Reflection 3: The Design of Business

The book's name is The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking Is the Next Competitive Advantage. This book illustrates why companies need design thinking, for different purposes. Some companies want to innovate, some companies want to be profitable. This book cracked the design thinking process into stages. The language of this book is understandable. I even read it during my flight and vacation. It does not require a lot of effort to understand. The author divided the book into chapters. Each chapter has an intriguing topic that attracts readers to know about it.

I choose this book because I want to understand how can I apply design thinking to the business world. I came to this book of these questions. How design thinking can lead businesses to win? What value can design thinking bring to an organization? Is design thinking exist in a concrete form?

This book surprised me and disappointed me simultaneously. I am surprised is that this book taught me different things from what we learned in class, which is good. It is nice to learn stuff from different perspectives. I was disappointed because I didn’t get the answer to all my questions directly. I guess I should not bring too many questions to a book. It will narrow my mindset. It is a great book. Sometimes expectations are bad.

This book is insightful after all. I have two insightful points I want to share.

First, the author illustrated how knowledge advances from one stage to another — from mystery to heuristic to the algorithm to code. To explain that, from something we can’t explain to a rule of thumb that guides us toward a solution to a predictable formula for producing an answer to when the formula becomes so predictable it can be fully automated.

Second, With the advancement of knowledge at various stages, the increase of productivity, and the decrease of costs, great value has been created for the company. The author shows how leading companies such as Procter & Gamble, RIM, and others use design thinking to drive knowledge through all stages in a way that generates breakthrough innovation and competitive advantage.

I recommend this book because it is filled with deep insights and fresh perspectives. It reveals the true foundation of successful, profitable innovation of the current century.