The unpredictability of the market makes it increasingly difficult today to build sustainable and systematic market growth. Many companies invest large budgets in marketing without necessarily bearing in mind that this is not enough to keep a customer happy. Because marketing is a bit like asking someone out on a date. Whereas the experience is what will make someone agree to go on a second date, and on subsequent dates. In business, an effective way to build a long-term relationship with customers is to take a strategic approach to designing their experience.

I’ve been asked by quite a few people to tell more about “The Umami Strategy” — the book I published back in 2020. I don’t know how it works but it is easier for me to write books than write about the books :) Fortunately, other people ask me to answer their questions about it in a written form. So, I would like to share with you what I wrote to the journalist from Forbes Women about where “The Umami Strategy” sits with respect to business.

Consider this: we replace every cell in our body every three years. Our memory is flexible and re-formattable. So, every one of us has the power to, as Gandhi once said, “become the change you want to see in the world”. We change and transform our lives regardless, whether we use any aids to do so or not. So, why not turn such transformation into a conscious and deliberate process? — Our life is a transformational journey whether we plan for it or not. The people we encounter, the events we live through, they all impact us in different ways. But, as John Dewey said:

Oceans are a crucial part of the system that produces oxygen. Yet, we treat them as a free food resource that can be exploited without as much as” how do you do”. Animals create a complex system that enables our planet to function in a fairly homeostatic state. Yet, we…

Have you ever considered yourself an intuitive designer? Or is the idea of intuition something that you consider as disconnected from the design profession? Something to be wary of? Or something to be used and celebrated in your design practice? — In Season 8 of Catching The Next Wave podcast, we’ve decided to dig into the topic of intuition. I’ve been having an on / off relationship with intuition in my professional practice as experience designer for years and the two of us couldn’t quite come to terms with each other.

Have you ever considered what assumptions do people bring with them when they are attending your user research (I am talking about a concept or a prototype evaluation here, in particular)? And how do these assumptions impact the feedback you collect? There is fascinating research about the way we learn that gains popularity in neuro and cognitive science, and knowing that will, for sure, alter the way you prepare your evaluatory studies.

Whenever you run a study, are you trying to confirm or falsify your beliefs? — Many times, when I talk to designers about their user research practice, they (quite subconsciously) tend to say that they believe it is important because it confirms their design choices. This statement always makes me uncomfortable. Daniel Kahneman says that confirmation bias is probably one of the most potent biases…

Innovation is something any organization that wants to thrive today needs to have figured out. Countless bags of cash are invested in it but you might think that the success rate is somewhat unsatisfactory. Is there a way to make it better? Is there a trick to make your entire org think in innovative ways? Let’s hypothesize something. — The last season of Catching the Next Wave podcast was themed: innovation. There is something in this word that triggers attention and vigilance, isn’t there? After all, so many organizations strive to call themselves innovative. …

Defining a powerful experience strategy is one challenge. Being able to roll it out is another one. And to do it so that people want to follow and stay committed to it is the most crucial aspect of these two challenges. Only then your strategy becomes the basis for your organizational culture. And the only thing that matters is that you, as an organization, are aligned. — There are a few problems you might be thinking about when it comes to scaling a strategy. The most common one is about communicating the vision and the edges. There is a trap many leaders and managers fall into, namely, “If I understand our vision, everybody else understands it too”…