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Ryan Rumsey

Founder , Second Wave Dive

About Ryan Rumsey

Ryan has been designing professionally for 20+ years. Over the last decade he’s been building and leading design organizations for some of the most category-defining companies in business today. He is the author of Business Thinking for Designers (2020; published by InVision) and CEO of Second Wave Dive. At Second Wave Dive, he’s coaching, training, and developing communities for the next wave of leadership—those who are ready to take on the systematic realities of change, innovation, leading people, managing outcomes, all while providing the value they wish to see in the world. Previously, he led Experience Strategy at USAA, building and growing a team of strategists and consultants who served the executive line-of-business teams. Prior to that, he was responsible for building Product and Design organizations at Electronic Arts and The Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences. Before building teams, he designed and developed best-in-class software for Apple

Speaking at the conference

Something, Something Making Business Sense

There’s a gap. Can you see it? We know we have valuable insights, yet aren’t always heard in the ways we expect. We want to push for more human, societal, environmental, and communal value, but our colleagues lack some of the same enthusiasm. We’re fighting hard for a seat at the table, but sitting there isn’t really relieving our frustrations. For designers at all levels, changing how business decisions are made is the hardest problem to solve. To get there, we have to leave our comfort zones. This talk will provides pragmatic ways you can make more business sense by becoming more comfortable relating your work to others.

Q&A with Ryan Rumsey

Jeremy will take your questions for Ryan.

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Masterclasses

Storytelling for Decision-Making

Not all stories are the same. When you’re trying to influence decisions, you need to become less verbose while sharpening your message. While the narrative storytelling structure has served designers well over the years, there’s one critical situation where that structure falls flat—the decision-making meeting. In that meeting, nobody wants to be inspired or sit through your 70 page deck. They want to know the rationale and argument behind your recommendation. And you want to create some much needed tension so your colleagues pay attention. In this workshop, you’ll learn a pragmatic structure used in board rooms across the world and leave with the confidence to apply that structure on Monday.

Tickets

We have a range of passes available to suit every schedule. All the conference and festival content will be available on-demand for three months after the event.

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