10 reasons why your design thinking program is failing

Organisations globally are warming up to Design Thinking programs like a dog to a bone. It almost seems that people are looking at these programs as some sort of a magic pill which is going to pull them out of their troubles.

Well…there is good news and bad news. The good news first — yes, design thinking programs can actually help you solve business problems if done right. The bad news — a lack of clear understanding of how these programs work can lead to empty blobs in the outcome! Unfortunately, majority of the programs fall in the latter bucket.

Here is a list of the top 10 reasons why design thinking programs fail:

1. The need for instant gratification — The process of design thinking might be gratifying initially for the attendees, but actual results come after a longer sustained effort. Most firms look for immediate results after the initial gratification, which is simply not possible. To realise the true impact of a design thinking program, one needs to look beyond instant results and focus on the long term
2. Inability to deal with future ambiguity — Businesses are used to building solutions based on what has happened in the past through case studies, success stories etc. Design thinking on the other hand forces people to peek into the future and therefore deal with ambiguities which are uncomfortable for many. This leads to lack of confidence to carry out the program as desired.
3. Lack of clarity on desired outcome — Design thinking can’t guarantee any desired outcome. Not in the first attempt, not in the second attempt / iteration, nor in the third. It is an iterative process where a lot of learning is taken from earlier attempts to refine the outcome. So if you are looking for a one shot guaranteed outcome…it won’t happen
4. Perils of a hierarchical structure — Most organisations have a formal hierarchical structure which pose significant barriers to free thinking. People are habituated to execute orders of their seniors and not think on their own. They also hesitate to question the point of view of a senior employee and this just defeats the whole purpose of the program.
5. Sustainable implementation is like building a healthy habit — Design thinking is difficult to start, difficult to stick to till the results are visible, and in most cases difficult to sustain even after one sees the results. It requires sincerity and discipline to build the habit. It cannot be forced on people, but needs to be inculcated on a constant basis.
6. Promoting design thinking is not a KRA — In most cases, design thinking is not targeted at the people who actually do the job. It is left to the managers and the innovation consultants, who after attending a design thinking workshop don’t even pass on the learnings to their team.
7. Building empathy is difficult — Lets face it, stepping in someone else’s shoes and empathising is really tough. People have a tendency to constantly judge other people from what they see and from the stories which they hear, without realising that it may have been taken out of context. Unless one has an open mind to feel and understand the issues of the user, the program falls flat.
8. Poor Memory — Design thinking workshops (like most other workshops) don’t get etched on to the memory of the attendees. People don’t remember it as the day they learnt something to be applied in real life… The memory, at best, is like — “hmm… we did something that day, can’t point my finger on what exactly it was… but I guess it was a fun day, a good break from the routine. Maybe we should do something like that again.”
9. It is different! — Design thinking workshop setups are generally more informal and different from usual corporate workshops. The facilitators are alien…they look different, dress different, work different, talk different. The activities involve being in clusters — as opposed to the cubicles where the employees / attendees work. The exercise doesn’t involve a hierarchy. The problems brought up to be tackled are not related to the work done in the organisation. There seems to be a disconnect from the daily work of the attendees, and most of the times they don’t relate to it…and that is a problem
10. Is it different? — Most attendees feel that they generally do the same things that are being shown in the design thinking workshop. They have teams to conduct the research, teams to brainstorm, teams to design and deploy the solutions. They feel that they usually do all the same things as practiced in design thinking. So what is different? And why should they pay attention?

In my next post I will be covering how design thinking programs should be structured and the key aspects of the program that make it successful.