According to recent studies, businesses have a life span of about seven years, and the trend is going down.
Why? Because of the lack of innovation.
But what is innovation?
Innovation is solving problems for your customer. To fully serve. And finding the best products and services.
Design Thinking has been a major player in this story of empowerment.
But hold up: WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?
In this innovation training, we'll get to the bottom of it: super concise and hopefully insightful.
Here is a quick fix overview about what's happening in today's innovation session:
0:17 Min: What is DT? An approach to Innovation & a Toolbox
Design Thinking is an approach to innovation, in which you make use of a toolbox filled with methods from Design, sociology, psychology, systems thinking, and muuuuch more.
0:31 Min: Again: What is Innovation?
It's solving your customer's problems, finding the best solution to your customer's problem and needs. And market it: the service, the product, the experience, the strategy. Whatever you are working on where humans are involved.
So truly: Fall in love with your customer is the base.
Think about Amazon.
They say: Our mission is to be Earth's most customer-centric company.
Well, you think about amazon all you want. ;) But they are succeeding in what they do.
Tech and Business is definitely part of this innovative approach. But it comes later.
Why?
Because if you know what your customers desire, you will be able to adapt and transform their needs into tech that is currently the best option. Cause it changes all the time.
And oh so often, a tech solution is not even the best solution for your customer.
Either way, once you have your solution, your product service will generate revenue because your customers buy it.
2:02 Min: What is DT? A Philosophy & a Mindset
Practicing Design Thinking makes it become more of a philosophy and mindset. A client of mine once said:
It's a way to approach life.
What does he mean by that?
Continually questioning the status quo, learning, and growing—and constantly putting yourself into a state of innovating.
3:10 Min: The Design Thinking STATE
Does this sound familiar? Major issue is that when we have a problem and sit on our desk trying to make sense of it, we make up assumptions. It all gets fuzzy, complex, painful. Famous quote by Albert Einstein at this point:
"We cannot solve the problems with the same thinking we used when we created them".
Design Thinking literally helps you to think differently, to experiment, to become more of a doer, an innovator.
By first: putting you physically into the state of "Yes, I can", and "I'll just go for it".
With warm-ups and brain exercises to get outside your box and into innovation mode. You're standing and in an active alert state. All the time.
Second: You work in a multidisciplinary team.
Different experts and characters work on the same challenge. That reduces complexity and hurdles because the more we collaborate, the more we know and can get done.
Third: Your using space!
Design Thinking spaces inspire and provoke action. With high furniture, so you can be active. Lots of material to make ideas tangible. And inspirations on the walls, there you go.
4:32 Min: What is DT? An Awesome Process
And finally, yes, Design Thinking is also a Process. An awesome process. Sometimes 6 steps, sometimes 5, sometimes a diamond shape. It all doesn't matter. They have the same underlying principles.
First is you KICK OFF your process:
- You sharpen your assignment,
- You do team building
- You download all your assumptions, cause otherwise they stay stuck in your system, and all you do is validate what you already know. And that's a waste of time.
- And you do project planning.
Next is the EMPATHY PHASE:
- You go out and get in touch with your customers.
- ASK: You ask them about their problems and needs.
- LOOK: You also observe them cause sometimes we human beings don't realize what we do all day every day. Hence we cant articulate it.
- TRY: And you try whatever you're working on yourself. You put yourself into the shoes of your users.
Then you SYNTHESIZE:
- You make sense of everything you've learned and captured in the empathy phase, and you make a decision:
- Which problem is the most pressing, most relevant, right now.
- What needs do we want to find solutions for?
Then it's time for IDEATION (Brainstorming):
Now you know what the problem truly is, where it hurts your customer, and you can find real solutions.
After brainstorming, you again take a decision and turn the idea you were choosing into a PROTOTYPE:
You make your idea tangible with material that doesn't cost you a whole lot of money. I've seen the best prototypes being out of paper, lego, or simply post its.
And This phase also preps you for the next which is: TEST
Now it's time to get in touch with your customers again.
- You ask them for honest feedback, and you let them experience when you have created a service, for example.
- You test out what you want to launch, and that gives you the insights to iterate, making whatever you're working on better and better for your customer.
And that is oftentimes a loop:
"Here is the idea" - "thank you for your feedback" - ... until it's ready to be launched.
Or sometimes, you realize it's not working at all, and you go back to the empathy phase. This process isn't ridged: Step by step. It's fluid! It's a learning process.
And what it helps you at the end of the day?
It saves you money because you are not launching anything your customers don't desire and therefore won't buy. But instead: Will buy and make your Business thrive.
I hope this was explanation of what is DT was of service to you.
See you soon for another Innovation Trainings Session.
XXX Hedi