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Summary
Designers are known for their ability to make connections—to take in a wide variety of diverse data points and find meaning through patterns and associations. As designers in enterprise, we can use this ability to be more effective partners and leaders. In his journey with design at ExxonMobil, Nick Cochran has thrived on finding and making these organizational connections. This talk highlights how he has used this ability, featuring examples of connections made and some he wished were made sooner. He also shares some practical methods to collect these data points so that more valuable connections can be made.
Key Insights
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Enterprise design practices thrive when connections are intentionally made across organizational silos.
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Design synthesis skills—organizing complexity to find clarity—are crucial for navigating Enterprise chaos.
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A motivated, continuous effort to understand connections is needed; connections rarely happen by chance.
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Creating internal communities and networks, like ExxonMobil's design community and Design Ops Network, fuels design practice growth.
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Design systems not only scale UX consistency but also serve as hubs that deepen developer-designer collaboration.
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One-on-one meaningful conversations spark insights more effectively than casual small talk in large organizations.
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Leaders play a critical role in encouraging or inhibiting connection-making by setting expectations and allocating resources.
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Involving people from outside your discipline in sense-making uncovers new perspectives and opportunities.
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Sharing insights with context, not just links, greatly improves knowledge transfer and engagement.
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Organic relationship-building activities, even low-tech ones like bringing candy to colleagues, can seed long-term cross-team collaborations.
Notable Quotes
"Working in Enterprise can feel like chaos due to silos, unclear direction, and initiative overload."
"Design is a way of organizing complexity or finding clarity in chaos according to John Calico."
"Finding and making connections has played a huge role in growing design at ExxonMobil."
"Treat every conversation as an opportunity to make new connections."
"Leaders have the responsibility to create opportunities and space for conversations."
"You have to dedicate people and resources to communities or else they will fizzle out."
"Don’t just throw a URL at someone without context; explain why it’s interesting and how it connects."
"Make a conscious effort to put the spotlight on colleagues and team members instead of yourself."
"Leaders who encourage participation outside silos see more successful connection-making."
"Building connections in a human and genuine way, like bringing candy around, can start communities of practice."
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