling and visualization workshop with visualizaton guru, Ross alum, and former consultant, Tom Crawford, founder and CEO of Visualization Network. The oversubscribed event attracted significant attention from Ross MBAs eager to enhance their presentation skills.  Students examined storytelling techniques (i.e. creating STAR ("Something They'll Always Remember") moments - Steve Jobs pulling the MacBook Air out of a manila envelope) and visualization techniques (i.e. less is more - you don't need your corporate logo on every slide).  The workshop involved a combination of lecture and small-group work, including an exercise in knowing your audience, where a group of students was tasked with presenting to an audience of chefs... as Darth Vadar. At the conclusion of the session, Tom projected PowerPoints submitted by students and everyone in the room analyzed how they could best be enhanced using the techniques taught in the workshop. In the end, we hope everyone walked away prepared to turn dry business reports into compelling stories that wow and inspire audiences with visual elegance. The event was generously co-sponsored by the MAP office, the Entrepreneur & Venture Club and the Yaffe Center for Persuasive Communication.

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Miss d+b labs? Want to refresh what you learned? Check out the d+b:lab web site for detailed noted on all the labs.

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Businesses generate wealth by creating systems that meet human needs. They could be systems that produce better products , like OXO, better services , like Zingerman’s, or better experiences , like Cirque du Soleil. From time to time, those systems fall out of sync with the changing world and need to be transformed.

But how do you do it? How do you transform the way a company delivers training for 10,000 employees around the globe? How do you develop a new business model for a 55-year-old manufacturing company?

It’s not about having the right process or the right technology, argues James Macanufo, a senior consultant at XPLANE. “It’s about understanding people” and “unlocking the things in people’s heads.”

The way to unlock people’s imaginations is to lead them through a series of brainstorming exercises, as Macanufo demonstrated during D+B’s first Lab session at the Innovatrium on Friday, February 4, 2011.

More than 30 graduate students from the Ross School of Business, the School of Information, and the School of Natural Resources & Environment participated in eight brainstorming techniques over the course of three hours.

After this D+B Lab with James Macanufo, it’s pretty clear that with good facilitation, you can elicit transformative ideas from the people you work with. That seems like a good place to start your business transformation process.

We thank James for coming to Ann Arbor and sharing his expertise with us!

Missed it? Curious? Don’t worry! There are still three more d+b sessions you can attend! Learn more on our  website . Don't miss the design + business flagship event of the year!

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save the date!

Feb 4 | Feb 11 | Feb 18 | Mar 11

learn more on our website

d+b labs is bringing you the leading thinkers and practitioners of design tools and methods to ross     we're looking outside the typical mba skills to bring you alternative methods for:

research | storytelling | brainstorming | visualization

part lecture, part workshop, each lab will expose you to best-in-class practices, tools and frameworks, and allow you to practice these skills through hands on exercises

this is an incredible opportunity to learn a new skill set from leaders in design thinking, including:

frog design | vizthink | xplane | adidas | gravity tank | msu school of journalism

don't miss the design + business flagship event of the year!

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Design + Business headed west for its first club trek of the 2010-2011 academic year, spending Oct. 25-26 in San Francisco. The two dozen or so attendees got to interact firsthand with a number of acclaimed innovation and design firms including Frog Design, Jump Associates and IDEO as well as the brand consultancy Landor and the news organization Bloomberg. DnB members also hooked up with other design-minded MBAs from Cal’s Haas School of Business. But perhaps the highlight of the trip however was getting to visit Stanford’s famed d.school, where club members got a rare opportunity to talk firsthand with David Kelley, the founder of the design firm IDEO.

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So far, the Design Business Club is off to a great start this academic year. Earlier this month, the company hosted its first-ever "Career Landscape" event, where students got to hear about different opportunties for those interested in working in a design-related field. Those in attendance were also treated to an impressive panel of both first- and second-year MBA students, who either worked in design prior to attending Ross or are looking to start their post-MBA career within the field. D+B president Stephanie Swain talked about her summer experince at a design consultancy. Programming director Cavan Canavan reflected on his career path as a designer, working for such high-profile brands as New Balance and Lexmark. Are you interested in reshaping organizations? Being a part of innovative or sustainable new product launches? Don't worry, the D+B Club can help. Be sure to check out our wiki for plenty of great resources as your career search gets underway!

Download the presentation deck HERE.

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Last Saturday, October 2nd, the new D+B leadership convened at the Innovatrium for its inaugural meeting.  The crew was really excited to get started planning amazing events and stimulating coursework to keep you on the edge of your seat through 2011. The time-tested, post-it brainstorm method was employed, leaving the meeting place looking like the set of a Beautiful Mind. A few pics are included below. Stay tuned for more info on all the exciting events to come!

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Success! Thanks to all those that came to check us out and hear what the community is all about!

We're really excited for this upcoming year and have some great things in store. Looking forward to getting to know ya'll!

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Design + Business made its first club trek to Chicago June 10-12, 2010. The trek was anchored by a two-day conference on Design Research at IIT’s Institute of Design. We heard from design thinkers and practitioners including Don Norman (author of The Design of Everyday Things), Rick Robinson (co-founder of E-Lab), Erica Eden (designer at Smart Design, Femme Den), Kevin Starr (director of social impact venture fund Mulago Foundation), Heather Fraser (director of Rotman’s DesignWorks), Anjali Kelkar (founder of Studio for Design Research), Tim Brown (CEO of IDEO), and Ron Pierce (Stuart Karten Design). In addition to attending the conference, the seven Design + Business members enjoyed a day of company visits to McKinsey’s Innovation Practice, Gravity Tank, and IDEO. We also organized a joint happy hour with Kellogg School of Management’s Design Club.

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On April 8, 2010, D+B members attended a lecture and Q&A session given by Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, in the historic Michigan Theater. Based on his new book “Change by Design”, the lecture challenged designers to move from incremental design to integrative design thinking that looks at the major challenges of our world as opportunities for designed solutions. Among the 20 most innovative companies in the world, IDEO is a design consultancy that contributed to such innovations as the first Apple mouse and the Palm V. In addition to design for the world’s leading brands, IDEO’s work addresses sustainability, the design of communities, health and wellness, and enterprise for people in the world’s lower income groups. The event was part of the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Speakers Series, sponsored by the School of Art & Design.

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Hi Everyone,
I hope you’re all having a great spring break! A few of you have already RSVPd to our event celebrating the launch of Design + Business next Tuesday evening at 6 pm. We’re looking forward to seeing you! It should be a fun mix of students from different schools, professors, staff, and community members, and we will have a delicious array of snacks and tea. This is going to be our biggest general public event of the year, and we want to be sure we have a great group of people present! Please also help spread the word to friends or colleagues of yours whom you think might be interested in design thinking.

Sincerely,