Start where you are, design what can be.

As designers, we naturally envision better things - better products, but also better companies. When we join a new team, we often bring our vision of how things should be: better processes, faster decisions, clearer goals, and a more inspiring culture. But that imagined version can clash with the real, messy, imperfect organisation we walk into. Every time we think they should do things differently, we feel the gap between our ideal and the reality before us.

Erika Hall, Co-Founder of Mule Design Studio, once said that you can "optimise everything and still fail" if you're focused on the wrong reality. And she's right. As designers, our first step isn't to fix things but to understand them.

At Toyota, this concept is known as Genchi Genbutsu, which translates to "go and see for yourself." In a product team, this might involve reading support tickets, attending sales calls, or observing how engineers work under real deadlines. If we skip this step, we risk designing features that sound great but never reach the market.

Once you accept the company as it is, constraints stop feeling like blockers. Instead, they become the raw material you work with. Cap Watkins, who led design at BuzzFeed, used to tell his teams that working within limitations is what makes someone a real designer. Whether it's outdated systems, legal rules, or tight deadlines, these limitations push us to think more sharply, make tough choices, and create with intention.

It's also important to remember that your company isn't just a place where you work, but it's one of your users. Every internal process you touch, from approvals to data hand-offs, involves real people doing real work.

Service design expert Lou Downe reminds us that while users don't care how a company is structured, your design often gets tangled in those structures. If your flow makes life more complicated for the people inside, it won't survive, no matter how elegant it looks.

Culture also plays a significant role. As Bruce Mau says, "Design is about designing what you do." A beautiful design system won't matter if the team's culture doesn't support open conversations, fast decision-making, or experimentation. Strong design leaders know this. They don't just improve interfaces; they also enhance team collaboration. They test new rituals, such as silent critiques or shorter planning meetings, in the same way they test prototypes.

But none of this means giving up on your bigger vision. Donella Meadows, a systems thinker, discussed "dancing with the system"—working with what exists while gradually nudging it toward something better. That's what experienced designers do. They hold onto their north star but take one thoughtful step at a time. They earn trust by delivering applicable changes today, which makes space for bolder ideas tomorrow.

So, instead of arriving with a grand plan, start by paying attention. Spend time where the pain is: support chats, sprint reviews, and project retros. Make a list of every constraint and challenge, just like you'd list user needs. Sketch solutions that fit the current setup before reaching the ideal. Map journeys that include not only users but also internal teammates. Try small cultural experiments and observe what shifts. Break your vision into achievable milestones and celebrate progress along the way. When others start to believe in the vision, too, you won't be building it alone.

Designers who work with the current organisation, rather than against it, ship faster, face less friction, and ultimately create more meaningful change. They don't fight the system; they shape it from within. The company you dream of won't appear overnight. But if you design honestly, patiently, and wisely, it will begin to emerge. The company you want is just a better version of the one you have. And you're here to help build that bridge.