About the Episode

One of the biggest challenges business leaders face today is managing multiple stakeholders. For the past half-century, most CEOs have simply sought to please board members and shareholders, with less regard to other stakeholders like employees, government entities or suppliers. But as demands for corporate responsibility have increased, CEOs are under increasing pressure to cater to a wide variety of stakeholder needs, and to find solutions that deliver across diverse groups.

Today we’re going to talk about stakeholder design and how to approach it, and related approaches like horizontal thinking, to benefit the business, all of its stakeholders, as well as its customers.

To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Curt Schreiber, Chief Creative Officer at VSA Partners.

About Curt Schreiber

Curt Schreiber is the heart of VSA design. He currently guides VSA’s creative philosophy, and is responsible for establishing the office’s design standards and offerings. Throughout his 30-year tenure with the company, Curt has been essential in the agency’s transition from a boutique design firm to a brand-led customer experience agency. Curt has decades of experience working with internationally-recognized global brands, and his client list includes VSA’s most prominent clientele. He also serves as an influential thought leader within the creative industry. Most recently, Curt was named one of Chicago’s most influential designers and included in AIGA’s This is Chicago. Curt’s work has been recognized by more than 100 international design and communications organizations, publications and competitions including the AIGA, Cannes Lions, Cooper Hewitt, Communication Arts, Graphis and the Society of Typographic Arts. His work is also included in the permanent collection of the U.S. Library of Congress.

Resources

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Synopsis

Stakeholder design is crucial for optimizing outcomes for multiple stakeholders, rather than prioritizing just one. In this episode, the speaker emphasizes the importance of considering a broad range of audiences as stakeholders, including employees, customers, investors, suppliers, and society at large. Each stakeholder group has distinct needs and expectations, and the goal is to manage across the entire system rather than favoring any one stakeholder. This approach is particularly significant in today's business environment, where leaders face increasing complexity, transparency, and heightened expectations from stakeholders.

The traditional approach of prioritizing profits and shareholders is no longer sustainable. Other stakeholders, such as NGOs, customers, and employees, have gained influence and advocate for sustainability and equitable practices. Stakeholder design helps companies create more equitable and sustainable solutions by recognizing the interconnectedness of stakeholders and working across the system to meet their needs and expectations. It involves breaking down organizational silos and considering the broader impact on multiple stakeholders when making decisions.

Additionally, the episode highlights a shift from user-centered design to human-centered design. This approach emphasizes designing for a better human experience and bringing value to many, rather than just a few.

Stakeholders in a business encompass a wide range of audiences who have a relationship with the company. This includes employees, customers, investors, suppliers, and society at large. Each stakeholder group has different needs and expectations. For instance, employees have higher expectations of their employer, customers demand transparency in areas like manufacturing practices, and investors prioritize profits. The objective is not to prioritize any one stakeholder, but to manage across the entire system and optimize outcomes for multiple stakeholders. This approach is crucial because business leaders face new levels of complexity, transparency, and heightened expectations from stakeholders. Stakeholder design helps companies create more equitable and sustainable solutions by considering the needs and expectations of all stakeholders and working across the system to address them.

In the episode, the host and guest discuss how traditional corporate decision-making, which prioritizes specific stakeholders such as shareholders, is no longer sustainable. They explain that businesses have historically prioritized profits and shareholders as the primary stakeholders. However, over time, other stakeholders, such as employees, customers, and NGOs, have gained influence and advocated for more sustainable and equitable practices.

The guest emphasizes that in today's environment, business leaders face new levels of complexity, transparency, and heightened expectations from stakeholders. As a result, they need to respond by adopting a stakeholder design approach. Stakeholder design involves optimizing outcomes for multiple stakeholders rather than maximizing for just one. This approach recognizes that different stakeholders have different needs and expectations.

The guest highlights several examples of how stakeholders are exerting their influence. NGOs advocate for sustainability, customers demand transparency in manufacturing practices, and employees have higher expectations of their employers. This shift in stakeholder influence has made it challenging for organizations to manage stakeholders effectively, as they are often managed in silos. For example, investor relations, sales and marketing, supply chain management, and HR may all have separate approaches to managing stakeholders.

To address this challenge, the guest suggests that organizations need to work across the system and break down silos. They need to change their mindset and how they manage stakeholders to ensure that the expectations of all stakeholders are considered and addressed. This shift towards stakeholder design helps create more equitable and sustainable solutions by taking into account the diverse needs and expectations of different stakeholders. It also acknowledges the interconnectedness of these expectations and the importance of managing stakeholders holistically.