Summary: As the leader of one of the most successful design companies of all time, Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, has learned a few things about how to make “change by design”. In his book of the same name, Tim draws upon his experiences to teach us the fundamental principles required to travel from problem to solution. He emphasizes the fact that these principles can apply to not only physical products, but to any type of problem, from an order taking process to global poverty. This is not a ‘how to’ book with explicit details, but more of an explanation of the essential methods used by a ‘design thinker’, which can be anyone at any time - not just the creative types in their studios. Golden Egg Design Thinking “Design Thinking taps into capacities we all have but that are overlooked by more conventional problem-solving practices. It is not only human-centered; it is deeply human in and of itself.” Change By Design, page 4 The word ‘design’ and the connotation of ‘designers’ often conjures up images of creative people in a studio creating pencil sketched drawings of sleek, sci-fi looking products. Tim Brown wants to change that image by explaining how design is really inherent in all that we do; not only for physical products, but for processes, organizations, movements, policies, and global issues. If we understand design thinking simply as "the ability to understand the bigger system", we can use it to solve any problem we may face; from adult illiteracy to global warming, or how to get kids to clean their room. Innovation doesn’t just come from places with the smartest, most creative people, but from environments where everyday people have the freedom to experiment, take risks, and explore the full range of their faculties. It’s the diversity of individuals and their experiences that provide the breakthrough fodder for new solutions, but that fodder can only be surfaced in the right kind of environment. Through multiple stories and examples, Tim outlines the principles and processes that create the right kind of innovation nurturing environment. Specifically, he describes the continuum of innovation as a system of overlapping spaces called inspiration, ideation, and implementation, where projects may loop back through these spaces more than once throughout the process. The iterative, nonlinear nature of the approach can feel uncomfortable to some, but it embodies one of the favorite sayings at IDEO, “Fail early to succeed sooner.” GEM #1 Putting People First “The evolution of design to design thinking is the story of the evolution from the creation of products to the analysis of the relationship between people and products, and from there to the relationship between people and people.” Change By Design, page 42 We’ve heard the corporate mantras of ‘People First’ that attempt to claim that their people are their #1 asset. In Change By Design, the concept of ‘people first’ is that new solutions need be designed with human beings at the center of the story. It can sometimes be difficult to determine the needs of individuals because they are so skilled at adapting to inconvenient situations. So the challenge of the design thinker is to find out needs that people may not even know they have. Brown names 3 mutually reinforcing essential, human elements for any successful design project – insight, observation, and empathy. Insight involves learning from the actual experiences of others. When people aren’t able to articulate their needs, we can usually find them by watching their behavior for clues. Insight is a totally different type of "need assessment" than analyzing reams of hard data or statistics, but it can ultimately reveal more insight into any particular problem. Observation is about being keen in seeing the whole picture; including watching what people don’t do, or listening to what they don’t say. Tim says that “good design thinkers observe. Great design thinkers observe the ordinary.
