Generate new solutions

The Essential Guide with design thinking: a

problem-solving process
to Design Thinking that combines creative
and analytical thinking
Contents
What Is Design Thinking? 2

The Creative Promise of Design Thinking 16

Six Management Myths to Avoid (and Six Alternate Maxims to Consider) 21

Ready for the Next Step? 30

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 What Is
Design
Thinking?
Q&A
with Professor Jeanne Liedtka

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There are many processes out there to help In a world that needs
innovation and well-run
leaders solve problems, manage change, and companies, design thinking
grow and innovate. But recently you may have is an approach to problem
heard of a newer approach that’s circulating solving that allows us to
combine right-brain creative
the business-management landscape: design thinking with left-brain
thinking. But what is it really? Here’s what we analytical thinking. Learn
need to know about design thinking and the more from Professor Jeanne
Liedtka, one of the world’s
evidence behind the concept. leading experts on the topic,
who has (literally) written the
book on design thinking and
its practical applications for
managers.

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 What’s the big idea? The big idea that I’m really fascinated “right-brained” creative thinking with
with these days is design thinking. “left-brained” analytical thinking. In
It’s kind of an off-putting term. this day and age where we know we
People really aren’t sure what you’re need innovation, and at the same
talking about when you say “design time we know we need to run our
thinking.” But I think of it as just organizations as effectively and
another approach to problem solving. efficiently as possible, design thinking
What’s so attractive to me about offers us a process and a set of tools
this approach to problem solving, to bring the best of both worlds into
though, is that it allows us to combine our decision-making process.

Is design thinking My own interest in design thinking originated with my work on organic growth.
When we studied managers who were very successful at growing their top-
for anyone and line revenues, what we discovered was they had a set of behaviors that were
everyone? Are there a lot like designers. They developed very deep insights into their customers,
oftentimes using ethnographic methods. They had a “learning mindset,” that
times when to use
is, they realized that the way to success was often filled with small failures and
it and when not to that figuring out how to conduct experiments fast and cheap was the way
use it? to deal with life in a world full of uncertainty. And so originally I studied and
taught design thinking to managers as a way to grow their business.

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But the more I work with managers, We also have students coming back they see the world. Then we creatively
the more I come to realize that as and telling us, “You taught this to generate ideas based on those
a problem-solving process, design me in a business context, but I really insights, which we assume we’re
thinking could be used for a much use this in my private life as well.” probably not going to get right at first.
broader set of problems than just If we look at the basic principles of So we always want to keep plenty of
those related to growth. So now design thinking — which is how we options, experiment, and be open to
when we teach it to managers, we understand what the world looks like disconfirming data that tells us we’re
are as often teaching it to managers from the perspective of someone headed down the wrong path. It turns
who will use it to re-design internal else, the person we’re trying to create out all of these approaches to making
processes as we are teaching it to value for or the person we’re trying decisions are really helpful in your
managers who will use it to develop to encourage to do a newer, healthier private life as well as in your work life.
new products and services for their set of behaviors — we begin by
outside customers. developing deep insight into the way

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 Are there Problems that are suitable for design they are wicked. Often, we can’t
thinking share certain properties. even agree on a definition of the
differences in For instance, one of the things that problem, much less a definition of
applying design designers talk about is “wicked the solution. The data we have from
problems,” and they contrast this the past doesn’t really help us predict
thinking principles
with “tame problems.” Often, a tame what implementing this particular
to personal issues problem is one in which we have a lot approach is going to be like, often
versus how a of good data from the past that we because of the complexity of the
can use. We understand the problem, interactions that go on.
manager would and in fact, a group of us agree on
apply them to a what the definition of the problem So we’re living in a world where
manufacturing floor is and we can predict the outcomes experimentation, trial and error,
of trying to implement that solution. and really understanding the pain
process? So those are the qualities of the tame points of the human beings involved
problem. in the process are really the critical
dimensions. So a wicked problem is
But what we find increasingly in this whenever you’re faced with a decision
complicated world we live in, both that first of all involves human beings,
in our personal lives and in our work secondly one in which the data from
lives, is that problems are not tame, the past is not necessarily predictive

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of the future, and thirdly in which a
group of people who see the problem
differently still have to come together
and work toward a solution. I think
wherever you find a problem with
these kinds of qualities, chances are
design thinking will be a much more
effective approach to solving it than
our traditional analytic methods.
 It sounds complex, how different people with different viewpoints would
come together to help solve problems. This brings to mind a combination of
a scientific method married to a creative method. How would you counsel a
group of people in an organization — comprised of both creative types and
more scientific types — that need to take this approach?

For me, one of the amazing benefits turns out, at least my hypothesis is, that finally get to the answers.
I’ve observed in design thinking that design thinking may have an even more
I didn’t really expect, is the way it beneficial impact through not only We find that design thinking asks us to
creates a set of collaborative tools better ideas but also better ways of make an initial investment as a team in
that help people work together across working together. The tools allow us to really understanding the problem from
differences. create a common mind around today’s diverse perspectives — and especially
problem and the pain points that we’re that of the people we’re trying to serve
Originally we began working with trying to eliminate today, and that — building a common mental map
design thinking because we believed coming together and alignment set the across team members based on the
it would produce better ideas. But it stage for a lot less debate when you criteria required for a good solution to

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be accomplished. So by the time we Let’s break down There are as many different words
actually move into generating solutions to describe different parts of the
themselves, it turns out to be much
design thinking. design thinking process as there are
more obvious which ones are good and What are the consultants selling design thinking
which ones are bad. Instead of endless services. We can go to IDEO who will
stages or phases
debate in which we’re each coming talk about exploration phase, followed
from our own perspective of the world of implementing by an ideation phase, followed by
with unarticulated assumptions about a design thinking a prototyping phase. If we went
what’s really important, we’ve already to some other design firms, they
articulated our assumptions, we’ve
approach to solving would follow a very similar pattern
agreed on a set of design criteria and a problem? of activities, but they would call
so then the challenge is just ‘well, them different things. In our work,
which ones seem to meet the criteria?’ which has focused on translating this
Then, we can validate with customers language of designers into a business
that our opinions of design criteria’s language that we as managers can
potential match theirs as well. and then adopt, we’ve captured these phases in
can we validate with customers that the forms of four questions. The first
our opinions about the extent to which questions is simply “What is?” and it
the design criteria work really are asks people before trying to generate
matched by customers.

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new ideas to take a deep dive into named that way because the idea assumptions behind why we think the
understanding what’s going on today, should have such a simple description idea meets those tests, and we begin
because it turns out that today’s that it could fit on a napkin. to narrow down the number of ideas
customer dissatisfactions are really moving forward.
the only data we’ve got to work with We take a number of napkin pitches,
to help us create a better tomorrow. because we never want to put all The fourth and final question is “What
of our eggs in one basket, and we works?” and that’s when we take the
Having developed this understanding, move into the third stage, and the ideas that have made it successfully
we turn to our second question, question “What wows?” And here we through the previous three stages and
“What if?” This is our creative talk about the wow zone, which is we move them into the marketplace
possibility generating question. We where something that creates value for some small-scale experiments
ask if anything were possible, what for the customers meets our ability with real, live customers that give us
would we create to satisfy these as an organization to execute it quick feedback that we can use to
needs that customers have as we’ve meets a business model that brings iterate and improve our solutions. So
discovered them during “What is?” We us the profitability that we need to four questions, pretty simple, that’s
end “What if?” with a series of ideas build a sustainable business. So we how we capture the process.
and we capture them in something begin through a process of creating
we call the “napkin pitch,” which is rough prototypes and surfacing the

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 As an individual For me, as a teacher, one of the I call it when we’re working with
most exciting aspects of design managers) that really gives managers
moves through this thinking is the toolkit it brings. The much deeper insights into how to
process, what are tools that designers have used are create value for their customers.
very different than the tools that we With simple tools that designers
the tools along the
have historically had in our toolkit as have used forever, we can teach it to
way that help them managers. managers very quickly and it almost
within each stage? immediately begins to generate ideas
So for instance, one of my favorite for innovation.
tools is called journey mapping,
where we follow the experience of Another tool that designers use that’s
a customer as they try to do the job a little bit more challenging for many
that they need to get done. As we
follow their experience, through the Most people don’t find
whole process, not just our part of
the process, we’re paying particular those PowerPoint bullets
attention to their emotional needs very compelling.
and ups and downs, as well as their
functional needs. So here’s a pretty of us as managers is the visualization
straight-forward process. It looks tool. Designers believe that to really
like a flow chart with feelings (as have an impact, we need to show

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 people, not tell them. As managers, we’ve often been something that’s very powerful, and as we work with
taught to create PowerPoint slides, “Here are the four managers, they catch on and they begin to get excited
important points, bullet one, bullet two, bullet three, about its use, but it feels really awkward at first and most
bullet four.” Most people don’t find those PowerPoint of us will respond, “Well, I never really could draw, so I
bullets very compelling. don’t think I can do that.” But it’s a very powerful tool.

So if we want to change their behaviors, to learn new In our original work on the subject, we identified 10
ways of doing things, to be willing to experiment with different tools that designers use, ranging from journey
new products and services, we need to tell a more mapping to visualization to prototyping to assumption
compelling story than that. This idea of creating a testing, all of which managers could learn to significantly
vivid image of the new future that we’re talking about improve their outcomes. We’ve since added many more
becomes really important. Designers spend years tools, because designers have such an array, it’s almost a
learning how to be visual in their thinking. Some of it is question of pinpointing what exactly it is that I’m trying
just how do we use imagery in place of words, some of to accomplish and what tools are already out there that
it is how do we create stories in place of bullet points. will help me accomplish it.
These are all different aspects of visualization. It’s

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 Can you share As we began to teach design thinking Some of them were large
to managers, one of the things we organizations: There’s a story about
with us a story discovered was we could teach them IBM using the design thinking process
about when design the technique, but we really needed to completely re-think its approach
to tell them stories about how they to tradeshows by taking them from
thinking helped
might use it. It seemed a little bit being a cacophony of banners
managers solve foreign to them, especially once we and people talking at you, into an
a very specific stepped away from organic growth. experience of meaningful two-way,
It’s pretty obvious how we would problem-solving conversations with
problem? use these innovation techniques to customers. They use design thinking
find new products and services, but to understand what does it take to
as we start to move into other areas, create a great conversation and then
the stories become more important. how do we begin to change the
I just finished working on a book physical layout, the tools we give our
with several co-authors, in which salespeople, all the aspects in order
we highlighted 10 different stories to make it more welcoming, more
of how organizations were using comfortable and more conversational
design thinking to accomplish very for those of us who visit tradeshows.
interesting things. So that was a very traditional

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organization. We have a story about the menu, what they originally
3M using design thinking as a way thought they would use it for, but There’s a terrific story from the city
of equipping its sales force with a in fact to completely change the of Dublin in Ireland, where design
different set of tools, used to help meals on wheels process of what thinking methods were taught to
customers visualize the potential of happened. They not only changed citizens in order to pull them into
3M’s new and exciting raw materials the creation and delivery of meals to conversations and generate ideas
created for their products. We also the elderly, but also made changes about revitalizing the city. So we could
have stories from the social services with the workers in the kitchen. One just give story after story, all kinds of
sector. of the things we’re finding about ways in which large organizations,
design thinking is that it creates an entrepreneurial startups, civic
One of my personal favorites is the opportunity to invite people into the organizations, and social service
story of the Good Kitchen, which is process. So, we find that the benefit organizations all use design thinking to
a meals on wheels delivery service of increased satisfaction was just as come up with more creative, human-
to the elderly in Denmark. They used significant with the kitchen workers as centered solutions to meet the needs
design thinking not just to update it was with the elderly. faced in their different contexts.

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 Where could At Darden, we want to be leaders services workers can use design
in this area. We believe we deserve thinking. We’ve created a Coursera
someone dive to be. If you look at who we’ve course that I’ve just finished teaching
deeper into the traditionally been at Darden, we’ve in which 35,000 people worldwide
been about leadership with integrity, learned more about design thinking
inner workings of
we’ve been about considering based on the materials we’ve created
design thinking, to the social consequences as well here at Darden. We’re teaching it to
uncover how the as profitability, we’ve been about MBA students, we’re teaching it in
educating general managers with a Executive Education, and we’re very
conclusions and strategic perspective across the entire excited about bringing this new way
paths for firms and organization. All of those are critical of thinking that’s so compatible with
managers were elements that work beautifully with our philosophy and our values at
the design thinking perspective. And Darden already, yet presents a whole
developed? so we’ve devoted a lot of energy new tool kit that we hadn’t explored
to thinking about how we can be before for moving forward. So we’ve
thought leaders in this area. So we’ve created a basic toolkit that will help
researched organizations, and I talked managers walk through projects step
a little bit earlier about the recent by step, by applying the different
book that we published, talking about tools and processes, to end up with a
how managers, politicians, and social better solution.

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The Creative Promise
of Design Thinking By Jeanne M. Liedtka

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 You’re much more
imaginative than you think,
but your workplace —
which needs your very best
ideas — may be driving the
creativity right out of you.

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Big businesses can be the worst Embracing design thinking means understanding
offenders, demanding a level of
predictability and efficiency that is
that the customer is a real person with real problems,
good for today’s bottom line but bad rather than a sales target. Instead of traditional
for tomorrow’s. The pressure to grow market-research data, design thinkers dig for data
is relentless, but the battle is often
uninspired.
that are user-driven and offer a deep understanding
of a customer’s unarticulated needs. Design thinking
I teach a different way of thinking that helps reframe questions in a way that expands the
can spur inspiration and innovation
even in the most traditional of
boundaries of the search itself.
workplaces. It’s called design thinking,
and it’s simply a different approach special person can part the seas and — to journey mapping, which is
to problem solving. Design thinking create. Design thinking arms even assessing things through the eyes of a
nurtures creativity, which is not as the most traditional thinker with customer.
random as you think. ways to blossom creatively. Those
arms include tools varying from My book Solving Problems With
Design thinking dispels the “Moses visualization — the use of imagery Design Thinking: 10 Stories of
Myth” — the belief that only a to see possible future conditions What Works includes details on

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the use of these tools. The field understand that successful invention famously put it: “It’s really hard to
guide companion to the book — takes experimentation and that design products by focus groups. A lot
titled Designing for Growth: A Design empathy is hard-won. of times, people don’t know what they
Thinking Tool Kit for Managers — want until you show it to them.”
takes you step by step through the Embracing design thinking means
design thinking process. understanding that the customer is a Design thinking requires taking a hard
real person with real problems, rather look at the present and drilling down
Design thinking offers an alternate than a sales target. Instead of traditional to the essence of an issue to see what
path. That alternate path leads to market-research data, design thinkers really matters. Researchers at Procter
more creative solutions, often simple dig for data that are user-driven & Gamble were focused on improving
but game-changing ideas, such as and offer a deep understanding of a detergents used to clean floors. That
suitcases with wheels and easy-to- customer’s unarticulated needs. Design focus was limiting. Design thinking
pour, upside-down ketchup bottles. thinking helps reframe questions in a pointed them to a better answer — a
Most managers are taught a linear way that expands the boundaries of the better mop. So was born the best-
problem-solving methodology: search itself. selling Swiffer.
Define the problem, identify various
solutions, analyze each and choose Unearthing unarticulated needs One of the keys to conjuring
the best one. Designers aren’t nearly must be done before solutions are up a product like the Swiffer is
so impatient — or optimistic. They even contemplated. Or as Steve Jobs brainstorming, though not the

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traditional kind. I call it structured than 300, which they narrowed down Unlike traditional marketplace
brainstorming, which uses the data to 23. Of these, only five eventually thinking, design thinking expects to
collected during the discovery made it to marketplace testing. get it wrong. You experiment and
phase as input, then converts the figure out why it works or not. The
brainstorming output into something Design thinking works to make goal is to fail early to succeed sooner.
valuable — concepts of new marketplace testing practical by Actively look for data that proves
possibilities. The kind of structured engaging customers in the act of the product won’t work. It’s valuable
brainstorming approaches that building a new product. You need information for saving money and
designers use are far more productive to create as vivid an experience zeroing in on how to make products
than the free-form shout-out that as possible. You’re engaging the that do work.
we’ve all endured in the past. The customer to get at their needs. It’s not
ideas can be so plentiful that one firm I a dress rehearsal.
recently worked with generated more

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Six Management
Myths to Avoid
(and Six Alternate
Maxims to Consider) By Jeanne M. Liedtka

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 Sayings like and

it’s sometimes keep your boss

better to beg in the loop
forgiveness than
are classic management adages. Many
ask permission such sayings are great advice, but some
of the old tenets just don’t work anymore.

As a manager, you might believe in common management

myths because you think they will simplify your life.
Perhaps now is the time to reexamine those myths and
replace them with maxims grounded in reality.

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Myth 1:
Think big. Pressure will always exist to be sure an opportunity is big enough, but most
really big solutions began small and built momentum. When the Internet was
still new, how seriously would you have taken eBay or PayPal. In an earlier
era, FedEx seemed tailored for a niche market. To seize growth opportunities,
starting small and finding a deep, underlying human need with which to
connect is best.

Better maxim 1: Be willing to start

small — but with a focus on meeting
genuine human needs.

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Myth 2:
Be bold and In the past, business cultures were dominated by competition metaphors
(those related to sports and war being the most popular). During the 1980s

decisive. and 1990s, mergers and acquisitions lent themselves to conquest language.
Organic growth, by contrast, requires a lot of nurturing, intuition and a
tolerance for uncertainty.

Better maxim 2: Don’t put all your

eggs in one basket — always explore
multiple options.

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Myth 3:
Don’t ask a This one is borrowed from trial lawyers, and it entered the mainstream
because looking smart always seems career enhancing. Unfortunately, growth

question to
opportunities do not yield easily to leading questions and preconceived
solutions.

which you
don’t know
the answer.
Better maxim 3: Be willing to start in
the unknown and learn.

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Myth 4:
Measure This one works fine in an operations setting, but when the goal is creating an
as-yet-unseen future, there isn’t much to measure. And spending time trying

twice, to measure the unmeasurable offers temporary comfort but does little to
reduce risk.

cut once.

Better maxim 4: Place small bets fast.

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Myth 5:
Sell your When you are trying to create the future, knowing when you have it right is
difficult. We think being skeptical of your solution is fine — what you should be

solution. If certain of is that you’ve focused on a worthy problem. You’ll iterate your way
to a workable solution in due time.

you don’t
believe in it,
no one will.
Better maxim 5: Choose a worthwhile
customer problem, and consider it a
hypothesis to be.

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Myth 6:
If the idea Managers often look at unfunded ideas with disdain, confident that if the idea
were good, it would have attracted money on its own merits. The truth about

is good, the ideas is that we don’t know if they are good; only customers know that. Gmail
sounds absurd: free email in exchange for letting a software bot read your

money will
personal messages and serve ads tailored to your apparent interests. Who
would have put money behind that? The answer, of course, is Google.

follow.

Better maxim 6: Provide seed funding

to the right people and problems, and
the growth will follow.

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 The challenge for managers is to find a balance between the myths and the
realities of business. In this age of uncertainty, an unavoidable but healthy
tension exists between creating the new and preserving the best of the
present, between innovating new businesses and maintaining healthy existing
ones. As a manager, you need to learn how to manage that tension, not adopt
a wholly new set of techniques and abandon all the old. The future will require
multiple tools in the managerial toolkit — a design suite especially tailored to
starting and growing businesses that adds to our current set of analytically
oriented approaches to managing today’s businesses well.

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READY FOR THE NEXT STEP?
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Take our online project Take an in-depth, Sign up for more free
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manager can use to spur innovation @jeanneliedtka
new solutions … learn more
and drive organic growth — regardless
of creative ability … learn more 
Next Program Dates: 27 April –
28 June 2015
Next Program Dates: 21–24 April 2015

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