Living in an age of Surprises and Micro-moments of exhilarating experiences, an Enterprise needs to constantly reconnect with its customers and clients to better understand Customer psychology, insights, and their expectations.
'Design Thinking' is a contemporary proactive methodology to go back to the drawing board and use non-linear logic, creative imagination, intuition and systematic reasoning to solve complex problems and gain an edge with customers. The idea is to rework on insights and offer desirable products, improved and cheaper processes, unique solutions and a bouquet of unique value propositions.
The DT process is structured over 5 simple steps (experience the doodle) :
a. Understanding the Customer psychology
b. Reframing the Problem using creative techniques
c. Incubating, Ideating, Evaluating
d. Developing a prototype and recheck with Clients
e. Scaling production to deliver the new product in the market based on 'a' above
'Design Thinking' thrives in an enterprise eco-system where...
....culture fosters and encourages experimentation.
....those who face markets are motivated to respond to its challenges.
....Ideas being not considered as monopolies of the hierarchies. An overarching Vision is framed to avoid ongoing supervision.
Ideas that make most noise and build a buzz around are picked for immediate Design pathing. It mobilises strength over time.
Leaders behave like gardeners;tending, pruning and harvesting ideas.
The centre of gravity which holds together Design Thinking in Corporations should now move its limited use from its limbic applications (read Product designs) to its other spiritual and emotional applications in larger organisational systems, programs, processes and policies. The CEO is the Chief Design Thinker of the enterprise.
Design has tremendous power to influence human behaviour and thus effect change. Says Farson ..." design, the creation of form, has the power to transform culture, ignite learning, foster communities and even broker peace ". Think about it, he says. "No body smokes in church, no matter how addicted".
The logical ask is...why not apply design thinking to improve employee experiences with the same care given otherwise to delight customers ? All People anchored structures, systems, policies, programs & processes therefore render themselves most suitable to Design Thinking and new outcomes through structured redesigning.The process of 'Renewal' in the OD framework of 'Reframe-Restructure-Revitalise-Renew' model talks about the people connect in the transformation journey.
Neither Customer first...nor Employee first. Avoid indulging in Popular Debates without answers. Instead Design Thinking first. Everything else will fall in place.