Why design thinking is the skillset we need to solve big problems.
We're in an extraordinary moment in business today.
We have a technology revolution (which is reshaping industries). A purpose revolution (which is about asking: Why do we exist? What business are we really in?). And a work revolution (that involves how we work not just where we work). Not to mention a climate emergency and numerous other complex challenges.
All of these things are creating the opportunity to redesign business from top to bottom.
Many CEOs today are asking the question, what comes next? How do we prepare ourselves for what we can’t even see yet? We know we have all of these problems and opportunities, but how do we get to that next answer?
It's a jigsaw puzzle. And these are exactly the kinds of questions that Studio Jigsaw was born to help solve.
Because the shifts we’re talking about now, are about getting to new outcomes. About rethinking the value we create in the world. About invention and reinvention. Not just about squeezing out more efficiency.
This needs a skillset that’s not taught in business school. That's where design thinking comes in.
First made famous by Tim Brown of IDEO (the global design and innovation firm), design thinking is a method of how to get there.
It's an orientation towards seeing new possibilities. It’s about engaging with people through a structured process (sprints) that involves listening, learning, synthesising, imagining, making and iterating - to shape new solutions.
These solutions can be new brands, products and services, experiences, interactions, or communications. They can be also be new business models, systems, capabilities or team structures.
It starts with questioning the status quo:
- Why are things the way they are currently?
- Why do we do it that way?
- How can we be better?
It's about cultivating a culture of enquiry, exploring with more open minds, slowing down and really thinking, really questioning before designing solutions.
If we don’t question, we risk failing fast for nothing, running in the wrong direction or jumping to early (and often ineffective) solutions.
That's why design thinking is core to creativity and innovation. And putting it to work within organisations has never been more important as it is today.
If you'd like to learn more about the questions we can help you solve, get in touch
