Welcome to the first issue of Campus Notes from CDO School. Starting fresh with this new format gives me more freedom to experiment and go beyond the scope of Second Wave Dive (my parent company).
As a subscriber, you can expect to get two different types of emails from CDO School. New articles as they get published on the CDO School site, and a regular Friday newsletter called Campus Notes.
My goal for Campus Notes is that this is more than just another newsletter you don't read.
Campus Notes will provide you with a snapshot of what's happening inside CDO School, a hand-picked selection of thought-provoking stuff to read, watch, and listen, tools and methods we're using, success stories from our members, but also mix in other inspirational and fun material. I'm excited to try out a few ideas and hope I can count on your support!
Feel free to send in your feedback. I read every email but only reply to those requiring a response. Thanks for being a subscriber and, once again, welcome to Campus Notes!
– Ryan
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Template of the week
The Metric Strategy Map → The majority of us work for companies that already have some metrics in place. It is how they track and monitor the health of their business. The best way to connect Design to Business metrics is to make a map. The Metric Strategy Map is one of many custom Figjam workshop templates we have inside CDO School.
Cool shares inside CDO School this week
Article: The get "Unstuck" meeting → "On my team, we have “unstuck” meetings. When anyone gets stuck on a task, rather than fester they book the rest of us for 30 minutes to talk through their problem. Using “unstuck” in the title immediately tells the rest of us that we have no prep to do and we’re there to help." - From CDO Schooler Tanya Snook
Audio Tip: On changing someone's mind → One of the more common questions I get is, “How can I change [PERSON]’s mind?” While there’s various ways to answer this question, it’s really important we understand the stakes at play before we jump in.
Roger Martin’s “five key choices” from his book Playing to Win → To clarify and simplify strategy to make it a powerful tool for managers requires having a clear definition of strategy: strategy is choice. Strategy is not a long planning document; it is a set of interrelated and powerful choices that positions the organization to win. There are five key choices in the Strategy Choice Cascade.
Video of the week
What I'm reading
Mary Meeker’s annual report on tech trends – the AI edition → Mary Meeker, famed for her era-defining Internet Trends reports, has returned with a sweeping 340-page analysis of AI's global impact in 2025. Her "Trends – Artificial Intelligence" report details a technology revolution moving at a pace and scale she calls "unprecedented." She uses the term over 50 times in the report. Based on her track record, you should pay attention. We all know that, like it or not, AI is here, but where it goes remains an open question. Here's what Meeker sees in her crystal ball.
“The Door Problem” from Liz England → Liz England, a systems designer with about 15 years of experience in the game industry. Just like many other designers, Liz finds herself explaining what her job means to a lot of people from different backgrounds, some of whom don’t know anything about gaming industry. Liz likes to describe her job in terms of “The Door Problem”.
