NCOMMON

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Latest Episodes:

Season 2 / Ep. 01: Explore Test Wander Emerge Oct 03, 2025

In this first episode of season two, Alison explores the edges of uncertainty with Jessie Shefrin, an artist, educator, and former Provost at the Rhode Island School of Design. In this conversation about wandering, testing, stumbling, and ultimately emerging into new clarity, Jessie reflects on the sparks that shape us, those fleeting moments of sensation that accumulate into transformation. Together, the dialogue traces how luck, timing, and openness weave into leadership and design, offering listeners a meditative space to consider their own turning points and the practices that help us stay open to what might emerge.

Episode 12: Hella Justice Jul 03, 2020

In this final episode of season one, Jacqui and Alison reflect on the times with Quinnton Harris, one of the founders of Hella Creative – the team behind the Hella Juneteenth movement. We talk about his incredible journey, the importance of Juneteenth not just as a day, or a moment, but a call for organizational change. How we can continue to grow, listen, learn, do much better, and make the hire.

Episode 11: The Future is Bright May 28, 2020

Episode 11 is part two of the conversation about Design Operations and where we are heading. In this episode, Jacqui and Alison go broad and extensive (and somewhat meandering ) about future opportunity areas for Design Operations and how we, as design leaders, can lead the charge in laying the groundwork for that future. We charge forward into the unknown with the responsibility to consider society, ethics, customer experience, and the employee experience. Discuss.

Episode 10: Let’s talk about DesignOps May 21, 2020

In episode 10 Jacqui and Alison begin to dig into the current state of Design Operations. Get ready for some more real talk around what is Design Ops anyway, where does it come from, what (and who) does it look like, and why/when/do we even need it.

Episode 09: Think Fast Talk Smart May 15, 2020

We have a special guest this week! Matt Abrahams, Principal and Co-Founder Company of Bold Echo Communication Solutions, Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and host of the podcast Think Fast Talk Smart. Matt chats with us about how to be more mindful of how we communicate and bring intention to our daily interactions. We also ask him how we, as hosts, could talk a Lil less and land subject matter a Lil more.

Episode 08: What is up with Organizational Maturity? May 07, 2020

In this episode, Jacqui and Alison unpack the different levels of organizational maturity. To Design in general, and the future as Design is embedded in our every day. How do we, as Design leaders, continue to balance the present need, with the future state – in service of business needs to change and evolve in order to remain relevant.

Episode 07: Human-Centered Operations Apr 30, 2020

Businesses are trying to implement Design Thinking & Human-Centered Design – the struggle is real. In this episode, Jacqui and Alison talk about that struggle as well as why it's not just about a great design org or methods that will get you there, and why transformation (led by human-centered operations) needs to take shape in order for organizations to truly understand why good design is good business.

Episode 06: Pressure Testing the Meritocracy Apr 23, 2020

In episode 6, Jacqui and Alison speak with Connie Liu, founder of Project Invent. Project Invent empowers students with the 21st-century skills to succeed individually and impact globally with the goal of “creating a generation of fearless problem solvers.” We unpack how Connie had her epiphany while attending MIT for Mechanical Engineering that designing a better world isn’t going to come from textbooks. We have to meet people where they are, give them the tools to think differently, empower them to be the change they want to see and change the face of the mirrortocracy.

Episode 05: The Art of Failure Apr 16, 2020

In this episode, Jacqui and Alison share some real talk about failures and learnings. Falling down and getting back up — because we’re gonna fall down a lot. Especially as the trailblazers in the nascent discipline of DesignOps (in a relatively nascent field), we are going at it alone, which makes that failure feels so much more acute.

Episode 04: Flow & Fluidity Apr 09, 2020

In this episode, Jacqui shares her experience of the boiling ocean of Design Operations. Through a memory of her experience as a collegiate athlete, she came upon the concept of Flow. Inspired by this positive psychology concept, Jacqui tells the story of how she found some patterns in the chaos.

Episode 03: Design for Systems, Not Users Apr 02, 2020

In the third episode of our inaugural season, we welcome our first guest and who better than Alexis Loyd, VP of Design at Medium, Co-Founder of Ethical Futures Lab, and third in line to the throne after Oprah and Beyonce. Listen to us talk about the unintended consequences of user-centered design, Society-Centered Design, and our greater responsibility before, during, and after this time of COVID-19.

Episode 02: Process, by Design Mar 26, 2020

In this episode, Jacqui and Alison discuss Alison’s post on the work she has been doing to connect the dots between her past and her current role, our responsibility as women of color leading in this industry, the experience of being an “only”, and calling a bit of BS on the talk du jour around Belonging.

Episode 01: Scale is Social Work Mar 19, 2020

In this first episode of ncommon, Alison talks to Jacqui about the successes and failures of scaling design through DesignOps. Amongst other things, Jacqui shares how she learned that true scale is social work and requires the power of the community. Enjoy!

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