Why we need applied design thinking to pursue strategic innovation

Communication, consumption and other ways of interacting with the world around us are increasingly becoming fast and efficient as a result of the technology innovation. But as technology is constantly and rapidly evolving, long-standing social, economic, and political institutions are having a difficult time with adapting to this speed of change.

The rate of change today is faster than it has ever been before

Technology has increased the speed that people, places, objects, events, ideas interact with each other. We talk more, consume more, celebrate more, complain more, and expect more from the world around us.

What is needed is a human, cultural, social and agile approach that helps us appreciate and make sense of these complex interconnectedness.

Apply design thinking to uncover valuable opportunities in these changes

What is the definition of design thinking? Ask people to define design thinking, and you will get a whole variety of answers that differ just enough to leave you constantly confused. A pivotal philosophy around design thinking is embracing ambiguity, so it makes sense why there is no single, unifying, common definition to design thinking.

For me, design thinking equips people with a framework that made up of a mindset rooted in curiosity, a culture of exploration and strategic tools that help tackle the technology’s challenge of rapid, and constant change.

Don’t let simplistic and sexy tools like colourful post-it notes and beautiful mind maps on white boards fool you to believe design thinking is only that. It has more depth to it than you may realize.

Idris Mootee distills design thinking concisely in his book Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation as:

Design thinking is not an experiment; it empowers and encourages us to experiment.

Design thinking now becomes about imaging, organizing, mobilizing and evaluating disruptive innovation that addresses change. Design thinking is an agile approach that utilizes a lean iterative methodology of ideating, rapid prototyping, and testing that allows us to implement innovation.

What’s your definition of design thinking?

I’m fascinated with how people have adapted and crafted their own design philosophy and I’d be very interested to hear about your experience. Tell me about it.