Become a more confident and effective Leader of Designers

CDO School is the complete leadership program for Design Managers and Directors who want to shape product strategy and drive business impact.

Trusted by 2000+ experienced designers, managers, and directors

5 out of 5 stars

“It's eye-opening to map design to how executives think.”

Jessica Romeo
Jessica Romeo
Experience Strategy Director
Firefly Health

5 out of 5 stars

“I cannot recommend this enough for getting to the next level in your career.”

Ashley Pfeiffelmann
Ashley Pfeiffelmann
UX Director
Celerity

5 out of 5 stars

“The experience has fundamentally changed the way I work.”

Justin Hoyer
Justin Hoyer
Service Design Lead
NTT

Program Overview

Public Workshop

Powerful Portfolios for Designers in Management

July 8-10, 2025
$500

You've solved complex problems, managed challenging projects, led teams, and earned the trust of stakeholders. You delivered results that moved the business forward. But when it comes time to telling your story, something gets lost in translation.

Having a clear story about your experience gives you a competitive advantage. The question is, can you tell that story clearly enough for others to see it?

After this workshop, the answer will be yes.

FAQs

Why should I join CDO School when there are other design leadership programs?

It's so great that designers and design leaders have options these days to learn about business, communication, management, and influence. Most of these programs do a good job of teaching you how to fit design into the status quo of business - how to speak the language, how to be visible, and how to describe your work. But that's not what drives change.

CDO School is fundamentally different. We teach you how to make design unignorable by building evidence, moving faster than bureaucracy, and showing value in unexpected ways. This isn't about getting a seat at the table. It's about changing the game entirely.

Why choose CDO School over a live cohort on Maven or other platforms?

The traditional path to design leadership learning usually involves piecing together lessons found in multiple courses. At $500-2k each, you'd need to invest over $10k and months of scheduled sessions to get the full picture. Plus, you're locked into instructor timelines, have to take time off work, have limited access to the instructor, and can't easily revisit the material when you need it most.

CDO School provides the complete playbook, ready when you are, for as low as $499. You get immediate access to everything, can learn at your own pace, and apply the tools to your real work in real time. But the bigger difference? This isn't about attending classes. It's about having a proven playbook and personal support when you need it most.

I already understand business basics. What makes this different?

Knowing business fundamentals isn't enough anymore. The real skill is knowing when business decisions are actually business decisions – and when they're emotional ones masquerading as business logic.

CDO School teaches you how to spot the real roadblocks, build the right evidence, and focus your energy where it matters. Business programs leave out your biggest challenge: building relationships and trust with people who are skeptical of what you do. This isn't about learning business terms or frameworks. It's about learning to win in ways you haven't figured out yet.

What if I'm not sure I want to be a CDO or executive leader?

The insights and strategies in CDO School aren't just for people pursuing executive roles. They're for anyone who's tired of seeing good design work die in endless meetings and politics. Whether you're a Senior Designer wanting more influence, a Design Manager trying to protect your team from bureaucracy, or a Director attempting to create real change - this is about having impact. We show you how to adapt, adjust, and position design to win in ways that are specific to your situation.

How is this different from traditional Design or DesignOps training?

This isn't another prorgam about workshops, journey maps, or design systems. Those are important tools, but they haven't fundamentally changed design's influence in most companies. CDO School is about what happens before the frameworks and processes – how to spot real opportunities, how to build evidence that can't be ignored, and how to move faster than the bureaucracy.

With AI democratizing so much of development and operations, we show you how to focus your energy on the work that actually creates change. This is about being dangerous – in the best possible way.

What if my company isn't design-driven?

Here's the reality most programs ignore: most companies don't compete on design. They win through pricing, scale, network effects, or enterprise sales. Instead of fighting this reality, CDO School shows you how to use it to your advantage.

You'll learn how to demonstrate exactly how design can amplify existing advantages, make current strategies stronger, and create unexpected value. This isn't about converting everyone to design-first thinking. It's about making design an undeniable multiplier of what already works, and commanding attention for what doesn't.