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Summary
Join us for a conversation on how Dropbox is powering community programs through Design Ops. Michelle Morrison, a senior design program manager, shares how her team is thinking about community building in a time of crisis and how she frames community and culture as business problems worth solving.
Key Insights
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Design operations at Dropbox aims to help makers make by reducing pain and enhancing joy in the creative process.
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Investing in individual passion projects like Permission to Speak can create long-term organizational value with minimal cost.
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Dropbox’s design org comprises about 200 people including product designers, researchers, writers, and a brand studio.
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A strong design ops team of roughly 10 project and program managers supports the design organization, led by Lindsay.
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Diversity and inclusion initiatives led by ERGs such as Lady Sue Create and 3D have successfully increased women’s representation to over 50%.
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Culture design involves shaping behaviors and norms that align with shared beliefs, distinct but related to HR functions.
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During COVID-19, Dropbox’s design ops team rapidly pivoted to online community engagement with initiatives like care kits and art supply boxes.
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Effective design ops requires executive sponsorship, cross-functional collaboration, and a programmatic approach to culture building.
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Small teams can foster strong culture and connection through daily check-ins, personal questions, and knowledge sharing.
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Personal touches, such as handwritten notes, are powerful tools to build trust and enrich remote team culture.
Notable Quotes
"Design Ops is the function that helps makers make by taking the pain out of the creative process."
"Permission to Speak started as one person’s dream project and grew into a workbook and potentially a book."
"We went from having few women in design to 57% women within three years using clear goals and operational power."
"Culture is how people act on their beliefs through behaviors and norms, it’s not solely HR’s job."
"When we started working from home, I had an internal crisis — I thought I don’t make the company money."
"The first thing we did during COVID was send care kits to the last 100 people we gathered with, 100% responded."
"Small teams can build connection by adding daily check-ins with personal questions and knowledge sharing."
"You are never too busy to send a handwritten note; it deepens relationships and enriches culture."
"Executive buy-in and shared belief are critical to push design ops and diversity initiatives forward."
"Design Ops is gaining traction because culture and community sustain people’s belief in the work, making teams more resilient."
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