Innovative thinking => Design Thinking — Day 5
1.0 Recap
Yesterday, I looked at wicked problems and it’s intricacies and how we could use design thinking to understand these problems. You can check it out here.
2.0 Innovative way of thinking about new problems
Today, I read about innovative thinking, a way to constantly question knowledge in order to figure out both innovative and alternative solutions for solving problems(like wicked problems). I stumbled on this video of Uncharted Power, founded by Jessica Matthews while looking for resources for innovative thinking. In the video, you will see soccer balls being used to generate power.
“Problems can not be solved by using the same thinking we used to create them”
She could have thought of creating another energy efficient generator to solve the issue of power, but instead, she thought of new ways to visualize the problem and come up with an innovative solution.
Looking at problems in terms of design thinking allows us to use an innovative approach to solve problems relating to:
- Technology
- Education
- Entrepreneurial ideas
- corporate culture e.t.c
The illustration above sums up how we can think in an innovative way, thereby coming up with amazing solutions. When thinking about an innovative approach to solving a problem, we first need to consider the user’s needs as well as emotions.
“Focus on humans not users”
This means focusing on what humans personally connect with.
3.0 Factors that contribute to Innovation
These 3 factors listed below are really important when it comes to innovative or creative thinking:
- Mindset => It means having a creative and analytical way of visualizing the problem you are trying to solve. This creative and logical way of thinking can be learned, so you don’t need to worry if it’s difficult at first 🙂.
- Team => Innovation also comes from the collaborative efforts of teams. Companies and organizations should create an atmosphere that helps team members improve their creativity.
- Environment => My best time to be productive and think through problems is usually in the morning. I love a very quiet and conducive atmosphere. Companies try to make their offices colourful to make it fun and exciting.
4.0 Resources
The best way to learn is by asking questions and letting people know how you understand the topic. Feel free to leave a comment, we will definitely learn from it🙂.
