Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

Strategic Design41Staying RelevantGracefully managing transition points is often aboutmaking sure that both sides share a common understanding.For this reason we pay particular attention to hand-overmoments where critical latent knowledge is most susceptibleto being drained out of the effort. 1 This means going beyondthe pale to make sure that not only is the content sound, butthat its formatting and transmission also support the strategicobjectives.Impact is impaired when content cannot be successfullycommunicated or transmitted. In the past,printed reports have been the dominant toolsfor sharing strategy, but what good is a reportthat no one reads? Will another report even getthe attention it may deserve in today’s crowdedmedia environment? For a number of reasons,these documents seem almost mandatory—ormay even be a legal obligation, depending on your organization’sstatus. Yet, after spending so much time and effort tocraft a strong, synthetic strategy it does not make sense toassume that yesterday's communication materials are thebest way to share it. This means becoming as strategic aboutmedia and communication as one is with content.At the early stage of Helsinki Design Lab we focused onface to face conversations as our primary format for transferringthe knowledge developed during the Studios. This obligatedthe Studio teams to articulate their message in a verydigestible way that could focus short but intense discussions,something like an elevator pitch. 2 With the key messagescommunicated to our essential stakeholders through the‘final review’*, we then turned to video as a compelling wayto expand the conversation to a broader audience in a formatthat is attractive and accessible enough to develop its owntrajectory across the web. Only after these efforts are we nowturning our attention to the written report (the studio recapsthat follow shortly in this book) which will be useful as acontinual touchpoint during the evolution of Sitra’s work onthe topics of ageing, education and sustainability.1—Proposals and ideas are just the tip of theiceberg in terms of knowledge that is accruedduring a project or programme. Choices aboutwhat was not done are as important as choicesabout what has been done. Maintaining theintegrity of this ‘latent’ knowledge is one partof future-proofing strategy.Impact is impaired when contentcannot be successfully communicatedor transmitted.2—“Elevator Pitch” is a term used to describea convincing sales pitch that can be made foran idea in the compressed time frame of anelevator ride.*—See also:Handle With Care > P40