Why Designers Should Align to the Business Strategy

by Jeff Humble

Dear Designer,

Lots of designers never "get" their company's business strategy.

And to the executives and managers who already get the business strategy, you look like a lost zombie.

The Zombie Analogy

Imagine you and everyone you work with is a zombie...

Most of the time, zombies are just aimlessly wandering. There is no big plan. They react to what's around them and try to eat anything in front of their faces.

Most designers are like that. They focus on whatever is in front of them.

They think about Figma plugins, sprint goals, and whatever they heard in last month's user interview. They react to the new and recent without considering the long-term stuff.

They're the zombies that get lost; in the grand scheme of things, they do nothing for the zombie cause.

But in the movies, something always happens to jolt the zombies out of autopilot mode. Some noise or movement triggers them into a feeding frenzy.

And it's in that feeding frenzy when zombies are most effective. Any single zombie can be dealt with. But a swarm? Nobody can stop the swarm.

Strategy is like the noise that starts the zombie swarm and keeps it moving in the right direction until it destroys anything in its path.

If you're stuck being a zombie, why not lead the swarm and be the one that eats first?

Otherwise, you'll have to wait until something wanders into your reach.

Strategy (in general) and what it does

Okay, so you want to be one of the employees who understands strategy and maybe even shapes it with their work.

Let's get clear on what strategy is.

If I had to explain it in one image, this is what strategy (in general) is to me:

So, the strategy combines what the company offers and the customer desires...in a way that the competition does not provide.

If a company is smart, it constantly observes how it is perceived by users and customers while trying to differentiate itself from the competition.

As you can see, this is a full-time job. And it's what strategic designers do.

Wait--what about design strategy?

Design strategy and business strategy are not the same. Most strategies at a company are sub-sets of the business strategy.

People tend to forget this when they talk about strategy.

Designers love discussing UX strategy as if it's the end-all-be-all for strategy, but they forget that it all starts with the business strategy.

To start a design strategy, you must first go higher into the business strategy layer. (more on the 3 levels of strategy here)

Even if you want to create a design strategy from scratch (like we do in my course), you still need to start with the business strategy. The first step in creating a design strategy is understanding and aligning with the business strategy.

What designers have to gain by learning business strategy

It won't be easy.

Business strategies are usually so vague and filled with buzzwords that they're next to impossible to decipher.

But your company's business strategy is worth decoding.

Here's why:

• It is future-oriented: business strategy is the most important future-oriented artifact in the company
• It makes you autonomous: business strategy should help you make decisions without constantly checking with leadership
• It's lasting: business strategy should be your company's chosen direction for the next 1-5 years
• It's your starting point: any design strategy you create should start by aligning with the business strategy
• It's your target for organizational change: if you can learn to shape the business strategy, you have an instant impact on every part of the org

Examining your company's business strategy can improve every action you take—that's why it's there.

Every action through the strategy should put you in the right direction.

Aligning your actions with the executive team can be a huge career booster. Your managers will marvel at your continuous focus on company goals.

What better way to prove you're worthy of a promotion?