How many times have you left in a meeting and doubted that nothing is going to change? How many times have you asked to participate in a problem solving meeting and never came up with something concrete? How many times have you been in a brainstorming session and came out nothing accomplished? It's frustrating, isn't it?
I have been exposed to a proven problem solving protocol called Design Thinking. There are many examples of big companies that use Design Thinking in their day to day operations like IBM, Apple, Google. This is not a tool for Designers but for managers. Design Thinking is now the new skill for modern leaders.
Having used Design Thinking in one of my work projects, my key takeaways-
1) Got to have a deep empathy with customers/users - Watch, listen and synthesise customer needs. The whole process focus is human-centered. We are hearing from people whom the solution is designed for.
2 ) Go for rapid experimentation with customers/users instead of talking about the solutions only- it's ok to get scrappy about the chosen solution, not looking for perfection but a prototype. The idea is to get feedback on the prototype, make changes and iterate
3) Stop Talking, Start Doing- You will be amazed to find out that from idea to prototype can be within hours! You came out from the session having a feeling of accomplishment !
Wanna know more? I have gathered a few videos in here for you to explore and even try it out.
The First Video: What is Design Thinking?
The Second Video: A One-hour Design Thinking Crash Course from Stanford. You will get a taste of what the process looks like and have a feel of the energy it created in a group format. Choose a topic that you would like to solve and try it out with a friend or colleague and experience first-hand.
The Third Video is an application of Design Thinking in the day to day Operations. IBM Example
Click Here for More Resources: Design Thinking Books and Articles to Inspire