This talk was originally given at Chicago Camps' Prototypes, Process, & Play in August 2018. The slides offer the pains earned and lessons learned in my move out of big business and into a small design agency, Konrad+King.

1. WHEREISMYMIND?RISKING SECURITY & FINDING SANITY BY
LEAVING BIG BUSINESS FOR SMALL DESIGN
PROTOTYPES, PROCESS, AND PLAY!
CHICAGO 2018!
Bennett King
Managing Partner
Konrad+King
@skunkwurx

2. WELCOMETOMYMIDLIFECRISIS
My wife wouldn’t let me buy a Porsche…so I started a design firm. I’m sure you had no idea you would be
taking part in my midlife crisis therapy today so I thank you in advance!
In 2015 I left the comfortable womb of the corporate world an berthed a small product design firm in San
Diego called Konrad+King. I am going to share some of the pains and lessons I learned along the way!

3. 1985
First some backstory. We start my midlife crisis at the dawn of history, 1985. Birth year of the Apple
computer and Windows 1.0!
In my tiny little teenage brain at the time, I was rebelling against, yuppies, greed, the moral majority, big
hair metal, and yes corporate America. I wasn’t quite sure I wanted any piece of the American dream.!

4. THEAMERICAN
DREAM?
BIG
BUSINESS
2015
Flash forward 30 years and the teenage me thinks I am a hypocritical piece of shit!
I have a standard family unit, 2 cars in the driveway, a oppressive California-sized
mortgage, and by then I have spent the better part of two decades embedded in corporate
America. I had a good life but I had come to feel like there was more I needed to do.!

5. Carbon Design
Optimal
SpringStudio
BIG
BUSINESS
2015
Something else was going on by 2015. As you know many of the top design firms
we knew and loved were were joining me in over at corporate America – either
being purchased to expand service portfolios or brought over as whole teams. The
move toward internal design was expansive.!

6. BIG
BUSINESS
2015
THEDESIGNAGENCY
ISDEAD…
LONGLIVETHE
DESIGNAGENCYForbes Magazine / Jan ‘15!
So much so that Forbes declared that
year the Death of the Design Agency.!

7. BIG
BUSINESS
2015
So despite this major shift and design
agencies being declared dead, I thought
it would be the perfect time to join a
design agency. !
I left the the stability of a good paying
well-benefitted corporate job, partnered
with my friend and known hooligan,
Christopher Konrad, to form
Konrad+King.!

8. © Violent Femmes!
This is not a popular decision for those
around me - most can’t understand why I
would do such a thing!
My Catholic mother started lighting the
prayer candles for me because she
envisioned me living in a van with the family
within the year.!

9. © Violent Femmes!
What they didn’t understand is that that that
teenage punk kid was still a part of me. !
I craved independence and there was more I
thought I could do and learn. I had a new
path to follow!

10. 1ACCEPTINGRISK
2FACINGLOSS
3CREATINGWORTH
4SEEINGBENEFITWith that I stepped wholeheartedly into my design firm midlife crisis. Some of
the things I learned since then, I wish I had known or did better while I was in
the corporate world. So I hope they will help you on your journey!

11. 1ACCEPTINGRISK
2FACINGLOSS
3CREATINGWORTH
4SEEINGBENEFIT

12. FEAR
ACCEPTING RISK
One of the biggest risks to me was fear of the unknown. !
None of us in our right mind is immune from self doubt or as we’ve heard a couple times here,
the feeling of imposter syndrome. But we have to learn not to let it stand in the way. !
Can Anyone guess what the number one reason people stay at jobs when they are not happy?!

13. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
THEDEVILYOUKNOWIS
NOTBETTERTHANTHE
DEVILYOUDON’T.
They are afraid that their new job or boss will be worse.!
The mere thought of change or stepping in to the
unfamiliar can be enough to paralyze us. !

14. When I first started talking about joining my partner I was
pretty stoked.!
But Even after 20+ years experience fear started
creeping in.!

15. Can I Do
This?
Will I Fail?
I started to worry I would have the chops to do the job. I
maybe believed that I had been dulled by the corporate
world and couldn’t handle the pace of the design firm.!

16. vapors!
There was one thing that got me over fear. !
At a previous job there was a group of people on the
design team what we called Vapors!
They had very little substance or passion, rarely
contributed, you could pretty much walk through them in
the hallway – but they were also the most vociferous
complainers!
I realized that if I stayed I would become one of these
people and drift away into the ether!

17. TAKEAWAY
FEARBREEDSCOMPLACENCY.
COMPLACENCYKEEPSYOU
FROMBEINGTHEDESIGNER
YOUCOULDBE. So here’s my takeaway for you !
Whether in making a decision like me to leave your
company or something closer to home like taking a risk
integrating or elevating design in your company, fear will
simply keep you from succeeding!
Learn to recognize it and work through it!

18. MONEY
ACCEPTING RISK
Signing up to work harder for less money doesn’t really
sound that attractive.!
Going in to this partnership meant just that and taking
the risk of failing and losing money. !
I was lucky enough to have a wife with a good job to
back me, but when you have a mortgage and are trying t
save for kids’ college, this risk can weigh heavy.!

19. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
50%OFALLSMALL
BUSINESSESFAILINTHE
FIRSTFIVEYEARS.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics!
On top of that, we have to face
headwinds like this. We are only 3 years
in so we still only have a 50/50 chance..!

20. GRATUITOUSBARCHART:
NO
MONEY
LOTS OF
MONEY
2015 2016 2017 2018(YTD)
PROFIT
..and there is really no way to project or
forecast any trends that will help us. !
This job is hard – there are no
guarantees of the next check.!

21. TAKEAWAY
FINANCIALRISKISA
REALITYBUTLUCKILY
( )ISALWAYS
HIRING.
ENTER !
COMPANY!
NAME HERE !
!
But here is why I don’t lose sleep at
night :!
We are lucky enough to work in a field
with one of the highest demands for
talent.!
There are plenty of places hiring and my
guess is that, if you are here, if you’re
here my guess is your hireable !

22. 1ACCEPTINGRISK
2FACINGLOSS
3CREATINGWORTH
4SEEINGBENEFIT

23. PEOPLE
FACING LOSS
© KW Kozenfotografie!
One of the things I looked forward to doing was being
able to hire the people I wanted!
I had several in mind going in but making it work was
harder than I thought…!

24. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
RUNNINGTHESHOW
MEANSSOMEBODY
SOMEWHERETHINKS
YOU’REANASSHOLE.The reason is the business is the number one priority.
Keeping the doors open, taking care of employee needs,
delivering on time to a standard and quality we expect…
these become your focus.!
YOU have to face the fact that you are not in this to make
friends.!

25. Here is a picture that I am not necessarily proud of - this
is our original team. Only 3 of the 9 we had in the first
year remain today!
We lost a peoplee because we struggled with creating
the right culture. We lost to dream jobs. And we lost
another because California didn't’ legalize weed fast
enough and he had to get to Colorado to smoke out.!
But others, while skilled, were not the right fit for what we
were trying to do. !
During that first year we reevaluated and ranked our
employees based on how they could help us meet our
business goals – the unfortunate and ruthless part is that
some could not!

26. This job isn’t for everyone and
not everyone can do this job.
In our firm It is not enough to be just a good researcher,
or prototyper.!
The mindset and skillset are much more complex – you
not only have to be skilled in your craft, but you have to
be able to pitch to the C level and help bring in business!
The reality is in this type of business not everyone could
do the job, and many don’t want to.!

27. Are they critical thinkers?
Are they curious?
Are they committed?
Can they sell design?
K+KFOURCORE™
We are back at full staff and one of the reasons for this is
that we have become laser focused at what we are
looking for in our hires!
• Can they use data and research to deeply think
through their designs!
• Are they constantly learning or interested in new areas!
• Are they committed to Konrad+King and what we are
doing – not just in it for themselves!
• Do they not only believe that human centered design is
the solution but can they persuade and influence
stakeholders!

28. TAKEAWAY
RANKYOUREMPLOYEES
AGAINST*YOUR*CORE
VALUESTHENTRAINTHEM
TOMOVEUPTHERANKS.After years of hiring and managing in the
corporate world I wish that I had learned
to narrow my focus earlier !
That’s why I recommend to you:!

29. CLIENTS
FACING LOSS
© Glen Friedman!
So clients are kinda cool because they pay for stuff and
that is important!
Our worst case scenario is loosing one – luckily we have
a high return customer rate but there have been a few
that got away!

30. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
30%OFPEOPLEWILL
NEVERVALUEYOURWORK.
FOCUSYOURENERGYON
THEOTHER80%.( )I WAS NEVER
THAT GOOD
AT MATH!
!Regardless of where you work or in our case where we seek work – you will never be able to convince everyone of the value of what we do!
We have learned to spot these people early – in our kickoff workshops – and triage whether they will impact the project or can be dealt with!
This knowledge started with a very specific client!

31. Our team’s
biggest project
success
Our customer’s
biggest project
failure=
In year one, we got our first juicy Service Design project!
We were working for a hardware client was transitioning to become a software and services company,
and tasked with identifying how this could be successful with their customers.!
The problem was that while our immediate project sponsor was onboard with the project as we laid it out
and executed it – many of the stakeholders were way out over their skis and uncomfortable!
This turned out to be a major problem and because we didn’t know about it and didn’t deal with it and we
ended up losing the client!

32. !
Acquiring! Starting! Doing! Reviewing! Keeping!
K+KCUSTOMERJOURNEYOURCUSTOMERJOURNEY
We decided to practice what we preach and examine our own customer’s experience.!
Through candid and painful discussions with our clients we found out the good and the bad. !
We needed to focus more time involving stakeholders through various means and always over
communicate even in the throws of production.!

33. TAKEAWAY
CREATEANEVER-ENDING
STAKEHOLDERFEEDBACK
LOOPONYOURPROJECTS
&PROCESS. Trust me, we all have blindcspots. !
Ask the hard questions about where you are being difficult, where you are failing,
what’s not working!
I’m telling you this because I don’t remember going out of our way to do this when I
was in enterprise and I think our projects could have been better!
BE flexible, Keep iterating!!
When critique is offered, be sure to offer it in return so that everyone has a chance
to improve!

34. 1ACCEPTINGRISK
2FACINGLOSS
3CREATINGWORTH
4SEEINGBENEFIT

35. COMPLEXITY
CREATING WORTH
We have found that one of the reasons that our customers
come to us is that we do not shy away from complex
problems!
Most clients have so much on their plate just keeping up
with their products that they may not have the staff of time
to handle a big design problem!

36. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
ITTAKESMATURITYTO
FINDVALUEINTHIS
WORK.
The reality is that it takes a certain maturity to want to deal
with these complex problems!
It is not a maturity that comes with age because I know
people with 20 years experience that still shy away from
them!
The maturity comes from an understanding that the
complex problems matter more – solving them keeps
technology human focused and valuable for our future!

37. Many designers tend to work on things we already
understand…products they use.!
Places they they know that elevate their self esteem or
make them the coolest of the cool kids!

38. Ambiguity.
But how many designers want to work for this company?!
Working in enterprise can be ambiguous – not popular,
not famous, no glamour.!
There are often no existing solutions – no standards to
copy or existing solutions.!
We need to learn how to be comfortable and thrive in
ambiguity!

39. Artificial Intelligence. Assistive Computing.
Augmented Reality. Autonomous Mobility.
Connected Environments. Digital Divide. Digital
Privacy. Emergent Systems. Enhanced Humans.
Ethical Computing. Genomics. Global Warming.
Globalization. Housing Disparity. Human-Robot
Interaction. Implantable Technology. Internet, Media,
& Democracy. Physical Computing. Predictive
Analytics. Zac Efron’s Biceps. Smart Cities. Sense
Networks. Skill & Wisdom Gap. Smart Energy.
Ambiguity.
There has never been a greater need for designers to
step into complex issues we are facing!
Whether its Machine Intelligence, Augmented Reality, or
Connected Environments, we are uniquely qualified to
bridge the gap between technology and humanity.!

40. TAKEAWAY
APPROACHEVERY
PROBLEMASADESIGN
PROBLEM.NOPROBLEM
ISUNSOLVABLE. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. For at least 50% of the
projects we take one we have no idea where they are going to go
when we start. !
Sometimes this can be downright unnerving, especially for those
who haven’t faced it before.!
But we know what to do, when and how to involve the client, and
have the confidence to know that we will get there. !
If you know these things you can take on any problem in your
company!

41. CLARITY
SEEING BENEFIT
© Bob Gruen!
It’s not good enough for us to believe that human-
centered design is the right thing. We have to know how it
can move our company or clients toward success!
To do that we need to better understand our clients or
stakeholders.!

42. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
CLIENTSWITHHARDPROBLEMS
DON’TCAREABOUTABULLSHIT
DESIGNPROCESS.THEYCARE
ABOUTOUTCOME. Here’s the first thing you need to know. Most clients hire us
because we use simple and straight forward language that they
can understand to help them solve their problems.!
We make them part of the process.!
They don’t believe in us because we tell them about our
trademarked double helix super diamond design process.!
They believe it because we listen to their needs and we tell them
what exactly we will deliver to meet their goals.!

43. We’ll conduct 15
Contextual Inquiries
and then run a
Design Studio
workshop.
We don’t have
the time or
budget for that.
I’ll give you an example of what I mean – here’s the type
of thing that I may have said a few years back !
And here’s a typical answer you might get from a
stakeholder outside of design.!

44. We’ll give you 7-10
new customer-
centered product
features & prioritize
the roadmap.
Oh, sweet baby
Jesus, yes!
Now I am going to say the same thing but worded to
focus on the outcome for the product.!
The response changes dramatically.!

45. Design Strategical
=
=Design Tactical
We have to learn to stop talking about the process we are
going to use or how we will fit design and UX into some
horseshit Agile process.!
We need to talk in terms of the strategic goals for our
company.!
Focus on what we can we show and do to make a better
product !

46. NOT
SEATED
Screw getting a seat at the table…
lead the table.
I’ve been hearing a lot about
getting a seat at the table!
But getting a seat at the table is
not enough!
Have a plan before you get to the
table to show your value. Lead an
activity or a workshop that in one
meeting produces a valuable
outcome!
You’ll get to come back to the
table!

47. TAKEAWAY
OURSUPERPOWERIS
CLEARVISION,CLEAR
LANGUAGE,ANDLEADING
THEPATHFORWARD.We have the tools and talent to move projects forward!
Believe in yourself. Get your confidence. !
And for god sakes simplify your message!

48. REPUTATION
CREATING WORTH
In our design firm we live and die by our reputation.!
But it was not much different in the corporate world –
building a reputation for getting shit done makes your job
easier in the long run.!

49. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
THEBESTTOOLFOR
SELLINGDESIGNISWORD
OFMOUTH.
Most of our work comes from people who know about us and tell
their peers or contacts!
We couldn’t presell our reputation – we couldn’t just announce
how awesome we were on Twitter. It had to be earned and built. !
And this reputation was built not inside these halls or amongst
other UX or design teams, but the decision makers and the bill
payers!

50. “
Their approach to figuring out the
problem, is a result of their
culture of rolling up their
sleeves to study your business,
examining your customers and
providing pragmatic options
that you as a business leader you
can execute on. !
Guy Eldridge!
VP Advanced Technology!
Becton Dickinson!
Here is what one of our customers said about working with us. You'll notice that nowhere in there does it talk about UX or design. They roll up
their sleeves - study their business – provide pragmatic options.!
This is the type of reputation you’ll need to build to have influence in your products. !
By the way I would also recommend building and maintaining relationships with you stakeholders – wish I had spent more time doing that before.!

51. But what about our street cred and rep with the cool kids in the
UX community you ask?!
There is value in that – a lot of people get business or jobs
through this community!
But many of the best designers in the world are not people you’ve
never heard of or people speaking to you. They are probably too
busy or too focused on their company or client success.!
And that is not such a bad thing.!

52. TAKEAWAY
YOURREPUTATIONISMORE
HEAVILYTIEDTOYOUR
CUSTOMER’SSUCCESSTHAN
YOURPERSONALBRAND.The successes we have as a company are because of our relationships and our reputation.!
It takes a while to build and unfortunately is easy to damage !
But understanding that your reputation is the direct result of your product, company, or
customers success will get you far.!

53. 1ACCEPTINGRISK
2FACINGLOSS
3CREATINGWORTH
4SEEINGBENEFIT

54. CULTURE
SEEING BENEFIT
Getting the chance to create your own space, your own
team and your own culture has been one of the true
benefits of my move.!

55. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
CULTUREISASHARED
VISIONANDPASSIONTHAT
COMESFROMINTERNAL
ANDEXTERNALCHALLENGE.The thing is – it didn’t come as easy as I thought. !
Creating the culture that we wanted didn’t come from a proclamation from the
partners; It came from radical transparency, shared struggle, critiquing and
challenging each other’s beliefs, and even giving up some of our own wants!

56. This is from the about us page on our site. We were able to
condense our culture into one paragraph that we all get behind. It
came over time and through trial and error…and it represents
both the partners and the employees.!
We recognize that this culture or view doesn’t appeal to every
possible client – and that’s alright. !
The ones we do work with, understand it an get it!

57. What do we want to be known for?
What do we value?
How do we work together?
What are we doing wrong?
We now actively take time throughout the year to
question and continue working on our culture.!
We have found constant themes that we work on each
time help our culture morph to better match our
employees.!

58. BOURBONISOVERHERE
Of course the other thing that helps is having a top-shelf
liquor only rule for the studio bar!!

59. TAKEAWAY
CULTUREREQUIRES
CONTINUALITERATION.
QUESTION,REFINE,
UPDATE,REPEAT.
I would challenge you to never get comfortable with your
culture. Constantly work on it and let it change to match
the vision and needs of the whole team.!

60. FREEDOM
SEEING BENEFIT
The last benefit I want to talk about is Freedom.!
By this I mean going about it your own way, feast or
famine. This is probably the one that 15 yr old punk kid
inside me values most.!

61. That is not the
way we do
things…
You’ll never get
support for
that…
I don’t know if
we have the
budget… There is no
time in the
schedule…
Have you ever heard lines like these when you are trying
to improve your product or process through human-
centered design?!

62. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
THEREISATREMENDOUS
BENEFITTOYOURSOUL
THATCOMESFROMSAYING
FUCKTHAT. Questioning authority even in the corporate world can
work. As Peter Merholtz said – get used to hearing no
and still keep going. When you run up against these
walls, don’t just accept them. !
If we know that something can be improved through
design we have the duty to fight for it!
We should try to push our companies further against the
status quo – until it either changes for the better or we
realize it is time to go. Those are the only two options.!

63. SR.DIRECTOROF
JANITORIALSERVICES
One thing I need to mention about the
freedom of doing your own thing is the
pride of ownership!
Despite all the challenges of running your
own studio, There is pride that comes with
opening up your own shop in the morning
even if you have to sweep your own
sidewalks.!
I hope it is something that all of you get to
experience one day!

64. PROPERTY & PEOPLE AWARENESS
Improving your visitor’s experience by
understanding their movement and
behaviors through your property.
Our freedom is also allowing us to start our own product
company!
When employees have down time between projects we
are working on our first product offering we hope to come
out next year Ranger!
We’re figuring out how to triangulate visitor location and
movement through outdoor public spaces like parks or
campuses using wifi and mobile location data. The end
goal is to have operators of those spaces provide better
visitor experiences!
But here’s the thing – by starting a new product company
and launching something that hasn’t been done before...!

65. 1ACCEPTINGRISK
2FACINGLOSS
3CREATINGWORTH
4SEEINGBENEFIT …we have to start all over again!!
I’ll see you in a couple of years to talk about midlife crisis
number two.!

66. TAKEAWAYS
1. Fear can keep you from being the best designer you could be.
2. Take risks. There is always someone hiring.
3. Define your core employee values. Rank your people by the
values, and train them to move up.
4. Create a never-ending feedback loop for your projects/process.
5. Approach any problem as a design problem. All are solvable.
6. Don’t muck about. Clear vision, clear language, & lead way.
7. You don’t own your reputation. It’s tied to your customer/product
success.
8. Culture is not a defined constant. It requires constant work.

67. THANKYOU.
Bennett King
Managing Partner
Konrad+King
@skunkwurx