What is the specific
pain that Design Thinking removes, or what is the specific gain that Design
Thinking creates? What is the Solution on offer?
Design Thinking is THE
methodology for Innovation to happen in any setting – personal lives, business,
community. Design Thinking and Innovation also often solve problems that we
never even knew were present i.e. Wicked Problems.
Case study 1
For New York City in 1980, the
sky rocketing crime rate was a wicked problem. Who would have seen this
peculiar connection, which emphasises the fact that in wicked problems, we do
not even know a problem exists until a wickeder solution falls into our
lap. Police and subway officials started arresting fare evaders, and
suddenly the crime rate for New York City started falling. Only then did
officials realise that the same people who were evading the fare in the subways
were also the same people who were committing the violent crimes. It seemed at
first that it was sheer pettiness to arrest fare evaders but when they were
arrested for these petty violations, it decreased the violent crimes. The crime
rate in New York has been in decrease ever since.
The seemingly petty, accidental
action of arresting fare evaders provided a solution to crime. A wicked
solution for a wicked problem
Case study 2
In an international cosmetics
company which name must remain anonymous, there was a need to design a
moisturiser in a dispenser specifically targeted for senior citizens. Using
Design Thinking to innovate the new product, employees were shown how to use
baby oil to cloud their eyes to mimic senior citizens poor eyesight, fingers,
toes and knees were taped or splinted to hinder movement and to mimic arthritic
like conditions, direction for use were made incredibly small so it could not
be read by designers, and then the designers lived alone in single apartments
with little or no contact with anyone – and all this time each person designed
the moisturiser and the dispenser style and shape. Needless to say, the
moisturiser is the world’s top selling brand for senior citizens at present.
Would you like your employees to
undergo the same process to create a new product for your company? How
confident are you that your solution was created with the user, not for the
user?
Why bother to come up with
innovations that you are confident will work, when you can come up with
innovations that you know will be welcomed and trusted by users?
Case study 3
Cone Communications' Millennial
Cause Study identified these commonalities among expectations of users for
businesses:
- 89% of Millennials said they are likely or very likely to switch to a brand and job associated with a good cause (price, quality and salary being equal).
- 83% said they trust a company more if it is socially responsible.
- 78% said that companies have a responsibility to train and join them in this effort.
- 74% said they would pay attention to a company's overall messages when that company shows a deep commitment to a cause.
- 61% said they feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world.
These statistics suggest that the
moment has arrived for businesses to design the world first, and then use that
to persuade users to use their brand. Millennials are not only your users, but
also your employees.
That is truly a wicked solution,
if there was ever was one, for an unrealised wicked problem of most
importantly, gaining employee loyalty
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Did you know you already have a
wicked problem in retaining employees who will continue to job hop until they
find wealth; but will stay happily in one place when they also find job
satisfaction, fame and social impact through social innovation using Design
Thinking? That is not even counting the feelings of accountability, shared ownership
and just knowing your thoughts matter to the company.
If you are the boss of a
business, and you don’t have any pains, and your company is in their comfort
zone where normal expectations are that there is high employee turnover, the
expected and have-to be-put-up-with employee illnesses, lateness and absences,
job working according to Job Descriptions and KPIs, then you have no innovation
taking place – and you have a wicked problem that you might not know even
exists and you probably do not even think you need a solution or a pain removal
injection.
Ask this simple question of your
employees; conduct a quick, anonymous survey about, “What will make you become
a better partner, not employee, of this company” and you will find wicked
solutions by the dozens.
Start Designing, Boss!
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