玛利亚•焦迪琦，Facebook产品设计总监

    Facebook's (FB) director of product design, Maria Giudice, believes executives can benefit by applying principles of good design to business. In Rise of the DEO: Leadership by Design, Giudice, along with co-author and designer Christopher Ireland, offers up a workbook for the modern manager. Fortune recently caught up with Giudice for a download on design, entrepreneurship, and working at the world's largest social network.

    Fortune: How would you define design?

    Giudice: I think historically design has always been thought of as an expense on a balance sheet, not an investment. I want to change that. I define design widely. Typically designers are thought of as makers of artifacts.

    The word "design" needs a redesign. Designers need to be thinking not about the medium that they're serving but more about the process to get to something that is tangibly made to serve people's needs. It's about facilitation. It's about collaboration. It's not done in a vacuum. It's about working in a multidisciplinary team in collaboration to create something greater.

    What makes a good designer?

    The characteristics that I think designers posses -- I call them superpowers. The first thing is empathy. When you go to art or design school you learn how to be empathetic, and that serves you well in business.

    inker. And our world is so heavily complex because technology has been a great equalizer. The systems are so complex that you can't design for a discreet problem without looking at the whole thing. Designers learn about systems.

    It seems that that complexity is the fundamental challenge for the 21st century in the same way that information and access to it was for the 20th century.

    Yes. So designers like to make that complexity simple. Through pattern recognition, they can take complexity and learn to simplify it. So, systems thinkers need to be at the CEO level. You're going to need somebody who can think that way.

    Another [superpower] is being a risk taker, but a smart risk taker. Traditionally CEOs are slaves to the P&L. It's hard to move forward. But the world is not waiting for you. You have to move fast and the only way you can do that is by understanding how to take risks in a smart way.

    There are certain CEOs that do take risks. You know, Mark Zuckerberg is taking risks. Another example: Autodesk (ADSK) was a software company, but it's transcending being a software company to rethink what its product does for the world. That's smart risk.

    So you are calling for a DEO?

    Yes, a designer CEO.

    This is really about unlocking these soft skills earlier. CEOs are going to have to get them whether they like it or not.

    When I talk about being a DEO, I don't mean going to design school to become a DEO. It's leveraging these characteristics that we inherently learn in design school, but in theory can be taught in much younger age to people rather than focusing on just math and English. What happens with creativity is that we're all going along at the same curve, and then at fourth grade there's a drop-off. We start worrying about testing and just focus on math and English. For those people who don't define themselves as creative, it's beaten out of them by the fourth grade.

    Facebook的产品设计总监玛利亚•焦迪琦深信，公司高管如能将优秀设计的原则用于管理工作，将受益无穷。在《首席设计官崛起：用设计来领导》（Rise of the DEO: Leadership by Design）一书中，焦迪琦与本书另一位作者，同样也是设计师的克里斯多夫•爱尔兰为现代经理们奉上了一本实用工作手册。近日，《财富》杂志（Fortune）专访了焦迪琦，请她分享对设计、创业的真知灼见，以及在这个全球最大的社交网络企业中工作的切身体会。

    《财富杂志》：您是如何定义设计的？

    焦迪琦：我知道，传统上设计总是被看成是财报上的一项支出，而不是投资。我想改变这种观念。我对设计的定义很宽泛。典型的设计师就是产品的塑造者。

    “设计”这个词就需要重新设计。设计师不需要多考虑自己使用的媒介，而要把重点更多地放在完成能实实在在满足人们需求的东西的过程上。这个过程需要促进和协作。它不可能在真空里完成。设计就是与多学科团队通力合作、共同打造更出色产品的过程。

    一个优秀设计师需要具备哪些素质？

    我认为设计师应该具备的品质是——我把它们叫超能力。首先就是同理心。在艺术学校或设计学院上学就要学会如何设身处地感受他人的想法，这会让你今后置身商业环境时受益匪浅。

    另一个就是要能够系统思考。我们这个世界太复杂，而技术一直在其中起着良好的平衡作用。各种系统都非常复杂，因此在为某个必须考虑周到的问题提供设计方案时，不能只见树木不见森林。设计师就是要深入了解系统。

    正如20世纪的信息及获取信息的方式是当时的根本挑战一样，复杂性似乎是21世纪的根本挑战。

    确实如此。所以设计师喜欢将这种复杂性简化。通过模式识别，他们能了解复杂性，学会简化它。所以，能系统思考的人需要被提拔到首席执行官的层面。企业也会需要具备这种思考能力的人才。

    另一种（超能力）就是敢于风险，但必须是有勇有谋。传统上首席执行官都是损益表的奴隶。很难大步前进。但是这个世界不会等着你。必须快速前进，而这么做的唯一方式就是了解如何巧妙地承担风险。

    确实有一些首席执行官敢冒风险。比如，马克•扎克伯格就是在冒险。又如：欧特克公司（Autodesk）是一家软件企业，但它现在正超越这个身份去重新思考其产品到底能为世界做些什么。这就是巧妙地冒险。

    你是在呼吁提拔首席设计官？

    没错，由设计师来担任首席执行官。

    这其实就是要提前展现那些软技能。不管首席执行官们是否喜欢它们，都必须具备这些技能。

    我并不是说非得去设计学院学习，才能成为一名首席设计官。而是要运用自己在设计学院学到的那些素养。不过从理论上说，这些素养是能够在我们年龄较小时就开始学习的，而不是整天只知道学数学和英语。就创造力而言，我们其实小时候都沿着同一曲线前进，但到了四年级就会出现明显下降。因为那时候我们开始为考试担心，把精力都放到数学和英语上去了。有些人认为自己没什么创造力，其实他们只是在读到四年级的时候被剥夺了这种能力。

    When businesses realize this is something they want to integrate more directly, how do they learn to do this?

    A lot of traits creative people have don't translate well into the business environment. On the one hand, we're saying we need creativity. On the other hand, they're compartmentalizing it or creating stereotypes about people. So how do you incite creativity? It comes down to hiring people -- creative people -- at all levels of the organization.

    How did you become a designer?

    Here's my career map. I grew up in Staten Island, started painting, and became an entrepreneur at age 15. My mom taught cooking classes in the basement in Staten Island, and my paintings were hung up on the wood paneling. Her students started asking if I'd paint portraits of their dogs. I started making money at 15 painting, so that connection between doing what you love and monetizing it came really early.

    I never thought of myself as a business person. I went to work for the designer Richard Wurman. When I went freelance, I was getting busier and busier, and I'd ask people to work for me because I was getting busier. I had a partnership for five years. That ended. I started the company HOT in 1997. I built it to be 75 people.

    HOT was independent. We weren't in debt. We were cash positive. HOT went up and down, survived some busts and booms, and opened a New York office six years ago. Over the years, it becomes increasingly harder to stay independent, and we started thinking about an exit strategy.

    Is that how you came to work at Facebook?

    This is a back to the future moment for design studios. They're hot. In October of last year, a colleague of mine at Facebook who I'd known a long time before asked if I could send some designers. Facebook is one of the few technology companies that always believed in great design. They treat designers equally to engineering, and people who are business-oriented. They appreciate and respect core competencies and strengths in people. They were very understaffed on the design side. When we started working there, everyone was happy. We were an agency that could work inside a product company, which is rare. In early December, I went down for a client interview. Over tater tots, [the Facebook contact] says, Well I wanted to ask you what your appetite is for acquisition. It wasn't even on my radar.

    A week later, I get an email saying, "Sheryl Sandberg would like to have a coffee with you." I go down there. I get shuttled into a conference room with Mark [Zuckerberg] and Sheryl. They asked me a zillion questions. If you were told you were going to meet Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, you'd probably prepare for that moment. It doesn't work that way at Facebook. They're like, I'm going to ask you questions and speak to you really honestly. Intuition kicked in. It was like, this could really work.

    Twenty minutes later I walk out. That was middle of December. We started talking in earnest in January and announced to the world in March.

    What's it like to work at Facebook?

    They're not big on titles at Facebook, another thing I love. My title is director of product design. Basically I work on a group called "Platform," which has to do with all the experiences that connect into Facebook.

    My goal is this: I want to build Facebook's design to be the best model -- help build the team across the company so designers and engineers can work a lot more collaboratively.

    如果企业开始意识到他们需要更直接地将设计和创造力整合到组织中时，他们应该如何学会做到这一点呢？

    富有创造力的人群的很多特质都没有很好地用于商业环境。一方面，我们总说自己需要创造力。另一方面，人们总是把创造力分门别类，或者人以群分。这样怎么能激发创造力呢？归根结底，它需要在企业的各个层面都聘用专才——也就是有创造力的人。

    你是怎么成为设计师的？

    我的职业生涯路线图是这样的：我在斯塔顿岛长大，小时候就开始画画，15岁就开始创业。我妈当时在岛上的地下室教烹饪，我的画就挂在木头墙板上。她的学生问她，我能不能画画她们的狗。这样，我15岁就开始靠画画挣钱了。一边做自己喜欢的事，一边又能挣钱。我很早就做到了。

    我从来不认为自己是个生意人。后来我为设计师理查德•沃曼工作。后来，我成了一名自由职业者。我开始越来越忙，只好请人来为我工作。我的那个合伙公司开了5年。现在它关门了。1997年我创建了HOT公司，把它发展成了一个拥有75名员工的企业。

    HOT是一家完全独立的公司，没有债务，现金流充裕。它经历过起起落落，差点破产，也生意兴隆过，六年前在纽约开设了办公室。几年下来，它越来越难以保持财务独立，因此我们开始考虑退出策略。

    这就是你加入Facebook的原因吗？

    对设计工作室来说，这是一个“回到未来”的时刻。这些工作室炙手可热。去年10月，我很久以前就认识的Facebook的一个同事问我，是否能推荐几个设计师。Facebook是少数几个一直重视优秀设计的科技公司。他们会像对待工程师和商务专业人士一样平等对待设计师。他们欣赏、尊重人才的核心竞争力和优点。而在设计方面，他们的人手很紧张。我们开始进入Facebook工作时，所有人都感到快乐。我们成了一家能在产品类公司内部工作的创意机构，这是很罕见的事情。11月初，我去跟一个客户见面。Facebook的一个熟人直接从炸嫩马铃薯的盘子上探过头来说，我想问问你对收购有什么兴趣。我可从来没想过这个事儿。

    一周后我收到一封邮件：“谢莉尔•桑德伯格想和你喝杯咖啡，聊一聊。”于是我就去了。到了那儿我就进了一间会议室和马克（扎克伯格）及谢莉尔碰面。他们问了我很多问题。如果有人事先告诉你会和马克•扎克伯格还有谢莉尔•桑德伯格见面，你可能会有所准备。但在Facebook就不是这么回事了。他们表现出来的样子就是，我要问你问题，要和你坦诚交流。一切都自然而然，这确实很奏效。

    二十分钟后我走了出来。当时是11月中旬。1月份我们又进行了一次恳谈，随后在3月份就向外界发布了消息。

    在Facebook工作是什么感觉？

    他们不会太在意头衔，这是我喜欢的另一点。我的头衔是产品设计总监。实际上我工作的小组叫做“平台”，它要处理所有和Facebook相关的体验。

    我的目标是：我想把Facebook的设计打造成业内标杆——帮助整个公司创建团队，让设计师和工程师能更好地通力协作。(财富中文网)

    译者：清远