Just good intentions do not lead to good results: Deepali Saini

Adgully has consistently celebrated and acknowledged the accomplishments of women entrepreneurs and leaders in various sectors. One of our notable initiatives, W-SUITE, focuses on highlighting extraordinary women achievers in the Media & Entertainment, Advertising, Marketing, PR, and Communications industry. In this updated series, we aim to explore how women leaders adeptly manage their teams and overcome challenges in the dynamic landscape of their respective industries.

Stage is set for the fifth edition of WOMEN DISRUPTORS Summit & Awards 2024, to be held on March 1. With the theme of ‘Driving forward positive change in transformative times’, Adgully’s WOMEN DISRUPTORS 2024 seeks to straddle the changing world and unleash the true potential that India’s women workforce drive.

In conversation with Adgully, Deepali Saini, CEO, Think Design, speaks about her growth vision, focussing on employee satisfaction and happiness, representation of women in design, and much more.

Could you tell us about your role as the Founder & CEO of Think Design? How do you ensure the company delivers exceptional value to clients while aligning with their evolving needs and the growth vision of Havas India?

My role as a Founder & CEO has my entrepreneurial ambition fused with management acumen. It’s my job to ensure that while we are moving in the right direction strategically, we continue to deliver excellence to our clients. ‘Eyes in the sky and feet on the ground’ pretty much sums it up.

Today’s business environment is more dynamic than what we’ve ever experienced, with dramatic shifts in technologies, consumer tastes and global conditions. And that’s leading to a constant evolution in our clients’ needs. The key to delivering exceptional value to clients lies in offering integrated and bespoke solutions that bring together multiple areas of expertise with agility. I am part of the Havas India leadership team that’s redefining the role and composition of integrated teams to bring brilliance across board for our clients. We’re creating tailor-made, multi-discipline teams that are not only physically aligned in a common space, but culturally, operationally, and financially, too. This perfectly lines up with the growth vision of Havas.

Building and leading high-performance teams is crucial for success. How do you approach this task, and what strategies do you employ to balance the profit and people goals of the organisation while maintaining the outstanding culture and reputation of the company?

Instead of finding a balance between people and profit goals, which makes it seem like two opposite ends of the scale, my approach is to align both. It’s no secret that teams that find their jobs meaningful are more productive. Investment on people, their learning & growth, and their employee experience is central to Think Design’s culture. I’ve been a big believer in coaching since a decade and investment in it has produced transformative effect on our people’s growth. That, coupled with outstanding L&D programs, well-being initiatives, open communication and robust systems and processes, has created highly productive teams that bring excellence in delivery for our clients.

We have a reputation for strong employee satisfaction, something that’s measured religiously and seriously at Havas. Employee happiness may not be a tangible asset that appears on the balance sheet, but its effects are very tangible. Happiness can seem like an arbitrary measure, but happier and more connected employees lead to more satisfied clients and increased business.

One of your objectives is to expand women representation in design. Could you share some insights into the programmes and initiatives you have implemented to hire and retain women and bring new mothers back into the workforce? How has this effort influenced the gender ratio within your company?

It is a reality that even in 2024, the representation of women in design is dismal! What is positive is that more and more women are enrolling in design schools for higher education, implying that many more will enter the workforce in the coming years. The drop off points are primarily in middle to senior management. That has been my focus area in the past few years, to retain women from dropping off due to marriage and motherhood, and encouraging the return to work for the ones who left the design industry due to other reasons.

My starting point for this journey was to have a target number as a goal post for our gender ratio. I am a believer in putting a number, date, and a plan, because just good intentions do not lead to good results. I am supported by transformational programs by the Havas India HR. In two years, we moved from 26% to 40% gender ratio, my eventual aim is to match Havas’ global gender ratio of 50%+ women in workforce. I’d say its WIP right now, and a long while from when we celebrate.

Could you tell us about your experience of transitioning from leading a small, close-knit entrepreneurial Indian design company to being part of a large global ecosystem as a multinational company under Havas India’s umbrella?

The past four years have been quite a journey in figuring out how to maintain the soul of a close-knit design studio while aiming for multi-fold growth in a huge MNC through its robust global processes and systems. It can be seen from two lens, being pulled by different directions, or bringing the best of both worlds in. For me, it was a conscious choice to bring in an ideal combination of both, and it’s been communicated within Think Design & Havas India so that it sets the tone for all decisions made, big or small. Is it possible to have the best of both worlds? Yes, absolutely! And it takes time, deliberate effort, and discernment to do that. We’re almost there today, and I’d strongly recommend the same to any fellow design entrepreneurs who may have started on that journey or are planning to start.

What helped us was that the management at Havas India played a key role in facilitating a smooth transition while also helping us retain our unique identity. It’s no secret that globally, Havas has soft edges, and is constantly adding new agencies and companies to scale up their offering on a macro-level. The cornerstone of the Havas way of things is integration, supplemented by the Village model, encourages clients to view Havas as a one-stop shop and the constituent agencies to work together collaboratively. This method, however, doesn’t take away from the distinctive edge that each agency brings to the table – and Think Design is a prime example of that.

Both you and Think Design have achieved remarkable success, recognition, and leadership in the field of UX design in India. Can you highlight some of your notable accomplishments and awards that have contributed to your reputation?

Think Design is well-regarded in design circles, and its felicitations are a testament to its cutting-edge design prowess. With 20 awards in the last four years, Think Design has had a strong and steady presence in the awards circuit such as IF, Good Design Award, India’s Best Design Studio, CII Design Excellence, at both national as well as international levels. These celebrations and accolades, while labelled to a project or a person, are a collective success. As an organisation, we were also certified as a Great Place to Work recently.

The last few years have been very rewarding for me professionally, having received many industry awards for being a leader and entrepreneur in India. Each time a prestigious award lands, it does give a shot in the arm. But my biggest accomplishment is the strong culture at Think Design that is acknowledged as amongst the best in Havas globally.

Giving back to the design community is an integral part of your professional journey. How do you contribute to the design community in India as a visiting faculty at NID Ahmedabad, a jury member at design schools, and a mentor at multiple forums? What motivates you to engage in these activities?

My education at NID was pivotal to the path my career took. So, when I teach there, it is about being connected to my Alma Mater, to feed back into the system that made me, with reverence. Spending time with design students is my way of contributing positively to that. Also, when I teach, it’s surprising the sheer amount I learn from the students in return. Juryships are not just a way to give back to the community but also helps me remain in touch with key trends shaping the industry and helping raise the bar of design standards because I believe good design has the power to reshape and pave the way as a force for good.

As the CEO of Think Design, what are your future goals and aspirations for the company? How do you envision its growth and impact on the design industry in the coming years?

I have clear goals for Think Design. One is to offer end-to-end solutions through integrated services centred around design, and the second is to extend our reach globally. By achieving these goals, we will help position design as a strategic function in the industry that is essential to the integration of key functions, and the transformation of organisations and brands.

In your opinion, what are some of the key challenges and opportunities in the design industry today? How do you navigate these challenges and leverage the opportunities to stay ahead in the market?

One of the biggest challenges in the design industry today is the siloed approach. Our intent is to break down the barriers and look at design beyond its function at face-value, extending that to enable transformative growth, innovation, and leadership in the market. We are constantly sharpening our divergent thinking skills and creating new, innovative approaches to solving problems. Our biggest leverage is our ability to take design beyond its confines.

As a leader in the design field, what advice would you give to aspiring designers or individuals looking to build successful careers in the industry? What skills or qualities do you believe are essential for success in this field?

While there is a lot of focus on problem-solving skills, with institutions providing the extensive toolkits to excel in them, what is much needed today is also the ability to frame problems. I would advise aspiring designers to strengthen their problem framing, problem articulation and problem definition skills along with all the other skills a designer needs.

Could you share a memorable project or client engagement that has had a significant impact on your career or the growth of Think Design? What lessons did you learn from that experience?

Looking back at my 19-year long journey in design, I would say that every project has influenced my thinking in a distinctive way. At Think Design, we have endeavoured to foster a culture of continuous learning and I wholeheartedly believe that it has a reciprocal effect on all our employees’ lives. I like to believe that I embody the mantra of being receptive of learning, irrespective of the channel I may gain it from. What I enjoy most and look forward to are the retrospectives and post-project learning sessions we have established as a practice.

One of the most important learnings I have had is that having conviction is extremely important in the field of design. A design is successful not because it eliminates contradictions, but because it is defined by those contradictions... And that’s the reason why, the stronger the conviction of the designer, the better is the ability to deliver good design!