Lessons from 4 years at a boutique research & design agency
Four years ago, we were still in the depths of COVID. I was with my family isolating at an apple orchard for Thanksgiving when I accepted a position as a Senior Researcher at Craft. I had no idea how impactful that decision would be.
Prior to a LinkedIn outreach, I hadn’t heard of Craft, but from my first interview, I knew it was something special and something I deeply wanted to be a part of. The talent, confidence, and kindness that each person I met exuded made me want to be one of them. I was scared to be a sole researcher in the midst of wildly talented designers, to go back to agency life, to take a chance on a small company, to try something new, etc. But I took the leap.
Four years later, even with all the ups and downs, I can proudly say that joining Craft was the best decision I’ve made for my career yet. To celebrate my fourth Craftiversary, I want to share four learnings that have shaped who I am as a researcher & leader today.
Authentic relationships drive meaningful outcomes. As a researcher, I used to think my job was simple: do good research. But through my experiences, I’ve learned that research is a tool, not a job.
Craft takes that mentality to the next level. We partner with our clients closely to build authentic relationships and drive meaningful outcomes. And the best part? We do it by being ourselves. We’re not ones for bull shit and corporate jargon. We don’t ask anyone to check their personality at the door (in fact, we demand that you do not).
I show up for work each day, not only excited to talk to my co-workers, but also to talk to my clients. Because our internal culture embraces each of us as individuals, our clients do as well. These relationships lead to more honest communication and the ability to be effective not just as a researcher, but as a partner in achieving the outcomes we are collectively responsible for.
Good work is adaptable. Anyone who knows me, knows I love a plan. I am the type of Type A who writes out an hourly agenda for myself for the weekend. I find it fun, I find it calming, and it lets my brain relax. But I actually rarely stick to my agenda. I adjust as I get new information. The same is true for my work at Craft.
When I worked at a previous (non-Craft) agency, I had to execute on the agreed upon plan, regardless of any new information. But when I moved in-house, one of the biggest contributors to my success was the ability to adapt my plan to ensure that the work I was doing was as impactful as possible. I was hesitant to go back to agency life, but Craft does things differently.
We always make sure we have a plan (and a damn good one, I will say!), but we make it quickly and adapt, as needed. And we’re not only flexible once the plan is in motion. We get creative with our approaches to ensure we’re meeting our clients needs and anticipating what might be needed next. We aren’t precious about our process, but we are precious about our impact.
Internal change is often required for optimal business outcomes. The best ideas, the most thoughtful designs, and the smartest strategies, don’t matter if they’re not implemented. The biggest barriers to having impact that we’ve found are internal turmoil and lack of investment in priority areas.
Shifting business priorities happens all the time, but if priorities are shifting so rapidly that no work is being seen through, then there is a gap that needs to be solved for. Often we’ve found that gap can be filled through research-led strategy definition and alignment. Well-meaning leaders can have their teams’ heads spinning when they don’t agree. Research & design can help with that. Our most successful client partnerships are ones where our clients don’t wait to bring us in until “everything is figured out.” We get into the mess with them and find ways forward together.
Research & design can also help with identifying process breakdowns (in other words, where the structures in place within a company are harming progress, not helping). Often, at Craft, we start working with a company for one reason and end up also supporting shifts from reactionary to proactive approaches or from manual to digital processes. The very processes that are supposed to support internal effectiveness we often find are working against it. You can design and implement the most beautiful, usable end-user experience, but if the supporting business processes are not up to snuff, there will still be undue friction and cost.
Work suffers if culture suffers. I have always been drawn to team & culture building, but Craft provided me with new opportunities to leverage research and a user-centered process to help foster a culture we all want to be a part of.
Good work comes from fulfilled, rested, and cared for people (no matter what they say about tortured artists…). The partners at Craft have a stated mission to create a place where people want to work, a place that was designed for the people and by the people who are a part of it. Over the years, I’ve learned that mission means something different depending on the season we’re in, and culture must always be nurtured. It’s not something to be taken for granted. What makes Craft’s culture work is each individual who is a part of it and shows up every day ready to contribute.
There are so many other lessons I’ve learned and will continue to learn, but for now, four years in, I can say that I’m grateful for the people I work with and for and I can’t wait to see what this next year brings.
