THREE Leadership Lessons from the Couch People

Enter the “Couch People.”

The setup for the Design Review room is simple. A long black leather couch sits under spotlights in the middle of a large open room.

Upon this couch sits three product leaders dressed in dark clothing with aloof expressions on their faces. 

They’re the focal point in the room, ready to dispense sharp critique.

The apparel designers brace themselves at the edges of the room. Then, team by team, each wheel in their garment racks to the front of the couch.

Here they unveil several months of hard work. A season’s worth. The bulk of it in handmade mockups sewn themselves or by factory partners. Each item is a result of much thought, effort, and resources.

The presentations continue nervously, when, suddenly, one of the Couch Persons halts the presentation. Wearing a concerned facial expression, she gestures dismissively with her hands and says, “I’m just not feeling this.”

Panic and fear fill the room. “Will it be us next?”

Whole product lines are blown up with this kind of subjective “design direction.” Armed with vague feedback, teams scramble to start over (with deadlines unchanged of course!). Success is not the motivating factor here.

Criticism is hard to take, especially as a creative. Yet stakeholder input is critical for ensuring successful designs.

And how this feedback is delivered matters very much.

LESSONS FROM THE COUCH PEOPLE:

Set the guardrails early with Seasonal Brand Direction

Create a robust Product Brief (or Agreement) that defines objective success

From this, a product emerges with a strong story for the Customer

True creative direction is the goal. And it must come at the right time in the process. Otherwise, it hinders the full potential of all: People, Products, and Processes.

As creative directors and product leaders, we owe it to our teams to provide input.

Yet, our inputs must add value to the designers, the product and business, and the brand story.

Not feed egos and justify roles.