How to use Play as your Business Strategy Michelle Lee, IDEO Partner

How IDEO uses play to solve real business problems. In this interview, Ekaterina sits down with Michelle Lee, IDEO Partner and Executive Managing Director of IDEO San Francisco. Michelle Lee began her career as an aerospace engineer, working on satellites, wondering why it took so long to launch one. A friend's room full of toys changed everything. What followed was a winding path through the toy industry: an internship at IDEO in 2004, a startup she spun out and left, and a return to lead the Play Lab. Over two decades, she brought over 250 products to market with Hasbro, Mattel, and Sesame Workshop, and today, she is Partner and Executive Managing Director of IDEO's San Francisco studio.In a recent conversation with Future London Academy, Michelle shared what she's learned about creativity, leadership, ambiguity, and why play is one of the most underestimated tools in business. What you'll learn: ► Why play is a serious business tool, not a frivolous one ► How to design a non-linear career by following curiosity rather than chasing titles ► How to move from individual contributor into leadership without losing the craft ► Why clients are partners, not customers, and how generosity builds trust ► How to prove the ROI of design, play, and creativity using IDEO's POWER framework ► How to use AI as a sparring partner without losing your creativity 👤 Who this episode is for: Design Leaders · Product Designers · Heads of Design · Service Designers · Experience Designers · Creative Directors · Agency Founders · Innovation Leads · and anyone curious about creativity, leadership, and business Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and why play matters in business 05:30 How to design a non-linear career by following curiosity 10:30 From individual contributor to leader without losing the craft 17:00 Heart vs dollar sign: balancing creativity and business as a senior professional 20:30 Why clients are partners, not customers 24:30 How to step into senior leadership without going it alone 29:30 The IDEO IQ framework and the ROI of play 41:30 How to sit in ambiguity and why good friction matters 48:30 How to convince business leaders that play drives results 53:30 Cultivating IDEO's culture: concrete floors and rough prototypes 01:01:30 AI at IDEO: rough, rapid, right prototyping in the AI era 01:10:30 Earning design a seat at the table and more curiosity in the world

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How to use Play as your Business Strategy Michelle Lee, IDEO Partner is an episode from Creative Capes by Future London Academy.

This episode is 01:22:19 long.

This episode was published on May 12, 2026.

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