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Product Description
This is the eBook version of the printed book. If the print book includes a CD-ROM, this content is not included within the eBook version. More and more companies are coming to understand the competitive advantage offered by outstanding design. With this, you can create products, services, and experiences that truly matter to your customers' lives and thereby drive powerful, sustainable improvements in business performance. But delivering great designs is not easy. Many companies accomplish it once, or twice; few do it consistently. The secret: building a truly design-driven business, in which design is central to everything you do. Do You Matter? shows how to do precisely that. Legendary industrial designer Robert Brunner (who laid the groundwork for Apple's brilliant design language) and Stewart Emery (Success Built to Last) begin by making an incontrovertible case for the power of design in making emotional connections, deepening relationships, and strengthening brands. You'll learn what it really means to be "design-driven" and how that translates into action at Nike, Apple, BMW and IKEA. You'll learn design-driven techniques for managing your entire experience chain; define effective design strategies and languages; and learn how to manage design from the top, encouraging "risky" design innovations that lead to entirely new markets. The authors show how (and how not) to use research; how to extend design values into marketing, manufacturing, and beyond; and how to keep building on your progress, truly "baking" design into all your processes and culture.
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Customer Reviews: - easy to read- how to integrate the design concept
This book is mainly written for business leaders who are not happy with their product's appeal to customers. It can be read by general public because it is easy to read. The stories and examples tend to be stretched along the pages bit, and repeated but it helps with the concept to be well understood.
The idea is to make customers have a personal relationship and feelings for the product, in a way that if the company or product disappears, it would seem like a personal loss to them. It also gives general ideas on how to use the design concept in a systemic way, rather than apply it only to the shape or design of the product.
I would have liked to see this book written in a more digest way, compact concepts better spread across the book, and illustrated more. The design examples are more taken among large companies such as Apple. It would be nice to have examples on how to apply it in a more concrete way. For some reason, the authors themselves do not try to make that emotional contact with the reader of the book, so that it is a bit cumbersome to read.
...more info - Great Book
I have a design degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta. I am always looking for good design books, with relevant and modern use cases. This book is right on target. I also love the design of the book itself, which is especially important, considering the topic....more info - Right to the Point
This book is a really easy read and right to the point. I read it in about 3 hours waiting at the airport where I picked it up. The titled intrigued me so, I thought it would be a good way to make use of my time. I'm glad I did because it was interesting to read about design and its importance from the designers perspective and how a lot of companies really don't get that or don't value it. Their are so many poorly designed products out there and I often ask myself one of two things "what were they thinking" and "who is going to buy this?" Clearly many companies see design as an afterthought and it shows. This book not only points out the importance of great design for the sake of the product and the company but also for the sake of trying to create a loyal following.
I could easily see a follow-up book that goes into further detail about the design process and hopefully they will write another because I would be very interested in that. Until then, I think every CEO and engineer in the product business should read this book and save us from a landfill full of useless and poorly designed products....more info - Why is "Design or Die" more true now than ever? Read this book
The book by Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery is a compelling book defining what design is, why design is important to products/services/business, how to make design part of your process/culture and how lifestyles get connected to products. Apple is the prime example of a design driven organization used in the book. Steve Jobs is given as an architypal Chief Creative Officer (CEO).
The writing style of the book is very clean, crisp and well structured use of examples with the logic behind the particular example to clarify and drive home the point. The approach is much better than the style used by Marty Neumeier in "The Designful Company". The big question is "Do You Matter?" which is really a great question that all company management and product managers should be asking themselves everyday especially in the real-time nature of the internet.
The book does a great job of explaining why design is so important in creating products / services that are meaningful, affective and given sometimes cultish support by customers. The need to refocus the entire company to design products from the customer point of view (surface) and the backward engineer as need to make the customer experience happen makes a lot of sense. This is a difficult thing to do for a company as the book points out with many clear examples. The way to get a company to do it is not a magical set of 12 steps but rather getting management, middle-management and low level employees to be aligned using whatever methods are necessary.
"Product as a portal" to the customer is a critical concept -- lifestyle products. If a company can make products portals, they will be exceptionally successful as the lifetime value of the relationship with the customer will be much larger than a given transaction with the customer.
"Customer experience supply chain management" is a bit clunky but does summarize what a company needs to focus on. The book discusses this very well. The approaches to make this happen are useful but you need to know what will work in your organization.
Summary, this is a very useful book for all companies but especially start-ups developing new products with limited resources. The rapid prototyping method of quickly getting at what a customer wants is very important. However, you must remember that once you know what a customer wants you must be extremely detail oriented and not stop iterating until it is correct (product, box, service, purchasing, support, etc). Management of start-up companies must read this book!...more info - A Great Discussion on Brand, Branding and your Product (you or your Company)
I must say that this is the kind of book that I enjoy reading. It's filled with stories of various companies (Apple, Mastercard, Home Depot, Dell and many others), how they operate, how they treat their employees and the dialogue they create (or don't create or forget about) with their customer(s). This book is best read by the person who extracts ideas and concepts from others' experiences. If you prefer bulleted lists or textbook-like outlines, then I would skip this book for another - it's not a top ten list of best practices. Also, keep in mind that it is also not a 'how to' book on designing, rather it is more informative and inspirational of the process of creating a brand that directly connects your culture or product to your customer. A bit Apple heavy in discussion, but that didn't bother me.
After reading the book, I'm noticing the 'better' customer practices of my favorite stores (even websites). It also has me thinking about my work and building a 'customer experience' for myself as a brand.
...more info - Business 101: Know your customers wants and needs and meet them
That was the basic theme I got out of the book. Yes, they applied it to design but it all goes back to basic business...the customers' wants and needs. I have an MBA so a lot of this reminded me of business case studies I used to read in grad school.
I'll say that the second half of this book is better than the first half because it covers more company situations and examples from which to learn. The first half is more like "Ode to Apple." Also, there is a whole lot of what appears to be "observation." I kept wondering if the talk about the various companies was based on data or just simply some personal experiences and observations. Whenever I wrote something like that in grad school, my profs always responded with "Prove it." So I had to find data to back up whatever I said. Thus, in this book (especially the first part) I kept looking for some data to prove or backup the authors' statements. I wouldn't want to read a list of data, of course. That would be boring. But how about a direct correlation with some quantitaive data every now and then...such as..."Because of a lack of focus on the design process, the product and customer experience suffered resulting in a 20% loss of market share. Now that they are coming out with better designs and have returned that focus on this or that part of the design, this company's (such as Dell) revenue has increased by X amount." I felt like this was something of significance that was missing from the book that would give more credibility to what was stated.
The second half is better because it focuses more on helpful ideas and teaching by the examples of various companies. It gives food for thought about improving products (for any type of business, large or small) and reminds the reader that we need to think long term with our businesses. I think so many companies have lost this and the only thing they're thinking about is what they can report to shareholders at the next quarterly meeting. There are good ideas in this book and it is a good refresher for getting back to good business and properly growing your company - not giving the superficial appearance of doing so. I'm glad I read it and it already has me thinking of ways to apply it to our company....more info - could have been summarized in a small booklet of a dozen pages
I would've given only a star, but I have more respect for people who write for a living. The idea of this book is very simple: design is important in your business. It sites several examples, but I felt a little like listening to one of those motivational speakers who come off irritating. If I didn't have to read the whole thing, I wouldn't have finished it.
Another annoying thing is that maybe except for two chapters, there's a mention of how great Apple or Steve Jobs is in all other chapters. One of the writers is formerly associated with Apple, but it was ridiculous how virtuous Apple was when compared to other companies. (And I'm a fan of Apple - I'm typing on one.) More than half of this book could be described as how the iPod came to power and changed our lives.
I like my reading material concise and effectively worded; a Cliff Notes version of this book would've been sufficient....more info - Design Matters...But, Do You?
"Do You Matter" is a is an important entry in the growing list of titles that address the business of building a brand. In a lot of ways, it is connected to recent titles like "Made to Stick," and "Buying In," in that it focuses on the secondary (and often subliminal) elements of achieving excellence and outselling the competition.
Like those titles, the book focuses on cutting through a cluttered market and making a connection with your customer -- here, the magic connector is design.
100 years ago, in order to buy a pair of shoes, a person found the local shoemaker, told the artisan what he wanted and agreed on a price. The question of whether that shoemaker would get their return business depended on a lot of factors that played out over the relationship: how close did the shoemkaer come to producing what the customer wanted? did the product hold up? how did the product perform for the intended purpose? In other words, there was a personal relationship between the customer and the producer, with the product as fulcrum. Machined, mass-manufacture changed that equation, and the new efficiencies that resulted added a new dimension to the consumer exchange: the customer might sacrifice some control but he would get a better price. Outsourcing and overseas production changed that equation further, nw even the producer lost some control, but price was paramount.
That era has played itself out and all of the efficiencies available have been maximized across nearly all competitors. The result: today, shoes are available from dozens of different and competing companies at about the same level of quality and at the same price with the same convenience of acquisition.
"Do You Matter" attempts to answer the question: how do you seperate your product? Their answer, if Customer A has the choice of five identically priced and similarly useful shoes to choose from, design superiority is where you can grab market share.
The book's premise is particularly resonant given the economic times. There is some question out there as to whether -- in a cost-cutting time -- companies will still make the investments that they have recently expanded in things like sustainability practice, or design. The answer is that succesful businesses will figure out that they must. In a consumer culture where buyers are faced with a bevy of sellers peddling wares of largely similar quality, utility and price, it will be the identification issues that win the day: brand, sustainable id, design preeminence.
The book is set-up very much as a "how-to," and there is where I find one of its weaknesses (or at least a narrowing effect). Who is the reader? Many of the examples they employ in their anecdotes and lessons come from very well-known Fortune 500 companies, or much-heralded maverick small businesses and entrepeneurs. In theory, one could conceive of people in all of these spheres having some utility for the book. But, given that it is very much a "call to action" type of a book, for it to have the desired effect, the reader would have to be a Marketing VP, or someone similarly well-situated to employ the tactics discussed. At the same time, unless they were also the person who was doing the design, the book doesn't give an overall "marching order" that could easily form a philosophy for organization-wide adherence.
For those reasons, I don't see the book serving much purpose beyond the small entrepeneur or Inc. Magazine kind of company where the leadership, management, and ownershiop are tightly enough connected to the sales and marketing (not to mention the other groups employed in industrial design elements) functions to effectuate the change.
This is a worthy title, wrapped up in a snappy orange and black hardcover package (no dust jacket), but offers limited utility. ...more info - Very enjoyable reading, good lessons to learn
The book gives a very forceful view of Design driven culture,
to make an emotional connection with customer, think about the
customer interaction at all touch points, be it buying process,
usage, trouble shooting, customer service, repair, any part of
the customer interaction chain. Real world latest examples are
given of companies like Apple and BMW. Revolutionary products
like the iPhone to simple ones like Vicks Vaporub are discussed.
Why do customers use your product? Because they have no other
viable choice or because they do have an emotional attachment
to the product and cant live without you, you really matter to
them.
Design in this way can be extended to research, development
or manufacturing process, sales, marketing, CRM, and all the
processes of the company.
The book gives examples of companies like Apple which embodied
Design into their culture and continued evolving, while Motorola
who made a one off runaway hit the Razr, but could not embody
Design into their culture and today are looking to sell their
mobile business.
I am a Senior Software Engineer, and am responsible for Architectural
design of our software product, and this book has definitely given
me a fascinating change of heart and insight into Design for software
too....more info - Informative and Insightful
Every business owner should read this book!
Customers are drawn to businesses that are design focused. It doesn't matter how hard you work or how great you think your product or company is. Catching the eye of prospective customers will only happen if you take the time to consider who you're trying to attract and designing your product effectively.
This book goes beyond usability and design. Perfect for the small business owner as well as the big wig in their corner office. Understanding what the customer wants and how to maintain that positive relationship. --Completely invaluable.
Practical and complete. Learn how to create effective design, explore new territory, and build a sustainable and well-structured relationship with your customers. An insightful read!...more info - Do you truly get "it" or not
I am a creative class worker. I make videos for a living. Currently I am employed in a rather conservative, medically- related institution of higher education. New "marketing" ventures are being initiated by the top tier. Unfortunately, the top tier are not known for being creative, they are known for managing processes, budgets and people. Opening up a dialog about the need for trust in the creative process is akin to laying on the ground and beating my head against the cement every hour-long meeting. They want to make a video. Videos are meant to show or allow the viewer to experience that which cannot be stated. Guess what? In the meeting, they wanted to replicate that which was directly stated in the catalog. Why then, would you need a video? No one is going to watch a boring video where you are told what to feel. You have to feel it for yourself.
The above type of quandary is very well captured and spelled out in this book and should be required reading for precisely the persons who would never grab this off the shelf at the bookstore.
Here is a quote: "A design-driven company doesn't labor on a product until its perfect. To quote Jobs 'Artists ship'. Instead, a design-drive company launches new products quickly and often, and improves on them in response to consumer feedback."
Do you have a culture that supports mistakes/innovation or do you have a culture that "strives" for perfection, but only reaches mediocrity? These are the kinds of questions you may find yourself mulling over by reading this book.
...more info - More than just about Design
As an executive in a large corporation with the responsibility to display to my clients things that differentiate us from other companies with which we compete, I am always reading about ways to achieve this.
Like self-help books, there is a well developed genre of books about how to make your company stand out from the others. I suppose theres a great temptation to read the ideas, run off and implement them chapter and verse, and then wait/hope/pray for great transformation to take place.
But there's no magic pill. And all the great advice in all the greatest books won't make a bit of difference if your company really is different from all the rest.
But there really are ways to stand out. This book is full of ideas. But each idea by itself is not enough to achieve the end goal of making people love your company. And the authors know this well.
From the start they make it clear that having a successful company requires a wholistic approach. Everyone from the very top to the very bottom must be fully committed to a shared vision, with a consistent level of performance to achieve the goals. And the old saw about the customer always being right is constantly reinforced here but in ways that seem obvious when you read them, but may never have occured to you before.
Numerous examples of familiar companies are cited. Their successes and failures are examined in great detail in very engaging ways. These are not boring case studies. These are compelling stories about how companies rise and fall. Ever wonder what happened to Polaroid? Remember them - king of the instant photo? Who would have thought that they'd be left behind by digital photography - the electronic version of the instant photo. But because they didn't have a connection with their customers and the world as it changed, they practically ceased to exist. And certainly in digital photography terms, they don't exist as a major player.
What about Apple? Lots of stories about Apple. Samsung. When I was a young adult Samsung was the ultimate junk electronics company. Crappy products. Dumb designs. Cheap unreliable rubbish. Take another look today. They're near the top of the heap. They found a way to completely transform their company by the way they approached design, and by the way they connected with their market and especially their customers.
The thing that resonates with my experience is the emphasis that is placed on the customer experience. In many ways, the field I am in has very little opportunity to achieve meaningful differentiation. We all sell the same services. We all use the same product vendors. We all describe similar solutions and delivery strategies. But what we all have the potential to do different hinges on what kind of experience our customers have.
At the end of the day, it's all about the people we serve and the way they feel about our products and services. Deliver a wonderful product to a customer who has been made to suffer the whole while and you will not likely get another chance.
For some fields, the reader may at first have trouble connecting with the message. At first I was wondering if anything I was reading would be relevant to my world. But slowly as I read the book, it all started to connect together and make sense. Even before I had finished reading the book I was using the ideas in my daily work. And I am seeing some very rewarding personal benefits.
The biggest challenge is to apply these concepts across a large company that is bottom-line driven. The authors themselves acknowedge how difficult it can be to transform the way a company does business. But notwithstanding my own ability to have such profound influence, I still found this book to be very worthwhile. Don't miss a chance to read what it has to offer. Maybe you work with me and together we can make a difference!
...more info - Design really is important
Ever wonder why the segway didn't take off? Or for that matter how Steve Jobs was able to resurrect Apple? The answer lies in proper design. And I don't mean only industrial design technology, I mean the total philosophy of design. This book gets into it in detail....more info - Not what I thought it was
This book is well-written, has an even flow and makes sense.
The problem I had was that it felt like I was reading the same point over and over again. The same examples about the same three companies seemed to overpower the main theme.
I wish I could say more about this title to be more informative for the sake of a great review, but the book just was not earth-shattering. Read the first three chapters and you have the point of the book....more info - Services marketing updated for the 21st century
Do You Matter was fun to read, with lots of good examples and takeaways on just about every other page. I especially liked the way the authors challenge us to ask, "If your company went away, would anyone miss you?"
The authors use "design" in a broad sense to mean the creation of the customer experience. Their horrendous airport experience at Dulles is viewed as bad design. As the authors point out, a for-profit company could not treat its employees that way. And they refer to the supply chain of experience, a potentially powerful concept.
But in the end, these ideas are not new. Back when I began my PhD in 1982, I was interested in services marketing. We presented the same concepts: creating an emotional experience, seeing the service from the customer's perspective, and innovating to give customers more positive experience.
The examples are different, with the exception of Southwest Airlines. And last time I flew Southwest, in 2006, I found the airline has modified some practices that made it such a great example of service deign. Southwest used to give out seating group assignments based on arrival time at the airport. That way passengers were motivated to be there, ready to board and check in on time. But now I had to check in by computer 24 hours early ...a whole different process. So maybe it's time to update that example too.
Bottom line: An enjoyable read. But you'll find similar points in services marketing textbooks and articles from the 1990s. Do You Matter just presents them in a 21st century package.
Ironically, the book itself could benefit from better design. It's tightly bound and the pages don't lie flat unless you bend the spine. The cover is a graphic design that will stand out on any bookstore or library shelf. The title presents two ideas, not necessarily connected. A product or service might matter a great deal, without being loved. And many of us love products and services that don't, or shouldn't, make a lot of difference in our lives. ...more info - valuable insights!
This book gave me a lot of ideas to add value to our client services at all the levels of our organization!...more info - Good thoughts, but could have been designed better
The book "Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company" promotes one idea. Design is more than how stuff looks like.
The authors describe with a lot of examples, how companies with well designed products focus on much more than looks, but really manage the customers experience. They introduce the concept of the "customer experience supply chain" which involves all depts. and processes and every employee of a company, not just the industrial designer.
The books contains some bold statements, most dominantly that every company got to follow their suggestions and start to manager the experience supply chain or this company be doomed. Unfortunately, these statements are not really backed up by facts or even strong arguments.
The most problematic aspect of the book in my opinion is the limited choice of examples. Sure, they cover Apple, BMW, Samsung, and Dell (as a bad example) but what about Toyota, B&O, Braun? Along with the limited choice of companies goes the often missing depth of a case. They often present a collection of examples and anecdotes without looking at the complete story.
But still, I like the general notion of the text and I am also convinced, that actively managing a customer experience supply change does lead to better products....more info - Great pointers to amp your company's sales
This book is written by Business leaders to illustrate in words how using design techniques (design, in a very broad sense), in your company, can increase sales, increase your company's imprint in customer's minds, and promote the longevity of your company.
This book uses many examples of failing and thriving companies and techniques to illustrate how it can help us to get into the heads of the customers, and use that information (including feel, taste, smell, emotion, etc.) to link every aspect of your product and company, from it's inception, to it's end product, and beyond to the future.
I will be starting a small business soon. Right now, I am using this info, which has helped me raise my consciousness about my customers at work (I do sales), to hone my customer service skills. The book examines, How do I best get into the heads of my potential or existing customers, and use that information to build my presence in my industry?
The book argues, why not trust the instincts of a creative pool of designers, just out of college to bring my business forward, and help insure it's long-term, solid place in the business world. The argument is well made by Robert Brunner from Apple and other companies, Stewart Emery, a consultant and Author, (and the book is written with Russ Hall).
A case is made, why iPhone took it's place in the market next to the Blackberry. The point is elaborated upon thoroughly in the book. That is just one of the many successes and failures covered in the book to give us, the readers, a clear picture of what it takes to "make it".
I recommend this book to potential, as well as existing business owners; I recommend this book to potential, as well as existing customer services reps. I, personally read into this book, how to get a following of customers as an employee, as well as a potential businesswoman.
I may have repeated myself, but it is important for more than just people with a company, as it is mentioned in the title, to read this book, if they want a share of the pie.
...more info - Excellent Presentation
Very nice presentation of the book just look at the colors..... it says buy me!!!!!
It gets very interesting when it addresses companies trying to figure out just how design can help them matter
About what people think of you and your image and what kind of impact would it be to your costumers if you disapear the next day.
It also offers nice examples of companies like motorola and apple and why the design atracts costumers.
It also delivers a clear and iterative process for making sure that products are refined and developed until they become good design.
Highly Recommended
...more info - The experience is what really matters!
`Do you matter?' does an exceptional job of demonstrating how successful companies have taken radical steps to improve all the touch points with their customers. This book is for executives and entrepreneurs who have the foresight to make transformative changes within their company to improve their customer's experience.
One example of this (and there are many in this book) is the launch of Apple's retail stores. Prior to this, the company had a major break in their customer experience; they could not control the entire experience because their products were sold through thousands of small reseller stores. The introduction of their retail strategy was an aggressive and highly controversial move. In 2001, BusinessWeek stated "Sorry Steve, Here's Why Apple Store Won't Work." Now in 2008, Apple retail stores have the highest sales per square foot of any retailer, more than even Tiffany's and Neiman Marcus.
I would highly recommend this book to any executive, manager, or entrepreneur who wants to read some insightful examples of companies that have proactively improved their customer experience, instead of slowly bleeding to death by reactionary decision making while their competitors successfully court their best customers away.
...more info - Book should have been called "I love Apple"
While the bones and theories of this book are sound, the in between is just constant praise for Apple and belitting of all other competitors. The former Apple employee's arrogant writing became exhausting quite early in the book. I wish an editor who wasnt biased towards Apple could have spun through this and cut out a lot of the pro-Apple fluff. ...more info - Convincing, but a bit convoluted
This book makes a good case on the importance of a company's commitment to top-notch design as a process, not a goal. Good design is fluid, because people's needs are constantly changing and the sheer number of messages out there is daunting. Essential, then, to clarify and continually fine-tune your design. Makes sense. But the book also touches on the importance of branding, which I believe goes hand-in-hand with good design, so encapsulating a chapter on branding seems to shortchange its relevance in the marketplace. Apple is the company it is not from just good design, but an incrediblly clear understanding and execution of its brand.
Still, it's worth a read, but wait until you can get a used copy or try your local library....more info - A Very Powerful and Essential Premise
The essential premise of "Do You Matter" is that creating extraordinary customer loyalty can only be achieved by delivering a consistently optimal customer experience, and that requires intentional focus on every detail of a company's operations throughout the organization.
My own perspective on this book is born out of the fact that I have spent the better part of my professional life creating new business-to-business service concepts, as opposed to tangible products, and then shaping them into non-traditional business models. As a result, I may be somewhat more receptive to the essential message of this book than most. It's also a basic part of my nature to be always looking for leading edge insights against which to measure my own designs and performance, whatever the source. In the past I have profited greatly from the work of such gurus as Tom Peters, Michael Gerber and many others. So when I came across "Do You Matter" I was immediately intrigued and curious to discover what new ideas it might reveal.
During the year immediately preceding my discovery of this book my efforts had been focused on designing a radical new service that would make it possible for capital equipment dealers to survive and prosper during what was clearly becoming a challenging business climate. One that would combine a serious demand contraction with a severe credit crisis and falling asset values. Even before I read the book I had already designed a single free service that offered equipment dealers an array of compelling benefits. These included the ability to (1) counteract the demand contraction by increasing dealer profits by 250%, (2) protect sales from the negative effects of a widening credit crisis by eliminating customer dependence on traditional third party sources of equipment financing, (3) sharpening their marketing edge by enabling them to promote in-house equipment financing as a key feature of their selling proposition, and (4) enabling their owners and employees to generate 6-figure tax-free annual retirement income, regardless of what happens in an increasingly volatile stock market.
All in all, it was an impressive set of compelling benefits, and in the past I might have assumed it was all I needed. But what this book helped me to appreciate is that compelling benefits are only the beginning of the process of designing solutions to capture hearts and minds. That it was equally important to consider every point in the service delivery process that could possibly impact upon the customer's total experience. To take my concept to the next level, the level Brunner and Emery were advocating, I would have to refocus my attention. Broad, sweeping benefit concepts are fine, but "the devil is always in the details."
Many have criticized this book for being overly redundant, and I have to admit that during the first half I did get the feeling I was reading the same chapter over and over. But by the time I got into the second half I could sense a subtle change taking place in my thought processes. It was almost as if I was undergoing some kind of philosophical conversion as a whole new awareness began seeping into my consciousness of how small, seemingly mundane details could easily derail an otherwise good customer experience at virtually any point along the way. It was only then that I realized what a powerful impact the book had had on my thinking.
Austin van Lack, CEO
Gnosis Corporation
mavanlack@gnosiscorp.com
...more info - pompous blabbler
There is something ironic about the argument of this book, which suggests that companies can turn their customers into idolatrous devotees. Two things wrong here: the authors never explain how this is done, and the entire premise that any product under the right stewardship can be the next iPod -- cultish bought for too much money -- is completely suspect given the economic downturn we face. Save your money -- you can read this sort of drivel on Business Week's website....more info - Light, but insightful and reading to stimulate your thinking
As so often with business books, this is both too short and too long. (I say this as the writer of several dozen such books), It's too long in that the core ideas are simple and could be covered by a lengthy article: the basic premise is very solid--design is not a matter of product features but integral to shaping the customer experience. The authors have plenty of expertise and practical know-how and provide a neat review of Apple and of Dell. Of necessity, just as most books on management innovation up to five years were overloaded with Dell as the exemplar of the invincible, this one is somewhat overloaded with Apple, but the coverage is both accurate and easy to follow. It's a book to skim -- that is not meant as a putdown but a praising with faint damns. It's a Good Read.
It's too short in that the effort to extend the ideas into discussions of design as a core element of an organizations culture and strategy, rather than an isolated talent pool or collaboratve unit, don't really work. There are too many truisms and standard checklists about collaboration and leadership that are OK but don't add much to the conventional wisdom. There's a real need for some conceptual originality; the fortunes of Apple are nicely contrasted with Dell's but the comparisons with Motorola (the Razor design as a successful innovation but which was not followed up on -- a product design rather than a designing culture) are pretty flaccid. I wanted more explanation, conjecture, depth of review, and focus on leadership. Apple is a weird company in so many ways and Jobs is, shall we say, not exactly a paragon of normality; Michael Dell is lauded as "brilliant" but nothing comes through aout his imprint as leader. The neglect of Amazon is a weak facet of the book. Bezos is in the Jobs and Dell league and Amazon is as much a winner through design for the branded customer experience as Apple is via products.
The book touches on several subjects that need much more space and depth of anlysis. For example, process design is weakly addressed; I got a sense that the authors are aware of the weakness and try to talk arpund he topic but do not drill down.
All in all, I think this book is worth your consideratiion if you are in a field or company where this mysterious thing called "design" is talked about but not really practiced, or if you know a fair amount about design but haven't thought much about the wider organizational context in which it must be embedded. I wanted much more meat; I got a tasty appetizer instead. The virtues of the book are substantive: decently written and free of the hype and hope mush and turgid pomposity of so mnay books of this ilk, short and readable, and obviously based on very strong practical experience across the design field, including working in Apple....more info - Terrific, blunt commentary on the future of business
As with other great books, the first thing you'll become is a better observer. You'll likely realize you aren't design-driven and what about your organization is preventing this from being the case. You're ready to act on the recommendations of this book, right?
That's when the wheels come off (or rather, stay on and the car stays in park).
The greatest failing of this book is that it isn't as prescriptive as you'd like. It reads like propaganda; after each chapter you want to change the world! YES! Design matters! I want (or wany my company to be) design-driven! Bring on the iPhones! Unlike say "Inmates are Running the Asylum", a book devoted 50% to the problem and 50% to the solution, the same cannot be said for "Do You Matter?
Its recommendations boil down to:
- You either get it or you don't.
- If you don't, get someone that does.
So in the end, I give it 4 stars. Why Rob? When it's repetitive and doesn't offer a concrete solution? Isn't this a volume on business?
Well yes it is however the case is so compelling and it's so full of terrific examples that it's a great read in spite of its lack of prescription.
I'm now a better observer than I was before, and that alone is worth the price of admission....more info - Very little that is unique or useful
Do you matter? is a well written book. It is readable. It is nicely designed and organized. However, having read many different books on design, I can't say there was anything particularly useful or novel in this book.
The book starts out with using Apple as an example. Then, over, and over, and over, Apple arises as an example of why design matters. While other companies are mentioned, of course, Apple keeps coming back. Look, I totally agree that Apple has used the power of design to differentiate their product, command a premium, and build a loyal customer-base -- I am one of them. But not all companies are product companies selling mainly to consumers. I found very little practical advice, and came away feeling that the authors were in fact less aware than they should be of how many other factors make a company matter.
This book is very, very light on actual facts that could be used to back up the hypotheses or assertions of the authors (i.e that design will make your company "matter"). It is easy to argue that this probably isn't the right book for that kind of treatment ... but in the end, doesn't that just leave us with another person writing about their opinions and views? These are not case studies, just commentary, for the most part.
In the end, I concluded a little cynically that this was a book written by a guy who runs a design consulting company who needs to have the imprimatur of a commercial book title as part of his sales arsenal.
To be fair, that's just a cynical view. This is a fine book on why design matters. If this thought hasn't crossed your mind, and you are running a company that is making something, then I strongly urge you to read this or any other book on the topic. Yes, design is important. But this book doesn't provide unique insight, tangible information, or fresh view that would help you come to this conclusion....more info - Great Concepts, Failure to Execute
This book is interesting, there are some great currently functioning design ideas discussed; Apple, W Hotels, etc. Design does matter, and the examples discussed are very inspiring to those interested in design and/or own their own company.
3 stars are merited because there is not much instructional advice, though, on how to invoke these great design ideas within your own company. Also, the book's design is a major fail. It was stiff, hard to read and bend. Fun for a coffee table, not the subway....more info - Looking for that edge?
Filled with stories of companies who make it, and companies who don't, 'Do You Matter' is an inspiring read. While not a design or marketing textbook, it personally gave me a clear view into the intentionality and hidden nuances of great design. It's heavy on stories about Apple so fanboys will really enjoy this book. But it also speaks of products you normally wouldn't associate with great design such as Vick's Vaporub. They also reference the decline of companies like Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Circuit City. The basic premise of the book is that your company will matter if your customers truly believe they matter. Treat customers with respect and you win. Leave them wandering the aisles alone or hire your employees from the bottom of the bucket and eventually you'll go the way of the dodo bird. It even has a few great things to say about Amazon. If you're looking for an edge on your competition, this book will be a great resource....more info - Seems to teach how to attract a niche market
It seems like the theories in this book will work, and it gives many examples...but I cant help but think "Why would people still react this way in 2008 or beyond?"
The examples are presented very well, and may give insight to some companies that is often overlooked. It isnt for everyone or every industry. Not sure how my gigantic employer would benefit from this, but then again, they HAVE done these things over many years. I guess it has worked?...more info - Pretty much on point, but isn't a design book supposed to have more pictures?
This is a curious book -- an industrial design book where most of the product shots are in black and white and relegated to the margins. I'm not entirely sure how to think of this.
Good design books have an almost porn-like quality to them -- when you pick one up, you expect to see the best the authors have been able to put together, where you can look at the presentation of an object or concept and learn how it's supposed to work and why it does or doesn't. That's because design is inherently visual -- art as interface, the ability to take something and make it accessible to a user or viewer. One of the authors, having spent a great deal of time at Apple in its interface design group, is very strongly aware of this, and in fact if you can find a copy of the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines you can learn exactly the background he came out of to make him qualified to write this book.
Overall the book is a very good read for people who don't quite understand why their products aren't self-evidently superior to those of competitors. A lot of examples of how focusing on function as well as form in design permeate this book -- the difference, for example, between Apple's strong emphasis on integration (from the earliest Macs to the iTunes/iPod system) vs. Dell's screwdriver-shop mentality, or the special aspects of Oxo's Good Grips line that have made it such a huge seller for both disabled and fully abled cooks. (In fact, the Oxo spread is probably the best example of a product shot in the book, two pages of their rather innovatively designed ergonomic products. I wish there was material like this on pretty much every sixth page.)
I guess what I'm getting at is there's a lot of words in here, pretty much all of them correct about the requirements to pay attention to various aspects of design (industrial, interface, graphic, workflow, what have you) in business, but very little actual demonstration material. This book is an airplane read, really -- an essay on things that companies with fanatically loyal customers either take for granted or ignore at their peril. In that regard, it should be required reading for both executives and engineers, since it hammers home the critical point that if your user can't do it comfortably and smoothly, your user would prefer not to do it at all. If all you want is an executive summary, this is an excellent summary of something your customers are probably painfully aware of but may not be able to put into words. However, it seems to me that an engineer might want a bit more -- visual examples, charts, that sort of thing. Perhaps a second volume in the series?...more info - Designing your strategy
Do you matter is a great book about design, specifically about the reasons design matters and then understanding how your design impacts your strategy, your organization and your products. Much like innovation, design is often an afterthought - a bolt-on process, much like window dressing once the house is built. The authors claim, and I agree, that design should infuse your entire strategy. If your strategy embraces design, then all of the factors and capabilities necessary for design to flourish will flow from your strategy. You can see the evidence of this in many service oriented businesses, which have designed strategies and processes to align to internal corporate needs rather than to customer expectations. Design in many firms is at best an afterthought, or the absence of design thinking presents itself in the crazy things we as customers or users have to do.
What I liked about this book is that it takes a holistic view of innovation from the top down - how does design impact strategy and organization, how does it impact products and services, how does it impact your marketing, messages and touchpoints. If you are going to drink the Kool-Aid, you may as well drink it all, and this book can help you as you reposition your firm or design your firm with design thinking from the get go. The book uses a number of firms that rely on design, and you'll see a number of the usual favorites used as examples. Apple anyone? I'd like to see examples of lesser known firms that are using design effectively, rather than use historical analysis to see that Apple was successful because of design. Clearly, other factors were at work as well.
What this book misses is enough focus on the impact of design in customer experience and process design. Since so much of our economy is based on services, we need more examples of design thinking and customer experience in every aspect of the business, not just products. A good model for thinking through the experience of a customer interacting with our products and services is the customer experience journey model, which is often used in service innovation projects.
This is a great book to learn more about design thinking and how to deploy it within a firm, although I think many existing firms will find it hard to convert from their traditional mindsets into more design oriented. I would have liked to have seen examples or models that help existing firms begin to move into a more design oriented model. Small, step by step processes to begin the move into more design orientation, or case studies of firms that had actually done that. Most of the case studies are based on firms that for the most part - accidentally or purposefully - had design thinking from the start.
As with innovation and a number of other differentiators, design is becoming more prevalent as the commoditization of products and services continues. However, one can't simply bolt on some design at the end of the process. Careful, consistent design thinking (or innovation thinking) must be applied from the beginning, and this book provides great insights on how to do that. ...more info - This Book Doesn't Matter
This book is a bit of a caricature of itself. While gushing way too long about the iPod and other Apple products (one of the authors is a former Mac executive) the main point of the book is that a brand or a product should be built around the customer experience and that all interactions with that brand should be consistent with the desired outcome of that experience.
Fair enough, but hardly revolutionary. The authors contrast Apple with Dell and play up the fact that Apple got the experience right while Dell did not, leading to Dell's downfall. Really? I'm pretty sure that Dell built its entire operation around the customer experience aspect of efficiency in distribution and pricing. There was even that period of time where "Dude, you're getting a Dell," made it hip to have a Dell, but Dell's price advantages (like Gateway's) were lost as users moved from desktops to laptops.
The authors say as much but somehow leap from that example to have us consider that the efficiencies around iTunes and the iPod are much different without making a compelling argument that it will be.
One of the main arguments is that the customer experience design was built-in for the iPod, but this whole argument seems a stretch because the authors hardly seem like design experts. Even the odd-shaped book breaks down the experience argument, where the authors seemed more intent on making a statement with the book size than considering the experience of reading through the narrow pages.
They close with 3 cliche thoughts: 1. Design matters (hard to think they don't believe that since they wrote the book); 2. Design is a process, not an event (any benefit of the doubt they deserved, I think, is lost with this anti-leading edge statement); 3. If it was easy, everybody would do it (well, duh, if it was easy they wouldn't feel compelled to write a book about it).
The authors know a good product that's working today, but they don't demonstrate any insight into whether or not it will work tomorrow beyond their own preference of what seems to work for them. If you are a seasoned marketing executive, you've already read this book. A search on Amazon for "customer experience" will show a fairly long list of books already out about this topic, or reading some old Tom Peters books or even Competing for the Future would be better places to go....more info - An enjoyable (and educational) read
I grabbed this book because the title seemed interesting and, hey, the cover is bright orange!
My background is mostly technical; the business side of business has never interested me at all. Never in a million years would I see myself picking up a 'business self-help' or industrial design book, but I figured I would step outside my comfort zone and give it a try.
I am glad that I did. The concepts presented here transcend business alone and the book provides advice and examples of real companies that have succeeded and those that have lost their way. If you're a fan of companies like Apple, Harley-Davidson, BMW, IKEA, or ever wondered what happened to Sharper Image and Polariod, this book should interest you.
I found the book entertaining and readable. However, I did start to lose interest near the last chapter. To me, that means that the book was just long enough for me. Hey, this was a big step for me -- I did finish the book and felt that I came away with a new perspective and respect for companies that invest in design.
The book is well organized and walks through areas like why good design matters, why you should care and provides guidance regarding how to understand your customers and their needs.
I appreciate the sidebar text that effectively summarizes key points on the page in a sentence or two for easy reference or skimming. Nuggets like, "When a company establishes this enduring commitment to a design-driven culture, then the customer, in turn, often grants the company the option to fail once in a while."
The bottom line for me is that any products can be duplicated and reverse-engineered, and anyone can make a great product. The trick is obtaining an emotional connection with your customer so that they will return for more. That requires constant work and company-wide dedication to customer experience engineering and design. Take risks -- and watch what works and what does not. Use that information to make your products and services better.
This book does not set out to give step-by-step instructions for making your business design-oriented -- there is no one method that works for everyone -- but it provides a lot of advice, and F.L.A.V.O.R.
If it was easy, everybody would do it.
...more info - interesting once you get past the marketing gimmick
Books on business success go through cycles. When Marketing was king, tons of books came out about business being "all about marketing." When sales was king, it was "business is all about sales." Accounting types write books about how business is all about accounting, and so on.
There is a heavy aroma of fad to these approaches, mixed with the usual "when your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" way of seeing things.
There is a certain amount of that kind of marketing gimmick to the approach the authors take in this book. In this case, it is "design" that is the secret key to unlocking the treasures of the ages. The premise is corny and trite.
Well, okay, it is not quite THAT bad, but those kind of marketing ploys wear on me after a while. Marketing types are always trying to find ways to "stand out" from the other products/services, and too often forget the importance of content and value.
Fortunately in this case, the authors rise above the silliness of their marketing concept and deliver solid, valuable business advice backed by strong examples. They get past the premise and take the reader through chapter after chapter of examples from the real world of global business, and their conclusions are (literally) right on the money.
Samsung, Apple, Starbucks, Target, W Hotels, and many other businesses are explored, along with many, many others. They examine the successes and the failures with balance, and point out the things that one would think would be obvious, but often are not, which leads to business problems.
The example of Polaroid, which was the leader for decades in instant photography but completely dropped the ball when digital photography (the obvious evolution of instant) came along, is as instructive as it gets. The example of Home Depot, which lost its focus to the myopia of spreadsheet jockeys, and nearly expired because of that, is also clearly instructive.
The thing which I find continually amazing is how there is no shortage of such stories about high-paid business leadership just not "getting it" and sinking an otherwise healthy business. (Aside, of course, from deliberate "poison pills" who are there to trash the place on purpose.) Stories of really dumb moves abound. (The sad part here is how many of the clowns responsible for those stories end up with Golden Parachutes and a chance to ruin another business.)
While the authors push their concept of design being the filter through which modern business must be viewed, they thoroughly cover all the real issues in business, such as high quality products/service, stellar customer service, and a long term view that doesn't treat the immediate sale as the be-all-and-end-all of a good business. The example of W Hotels with their "almost psychic" customer service is one clear example of what really matters in making a business a success. I suppose it is okay to call such over-the-top dedication to your customers "design," but as long as the book delivers the goods, I don't really care what they call it.
The book is dense with examples and solid wisdom in business success. And, while I have poked fun at the authors' design premise, I do consider design to be one of the top factors in business success. (Bucky Fuller and Victor Papanek having had strong influence in my life.) Well designed products and services are so rare that they usually do create a real "Oh, Wow!" experience, that simply cannot be manufactured with phony marketing campaigns.
The importance of design and of listening to customer's needs can be illustrated by the recent success of Asus and the "nettop" computer. (Not from the book) All the usual pundits ridiculed the idea and Sony (a one-time innovator in electronics, long since deposed), even called it bad for the computer business. Customers, on the other hand, responded enthusiastically to the idea, which, despite Asus' odd marketing plan, sometimes poor implementation, and horrific customer support, made the concept an overwhelming success, pulling scores of copycats into the market. (As a writer, I can attest to the fact that the need for such a device is real, as I had been looking for just such a thing for a decade. I've tried PDAs and laptops, but they just didn't meet the cost/performance profile I wanted.)
The clear lesson from this example, which apparently needs to be relearned on a regular basis, is LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS. Is it really all that difficult a concept to understand? For some, it is apparently impossible.
Read this book. It will remind you of what is important and the penalty for failing to pay attention. Review it often, there is good stuff in here. The concept is fresh and the examples alone are well worth it.
...more info
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