Episodes

  • From Faceplant to Feature-Rich: A UX Designer's Journey Through Website Redesign

    From Faceplant to Feature-Rich: A UX Designer's Journey Through Website Redesign
    Jul 30 2025
    Design leader Paul shares the unvarnished truth about launching a podcast website that failed spectacularly, and how systematically addressing each failure point led to insights that transformed both the website and his entire approach to design accountability. Drawing from his experience of rushing through a redesign that prioritized speed over thoughtfulness, Paul reveals how applying the same standards to your own work that you expect from your teams builds the kind of leadership credibility that transforms entire organizations. Discover how design accountability becomes a laboratory for leadership growth, and why your personal projects may be your most powerful tool for developing authentic design leadership capabilities.
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    13 mins
  • The Data Driven Design Advocate

    The Data Driven Design Advocate
    Jul 23 2025
    In this episode, design leader Paul shares his proven framework for quantifying design debt, demonstrating ROI through strategic pilot projects, and transforming organizational perception of UX from a cost center to a revenue driver. Discover the specific metrics, presentation strategies, and leadership approaches that secured a 3x increase in design resources and established design as a strategic business function.
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    11 mins
  • Rapid Prototyping at Enterprise Scale: Speed Without Sacrificing Quality

    Rapid Prototyping at Enterprise Scale: Speed Without Sacrificing Quality
    Jul 16 2025
    Design leader Paul reveals how to overcome enterprise barriers to rapid prototyping by transforming organizational belief systems rather than just processes. Through a compelling case study of reducing project timelines from six months to six weeks, this episode demonstrates how redefining quality as learning velocity, democratizing prototyping capabilities, and creating psychological safety around experimentation can dramatically accelerate innovation while actually improving outcomes. Learn the four-pillar framework for implementing stratified fidelity prototyping at scale.
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    10 mins
  • Designing for Multimodal Experiences: Unifying Fragmented User Journeys

    Designing for Multimodal Experiences: Unifying Fragmented User Journeys
    Jul 9 2025
    This season premiere reveals how design leaders can transform fragmented user experiences into unified journeys that fundamentally improve human performance. Paul shares the powerful shift from system-first to journey-first thinking through a real-world logistics redesign project, demonstrating how questioning fundamental assumptions about system organization can unlock breakthrough solutions that reduce cognitive load and increase operational efficiency.
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    11 mins
  • The First 90 Days - A Design Leader's Guide to New Role Impact

    The First 90 Days - A Design Leader's Guide to New Role Impact
    Apr 23 2025
    This end-of-season episode demonstrates how effective design leaders navigate their first 90 days in a new role by prioritizing deep understanding and strategic relationship-building before implementing changes, creating a foundation for lasting organizational transformation. Paul reveals a three-phase framework—Listening, Vision Crafting, and Strategic Action—that guided multiple successful leadership transitions and offers practical principles for new design leaders to make meaningful impact while building trust across the organization.
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    13 mins
  • From Metrics to Meaning: Transforming Customer Satisfaction Data into Design Decisions

    From Metrics to Meaning: Transforming Customer Satisfaction Data into Design Decisions
    Apr 16 2025
    Design leader Paul reveals how to transform raw customer satisfaction metrics into meaningful design decisions. Drawing from his experience at Expedia and a global logistics company, he shares a proven three-tiered approach to understanding what lies beneath the numbers. Paul demonstrates how leadership that focuses on uncovering human stories behind metrics leads to more impactful design solutions and significantly improved user experiences. This episode offers practical strategies for design leaders seeking to bridge the gap between quantitative data and qualitative insights.
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    13 mins
  • The Creative Leader's Paradox: How Side Projects Make Better Design Managers

    The Creative Leader's Paradox: How Side Projects Make Better Design Managers
    Apr 9 2025
    Design leader Paul explores how seemingly unrelated creative pursuits enhance leadership capabilities. Drawing from his experience with music production, filmmaking, and podcasting, he reveals how these diverse creative domains provide unique perspectives on team dynamics, communication, and problem-solving. Discover the Creative Leader's Paradox and unlock the power of your own creative cross-pollination.
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    13 mins
  • From Code to Canvas - Why Technical Backgrounds Create Stronger Design Leaders

    From Code to Canvas - Why Technical Backgrounds Create Stronger Design Leaders
    Apr 2 2025
    Discover how technical backgrounds create stronger design leaders through systems thinking, embracing constraints, and iteration. Former developer turned UX leader Paul shares practical insights on bridging technical and creative domains to build better products and more effective design teams. Learn actionable strategies for leveraging technical knowledge in design leadership regardless of your background.
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    11 mins