Author: Ola Olusoga
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Composing a Strategy
The word “strategy” can feel overwhelming 🫠—trust me, I’ve been there, wrestling with anxiety about laying out plans in a way that’s coherent and impactful. ↴ But here’s the truth: crafting a strategy can actually be quite straightforward. A strategy comes down to a few key ingredients: 🎯 Your Aspirations (The ‘What’): What’s your big…
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Cross-Functional Partnerships
“Your functional team is the family you’re born into; your cross-functional partners are who you marry.” Creating products & running a business is a team sport. All functions must work together for the organization to achieve its aspirations—there’s no way around it. Note: While the phrase uses the term “family,” a corporation is not a…
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Going Beyond Process
Avoid getting caught up in the obsession over the perfect framework or process for doing things. When conversations lean towards following established doctrines simply because “that’s the way it’s always been,” my usual reaction is “maybe…” 🙃 Imagine you’re baking a cake 🎂 with the aim of replicating something you can find at any large…
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Should designers learn to code?
“Should designer learn to code?” … Cringe😬… We should be beyond this question by now as an industry. The real questions we should be asking are: 🧭 Q: Should designers learn product management?↳A: Absolutely 👏🏽. You’ll gain the tools to articulate business needs and influence roadmaps, which also enhances your perspective when crafting experiences. You’ll…
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Change agents, and persons of action
Feeling undervalued, misunderstood, & unheard are common narratives often expressed by folks in design roles—though not exclusive to design. There’s often a sense that the value of design is not fully recognized, leaving many feeling stuck & dissatisfied. Many believe that things could be better, that their companies could operate differently, & that they could…
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Value through execution
Talk is cheap. Everyone has ideas and opinions. Real value lies in action, but action isn’t easy. It takes knowing when to stop talking, and start doing. “Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth” — Mike Tyson. This quote’s great because it’s true. No matter how well-crafted your plans and theories…
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A high value designer
The pixel pusher, the perfectionist, low business acumen, “the artist who’s not really good at product and business so they only get pulled in when it’s time to make visuals” are common stereotypes designers often face. The truth is these aren’t wrong 🙊🙈, these stereotypes do exist, but are just a few flavors of designer.…
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24 things to keep in mind when building in 2024
Things to keep in mind when building in 2024. Craft Execution Leadership Work/Life Balance note: will be breaking these down into short posts that can be shared on linkedin, and as a solo blog post. Will also be expanding on each over 2024.
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Taking ownership, increasing velocity & cultivating talent.
Really enjoyed Jason Calacanis’s interview with Snowflakes CEO Frank Slootonman on this week in startups.
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I’ve Joined CaptivateIQ
I’m thrilled to share that I’ve joined CaptivateIQ as Head of Design to support, develop, and nurture a diverse design team of outstanding folks. We’ll be working cross-functionally with engineering, product, and other departments to help create great experiences that will serve our customers and the business. When developing and evaluating criteria for a new…