sandeep datar

Sandeep is a hands on design leader, product thinker and an innovator with 22 years of experience defining product vision, building design teams and establishing best practices in the field of product ideation, product design, user Experience and user Research. He has conceptualized and directed design of several innovative features and products that are used by millions, with revenue considerations of over 2 Billion dollars per year.

His experience spans across consumer and enterprise products for global markets like US, India, South East Asia and the Middle East. Prior to getting into the digital, he designed physical products like motorcycles, dishwashers , electroinc products and automobile accessories.

He is an explorer and a tinkerer at heart and constantly experiments with new product ideas, new methods, processes and his management style.

Thoughts on Building teams and Managing Design

Attracting talent and getting them to deliver as a team is an art. People are the biggest assets and balacing their aspirations with expectations of your organization needs strong leadership. I got three opportunities to build awesome teams. I learnt a lot from my managers and often experimented with my management style . The following principles worked wonders for me

Start with Why ! Have a Mission and mean it

Must have vision and mission that people care about, one beyond making money.
One that the company lives by.
Projects are aligned to translating the vision and executing it.
Strike a right balance between innovative thinking and execution.
Concept cars & detailed drawings at the same time.

Hire Awesome People

Multidisciplinary backgrounds bring in diverse views.
Value demonstrated ability over credentials.
Value core competencies not skills, skills can be learnt.
Have a good blend of generalist and specialists.
Avoid crazy geniuses.

Teamwork matters

Emphasize winning as a team rather than individual heroism.
Encourage communication.
Encourage sharing and learning.
Informal spaces with couches, white boards and posters help.
Get team members to volunteer to team development activities.

Empowered team that feels Safe

Task your team with tough challenges.
Provide them support so they have the trust and confidence to make bold decisions.
Create a “Circle of Safety” where every individual in the team feels protected and protects each other.

Build a Design Culture, not just a Function

Not enough to have a rock star design team.
Find an exec sponsor who values good design and user experience.
Engineering, Editorial, Product Managers, Sales and every function in the organization has a role and responsibility in delivering good user experience.

Designers understand business and technology

Designers must understand the business and engineering point of view.
They strive to make these functions successful.
Only then will they get the support needed to make design successful.

Have lots of fun !