Tool 27/30 - Design thinking

 

The objectives of this short ten minute exercise -

1. To learn a management tool that will be helpful in work life 
2. To apply the learning

1. To start a great day using this morning ritual

Step 1 - the warm up

Keep your journal and pen at hand

Sit in a relaxed position with an intent to go into a ‘flow state’ to learn something new

Take three deep, powerful breaths to lock in your focus and start the next step

Step 2 - the learning

About Design thinking

Design Thinking is a problem-solving methodology introduced by David Kelley and Tim Brown of IDEO in the 1990s. It focuses on understanding user needs, ideating solutions, prototyping, and testing. Used in business to drive innovation, it encourages creativity and empathy in developing user-centric products and services.

Situations (examples) where this tool can be best used

• Transforming customer experience
• Enhancing employee engagement
• Optimizing supply chain

The top three mental muscles (competencies) developed by practicing this tool

• Innovation and Creativity - Encourages generating new ideas and creative problem-solving
• Problem-solving - Helps address challenges thoughtfully
• Empathy - Involves understanding and valuing user perspectives and feelings

A corporate story to understand the usage of this tool

The Ingvar Kamprad (IKEA) story

Challenge

In the 1950s, Swedish furniture was expensive, bulky, and difficult to transport. Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA’s founder, noticed that customers struggled with affordability and accessibility. This is how he would have applied Design Thinking.

Empathize - Kamprad observed customers and understood their frustrations with high prices and inconvenient furniture delivery. He engaged with manufacturers and customers to gather insights

Define - The core problem was that traditional furniture was costly due to expensive materials, middlemen, and inefficient supply chains

Ideate - Kamprad explored unconventional solutions—flat-pack furniture, self-assembly models, and in-house design to reduce costs

Prototype - In 1956, IKEA introduced its first flat-pack furniture, allowing customers to transport and assemble products easily. He tested different materials and assembly methods 

Test - IKEA refined its products based on customer feedback, improving instructions and optimizing the shopping experience

Impact - By applying Design Thinking, Kamprad revolutionized the furniture industry, making stylish, functional, and affordable furniture accessible worldwide. IKEA became a global leader, proving that innovation stems from understanding user needs and simplifying solutions

A story from the World Wars

My personal story

Context

I have not created any organisation-level strategy in the past using design thinking. I however once used it when designing a workshop for a management team. The purpose of the workshop was creating awareness about their competency framework. 

Here’s how - 

Empathizing - Spoke to a few participants before the workshop. Some knew about the framework, some did not. They did not know how their competencies helped them grow and helped their business grow

Defining - Created a problem statement - Competency framework not used in worklife

Ideating - One of the ideas I came up with was to use competency development as a Career gym

Prototyping - Created a draft version of the strategy for feedback from all participants. Received a good suggestion to include stories from Greek and Indian mythologies

Testing - Tested the design with the company’s HR Head and the Chairman

Step 3 - the reflection

Sit back, go down memory lane, think of various events in your work life where you could have used this learning.

If nothing comes to mind, think of a situation that would help you answer any one of these interview questions.

1. “How do you approach innovation in your work?” - Share how you rely on user feedback before innovating
2. “How do you ensure your solutions are user-centered?” - Talk about your style of identifying the user pain points and share an example around one use case 
3. “Can you give an example of a time when you turned a customer complaint into an opportunity to improve the offering?” - Share your story using design thinking principles

Step 4 - the practice

Apply your learning to the situation you selected above.

• Empathizing
• Defining
• Ideating
• Prototyping
• Testing

Step 5 - the victory lap

Celebrate your achievement for a minute. Maybe a quick victory lap doing some energizing exercise?

**

To those who felt, “Many management models are data-heavy and can be overwhelming with extensive data analysis.” - Do you feel that the last ten minutes were worth the effort?

I must tell you that some inspirational companies have institutionalised this tool (Apple, IBM, Google, AirBNB, IDEO) 

This exercise is not only about management tools. It’s about building a neural pathway. And it’s about my mantra for creating small daily acts of feeling successful and happy. 

Don’t forget to carry this image 👇 in your mind. There could be a great situation where you may want to use the tool. Keep a log of all such situations. This practice will help you when you want to train someone.

My congratulations for your first dose of the day of success and happiness. Have a great day ahead.