Design Thinking Going Global
Guest blogger Greg Judelman is Chief Design Officer and Co-Founder of The Moment.
What do B2B salespeople in Barcelona, Johannesburg and Sao Paolo have in common with provincial government managers in Thunder Bay? They are taking a page from the book of designers to sketch, prototype and facilitate their way their way to a transformation in how they work through tough problems.
We’ve been travelling around the world to deliver full day design thinking training to teams in the private, public and social sectors. Putting aside the sometimes gruelling cycle of running from airport to taxi to hotel to venue and back again, the most extraordinary revelation from these adventures has been to see the extent to which the participants everywhere are embracing the mindset and tools of designers to achieve their business objectives.
A design thinking approach helps to infuse agility into a team’s working process. It changes the tone of our conversations.
It helps us to develop empathy to see the world from own customers’ (or users’, or citizens’) perspective. Once we know the problem we should be solving, it offers tools to collaboratively generate and test solutions. By adapting our workflow into short, iterative cycles, it doesn’t cost more resources or time than a traditional approach.
A design thinking approach helps to infuse
agility into a team’s working process.
It’s been extraordinary to see teams that we’ve trained take a design thinking approach on so effectively. But like learning to cook or to speak a new language, it isn’t a silver bullet to transform a team or organization’s performance. If these new tools and approaches are to stick, managers and leaders need to understand and incentivize them. People need safe spaces to experiment, a community of peers to learn and grow with, and the evidence that they won’t lose their jobs for trying something new.
We’re thrilled to be a part of and witness to this global renaissance of design thinking. We live in challenging times and believe that this approach can really help create a more sustainable future for our organizations.
Taxi please!
About the author
Greg is a designer and facilitator specializing in innovation processes for transforming organizations and communities. His approach integrates expertise in design-thinking methods, collaboration techniques and leadership empowerment with a background in communications, experience and systems design. Formerly a senior designer with interdisciplinary studio Bruce Mau Design, Greg has led strategy, engagement and training projects with organizations such as SAP, TD Bank Group, the Ontario Public Service, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and the architecture firm DIALOG.
This article is the second in a series of three by the founders of The Moment. They originally appeared on their blog and are re-published here with permission.