pinterest

Alex Jones

I lead teams at the intersection of strategy and design. Autodidact. Polymath. Barbecue acolyte. I start fires (the good kind).

Managing and Teams

Innovation Starvation

Today’s belief in ineluctable certainty is the true innovation-killer of our age. In this environment, the best an audacious manager can do is to develop small improvements to existing systems — climbing the hill, as it were, toward a local maximum, trimming fat, eking out the occasional tiny innovation — like city planners painting bicycle lanes on the streets as a gesture toward solving our energy problems. Any strategy that involves crossing a valley — accepting short-term losses to reach a higher hill in the distance — will soon be brought to a halt by the demands of a system that celebrates short-term gains and tolerates stagnation, but condemns anything else as failure.

Neal Stephenson from Innovation Starvation

The Forest for the Trees

Every UX professional feels the pain that has driven me down my winding career path, but the next steps aren’t obvious and there is not a clear path to follow. I’m trying to document the opportunities that I see, in the hope that others will drive forward, taking risks in order to have a larger impact.

Admittedly, I miss the days where I spent 10 hours in Photoshop or wrangling code. When I’m finalizing budgets, dealing with internal politics, reviewing contracts or defending a product roadmap, I seriously think about returning to those roles. Those challenges are much more familiar. The role far more comfortable. The results of my effort easier to see.

But my influence would be dissipated. My view of the world narrowed. My ability to deliver a great experience reduced, hampered by the decisions of others.

I would not make the impact that I want.

A Place at the Table for UX

Every so often I’m asked about my career path: “why the switch from coding and design to workflows and wireframes?”, “what prompted the jump from User Experience to Product Management?” or “why the move to the business-side of the house?”

It took me a long time to realize that my reason is simpler than my lengthy replies, outlining a cycle where I gained more control over the experience with each move, only to find that I didn’t have the final say. There was always someone else who would make the call, or could change something that I felt was in the best interest of the user.

Now, my answer boils down to this: I want the best possible experience for our users, and the only way to do that is to be the person who makes the final decision.

Many companies say user experience is critical, but until there are more of us in true, company-wide leadership roles, UX will not have its proper place at the table.

A Players, B Players, Grinders and Losers

Hiring the right people is critically important in a quickly growing startup. Each new hire can significantly change the company in a good or bad way. There is a saying that A players hire A players and B players hire C players and I am a big believer in only hiring leaders, future leaders and key contributors. B players hire grinders and losers. The difference between a grinder and a loser is work ethic, grinders have it, losers don’t, but neither have ambition. That being said, anyone can change, but don’t hire them until they do.

Nick Ducoff, CEO and a co-founder of Infochimps on hiring the right people

Spot on.

On a side note, knowing some of the great people at Infochimps, I can attest to the fact that Nick and Flip walk the walk when it comes to recruiting talent. They’ve put together one hell of a team that anyone would be proud to be a part of.

Take a couple of minutes to read Nick’s full post as well as the other pieces on his site, it’s good stuff.