Michael asks: We could use more creative thinking to solve a problem we’ve been working on. Could a design thinking approach help?
Sue Bethanis, CEO responds:
Thinking differently and coming up with new ideas for tough problems is at the core of design thinking. Design thinking taps into imagination and practicality, which taken together form the backbone of creative problem-solving and innovation.
Our design thinking workshop is a working session for teams tasked with solving any product, service, or experience challenge. The team is led through a clear design thinking process, which starts with empathy (something most groups skip) and includes brainstorming to generate and cull as many ideas as possible. The ideas most likely to produce breakthrough solutions are prototyped using creative, 3-D methods utilizing right brain thinking. Getting messy and creative cultivates new thinking! The models can be used to test the ideas with others and refine with a more sophisticated prototype from there.
Once you grasp the principles of design thinking, you’ll see that they can be applied to any business problem. To learn more, check out these resources:
- Leader as Designer article by Mariposa Leadership
- Breakthrough! workshop offered by Mariposa Leadership
- How to Design Breakthrough Inventions, David Kelly interview. CBS 60 Minutes, January 6, 2013. http:// www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50138327n
- Martin, Roger. (2009). The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage. Boston, Mass.: Harvard University Press.