Strategy Ateliers 2027 / Kickoff Session
Stop being ignored. Start being heard.
In this session, we'll get honest about why strong work gets ignored, diluted, or overruled. You'll move past the easy answer of "stakeholders don't value design" to something more useful: a clear picture of where your own influence breaks down and why. We'll cover what influence actually is and the habits and signals that quietly undercut it.
You'll identify limiting patterns that keep showing up across your work and determine what you need to start building your next move. By the end, you'll have a foundation to build on in the sessions that follow.
Who is it for?
Designers and leaders, with or without the title that aim to expand their influence and become better at dealing with their stakeholders.
Top 3 Outcomes
- #1Clearly know what influence is and looks like
- #2Understand why others don't take your ideas seriously
- #3Identify immediate areas of improvement
Facilitating this session:
Catt Small
Staff Designer & Author · ex Etsy, Asana
Catt is a Staff Product Designer and creative technologist. She has worked with companies of all sizes including Asana, Etsy, SoundCloud, and Nasdaq. She started coding around the age of 10 and designing at the age of 15. She graduated from SVA with a BFA in Graphic Design in 2011 and later received an MS in Integrated Digital Media from NYU in 2016. Catt also makes awkward video games, writes about professional development, and draws artwork of all kinds. You can view her work at cattsmall.com.
Catt participates in conferences around the world. You may have seen her latest Config Talk: "The Canvas is not dead". She's also the author of the book "The Staff Designer: Grow, Influence, and Lead as an Individual Contributor" published by Rosenfeld Media.