To wrap Adaptive Path's Managing Experience 2014 Conference, this is a playbook of activities for leaders of experience to focus on in the year ahead. It's inspired by and a synthesis of the smart ideas from the speakers and leaders of Adaptive Path’s Managing Experience 2014.

1. PLAYBOOK FOR
MANAGING & LEADING
EXPERIENCE
MX 2014

2. Fix on the future.
2

3. Don’t fix
the past.
Fix on the
future.
Crisply communicate the vision, why it’s
worthy, and how to win.
Design your job to achieve it.
Progress is measured by learning and
progress to the future state, not by the
amount of work done.
Pack only what you need and start hiking.
YOU’LL NEED
_ A simple business case and
compelling visualization
_ Ideas worth repeating
_ Clear, important wins
_ A list of things to stop doing
3

4. Grow new leaders.
4

5. Grow new
leaders
for great
experiences.
“Leaders don’t create followers.
They create more leaders.”
—TOM PETERS
Invest in people with the right mix of
audacity and humility.
Build their resilience with
meaningfulness, relationships, and care.
Create an infrastructure for leaders to
be successful on your team and beyond.
You now architect work and progress.
YOU’LL NEED
_ Soft skills not technical skills
_ Roles & goals you designed
with them
_ Pair leaders across functions:
engineering, marketing, more.
5

6. Make your new rules.
6

7. Reshape
the rules for
decision-
making
Know what you believe and your principles.
Find where the best decisions need to be
made—people, projects, execution?
Create the right context for others to
make good decisions—change the
process, relationships, and responsibilities.
Lead people to the best decisions for
the business and the experience
YOU’LL NEED
_ Examples of good and bad
decisions
_ Freedom to change your rules
when it’s time
7

8. Who do you want your
customers to BECOME?
ULTIMATELY
8

9. BECOME FINANCIALLY HEALTHY
9

10. BECOME OWNERS OF THEIR CONDITION
10

11. BECOME A CITIZEN JOURNALIST
BECOME NEWLY EMPLOYED
BECOME A PARTNER IN YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION
BECOME A PROVIDER OF SECURITY
BECOME A CONFIDENT SHOPPER
BECOME A STRONGER FRIEND
BECOME SOMETHING NEEDED, GREATER, FULFILLING
BECOME A
11

12. “Great UX design should not just focus on
the challenge of creating better customer
experiences but rise to the challenge of
creating better customers.”
WE NEED LEADERS WHO HAVE:
_The empathy to get it
_The vision to see it
_The endurance to make it happen
—Michael Schrage, Who Do You Want Your Customers to Become?

13. MX 2014
PLAYBOOK FOR MANAGING & LEADING EXPERIENCE
Synthesizing and inspired by the smart ideas from the speakers
and leaders of Adaptive Path’s Managing Experience 2014.
Bill Scott
Kerry Bodine
Lesley Mottla
J. Galen Buckwalter
Wendy Lea
Chris McCarthy
Leah Buley
Josh Levine
Todd Wilkens
Jon Setzen
Jason Stirman
Kate Rutter
Michael Kim
Peter Merholz
Livia Labate
Amy Parnell
Malini Bakshi Leveque
PHOTO CREDITS
Page 2 hikers, Ewan Cross, http://www.flickr.com/photos/
ewancross/4454497924/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Page 4 & 5 bikers, Garry Wilmore, http://www.flickr.com/photos/
paranormart/7472387694/sizes/k/in/photostream/
Page 6 chess, b.m.p., http://www.flickr.com/photos/bmp_creep/
8115409475/sizes/l/
Page 9 reclined, Brandon Warren http://www.flickr.com/photos/
brandoncwarren/6579342767/sizes/o/
Page 10 needle, John (MTSOfan), http://www.flickr.com/photos/
8628862@N05/5334711366/