While catching up with my designer friends during these days of quarantine, a common topic surfaced in all our conversations despite the different countries, cultures, companies, seniority levels, and paths in the field:

在这些隔离日中与我的设计师朋友保持联系时，尽管国家/地区，文化，公司，资历水平和领域不同，但在我们所有的对话中都出现了一个共同的话题：

It’s no coincidence that this is also a frequent topic at OLX Group. Although Design has risen as the critical discipline needed to create real customer-centric organizations, in the vast majority of companies where this is not a reality yet, designers have a tough time overcoming disbelief and lack of trust by their business, product, and engineering counterparts.

这也是OLX Group经常讨论的话题，这并非偶然。 尽管设计已成为创建以客户为中心的真正组织所必需的关键学科，但在绝大多数尚未实现的公司中，设计师在克服因其业务，产品和工程而难以置信和缺乏信任方面遇到了困难同行。

But instead of rambling about how other disciplines don’t get us, I want to propose a reflection: are designers building the right skill set to turn the table and engage in crucial business discussions?

但是，除了要探讨其他学科如何使我们困惑之外，我还想提出一个思考：设计师是否正在建立正确的技能来扭转局面并参与关键的业务讨论？

Looking back to my own experience and the collection of readings, lectures, courses, and conversations that helped me reach new levels in my career over the past fifteen years, my take on how to increase Design’s business impact comes down to four foundations:

回顾我自己的经验以及过去15年中帮助我达到职业生涯新水平的阅读，讲座，课程和对话的集合，我对如何提高Design的业务影响的归纳归结为四个基础：

1. Incorporate data and metrics into your workflow.
   将数据和指标整合到您的工作流程中。
2. Deep dive into business strategy.
   深入研究业务战略。
3. Master how to uncover real problems.
   掌握如何发现实际问题。
4. Sharpen your communication skills.
   增强沟通技巧。

I.将数据和指标整合到您的工作流程中。 (I. Incorporate data and metrics into your workflow.)

If you work in technology as a Product Designer, using qualitative and quantitative data to uncover insights and support your explorations already is (or should be) a large portion of your work. On the other hand, if you are coming from different specializations such as Graphic Design and Art Direction, there may be a tiny chance that this is new to you.

如果您以产品设计师的身份从事技术工作，那么使用定性和定量数据来发现见解并支持您的探索已经(或者应该是)工作的很大一部分。 另一方面，如果您来自不同的专业领域，例如图形设计和美术指导，那么这对您来说是很小的机会。

Mastering how to assess data and using it to uncover problems, create hypotheses, develop tests, and propose solutions that drive key business metrics is the very essence of an unstoppable designer. Either if you are on top of your data game or just starting, these books can help you strengthen how you approach numbers in your design workflow:

掌握如何评估数据并使用它来发现问题，创建假设，开发测试以及提出驱动关键业务指标的解决方案是不可阻挡的设计师的本质。 无论您是处于数据游戏之上还是刚刚起步，这些书都可以帮助您加强设计工作流程中数字的处理方式：

• Testing Business Ideas — Amazon

  测试业务构想— 亚马逊

• Designing with Data — Amazon

  使用数据进行设计— Amazon

• Lean Analytics — Amazon

  精益分析- 亚马逊

• Validating Product Ideas — Amazon

  验证产品创意- 亚马逊

二。 深入研究业务战略 (II. Deep dive into business strategy)

Expand your understanding of your organization’s goals, plans, and the role you play as a designer in that context by developing your business vocabulary and confidence. That means speaking the same language of your peer in product management, your director, CEO, and investors — but it doesn’t end there.

通过发展业务词汇量和信心，可以扩大您对组织的目标，计划以及您在其中扮演设计师的角色的理解。 这意味着您要在产品管理，董事，首席执行官和投资者中使用与同行相同的语言，但并不仅限于此。

It’s fundamental to understand what’s on their minds, what they worry about, and especially what they struggle to see that only you, with your unique design vision, can see.

理解他们的想法，他们担心的事情，尤其是他们很难看到只有您，以您独特的设计眼光才能看到的东西，才是基础。

The list below is a mix of Product Management, Business Design, MBA, Marketing, and Strategy. It’s not a definitive list, but may help you deep dive into how product organizations, businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors operate:

下面的列表混合了产品管理，业务设计，MBA，市场营销和策略。 这不是确定的清单，但可以帮助您深入了解产品组织，企业，企业家和投资者的运作方式：

• Zero to one — Amazon

  零比一- 亚马逊

• Competing Against Luck — Amazon

  与运气竞争— 亚马逊

• Playing to Win — Amazon

  赢得胜利— 亚马逊

• Inspired — Amazon

  启发- 亚马逊

• Business Model Generation — Amazon

  商业模型生成- 亚马逊

• HBR’s 10 must-reads on Strategy — Amazon

  HBR的10则必读策略- 亚马逊

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Amazon

  关于困难的事情的艰辛— 亚马逊

• The Messy Middle — Amazon

  凌乱的中间- 亚马逊

三， 掌握如何发现实际问题 (III. Master how to uncover real problems)

One ordinary skill every excellent problem-solver has is the ability to dig deeper to find the root of any challenge. In hundreds of strategic discussions I’ve participated in different companies, it wasn’t uncommon to see leaders with an overvalued sense of pragmatism jumping into weak conclusions without really understanding the problem in front of them.

每个出色的问题解决者所拥有的一项普通技能是，深入挖掘发现任何挑战的根源。 在我参与过不同公司的数百次战略讨论中，看到具有过高实用主义意识的领导者跳入虚弱的结论而没有真正理解他们面前的问题的情况并不少见。

That’s when foundations I and II come together in your favor as a designer that sees the invisible: you are in a great position to challenge assumptions and guide conversations towards the real WHYs. Here’s a list of books that helped me sharpen this powerful design ability:

那时，I和II基金会以看不见的设计师的身份聚集在一起，对您有利：您处于挑战假设并指导真正WHY对话的良好位置。 这是帮助我增强这种强大设计能力的书籍清单：

• Start With Why — Amazon

  从为什么开始— 亚马逊

• What’s Your Problem? — Amazon

  你怎么了？ — 亚马逊

• Value Proposition Design — Amazon

  价值主张设计— 亚马逊

• This is Service Design Thinking — Amazon

  这是服务设计思想- 亚马逊

• User Story Mapping — Amazon

  用户故事映射-Amazon

• Jobs To Be Done — Amazon

  要完成的工作- 亚马逊

• The User Experience Team of One — Amazon

  One的用户体验团队— 亚马逊

• Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Insights — Amazon

  面试用户：如何发现见解— Amazon

IV。 加强沟通技巧 (IV. Sharpen your communication skills)

Many — probably most — business leaders are not yet used to collaborating with designers. Even less being challenged by them. If there’s no design leader at a C-level in your organization, it’s safe to say that you will face a lot of resistance and even disbelieve towards your contributions on a typical “business-only” conversation. To overcome these situations, you’ll need patience, assertiveness, and a whole lot of diplomacy while avoiding at all costs being condescending about the value of Design.

许多(可能是大多数 )企业领导者还不习惯与设计师合作。 他们受到的挑战甚至更少。 如果您的组织中没有C级的设计负责人，可以肯定地说，您将面临很多阻力，甚至不相信您在典型的“仅面向企业”对话中所做的贡献。 为了克服这些情况，您需要耐心，果断和大量的外交，同时不惜一切代价避免屈从于Design的价值。

That’s true not just for your verbal communication, but your written and visual pieces as well. Take the dynamism of Design to new contexts other than the product itself. Leverage your skills to translate difficult conversations into organized, easily digestible, and actionable materials capable of helping everyone in the room visualize the problem as you see it.

这不仅适用于口头交流，还适用于书面和视觉作品。 将设计的活力带到产品本身以外的新环境中。 利用您的技能将困难的对话转换为有条理，易于消化和可行的材料，能够帮助会议室中的每个人看到问题。

Communication is, no doubt, the most vital ability to increase your relevance, and here are a few books that can help you become an invaluable facilitator that guides your team through better decision processes:

毫无疑问，沟通是提高您的相关性最重要的能力，以下几本书可以帮助您成为宝贵的协助者，指导您的团队更好地制定决策流程：

• Articulating Design Decisions — Amazon

  明确的设计决策— 亚马逊

• HBR’s 10 Must-reads on Communication — Amazon

  HBR的10则必读通讯- 亚马逊

• Crucial conversations — Amazon

  至关重要的对话- 亚马逊

• Getting to Yes — Amazon

  走向是— 亚马逊

• Visual Collaboration — Amazon

  视觉协作- 亚马逊

• Designing the conversation — Amazon

  设计对话- 亚马逊

• The workshop survival guide — Amazon

  讲习班生存指南- 亚马逊

现在将其付诸行动！ (Now put it all into motion!)

To go beyond the visual surface of Design and increase our influence, assertiveness, and business impact, it’s crucial for designers to add new layers to their domain knowledge and ways of working. But make no mistake: reading some of these books won’t do you any favor if you don’t create opportunities to practice these four pillars.

为了超越设计的视觉范围并增加我们的影响力，果断性和业务影响力，对于设计师来说，在他们的领域知识和工作方式中添加新的层至关重要。 但是请不要误会：如果您没有创造实践这四个Struts的机会，那么阅读其中一些书不会对您有任何帮助。

Nurture a proactive attitude: talk with your manager and share your ambitions. Ask to be included in strategic meetings and discussions, even as a listener at first. Slowly increase your presence and participation, and show with your contributions that Design can play a much greater impact beyond the high-level perception of just visuals.

培养积极进取的态度：与您的经理交谈并分享您的抱负。 要求包括在战略会议和讨论中，即使是刚开始时也要听。 慢慢增加你的存在和参与，并与你的贡献表明，设计能起到不仅仅是 视觉的高层次的看法产生更大的影响。

I hope these foundations help you grow further in your career as a designer. Oh, and of course, please let me know if you have any suggestions or questions!

我希望这些基础可以帮助您进一步发展作为设计师的职业。 哦，当然，如果您有任何建议或问题，请告诉我！

Best of luck :)

祝你好运:)