Design Thinking 101

Jos Harrison is the global head of brand experience and design at Reckitt. We talk about brand experience design and commercial design for good. Listen to learn about: >> Brand building>> Finding ways for companies to do good in a way that builds brand>> Learning design>> Omnichannel communication and its effect on brand building>> Design’s role in creating a better future  Our Guest Jos is obsessed with bringing brands closer to people — in all the ways (big and small) that improve lives, making people happier and healthier. Jos designs experiences for people, communities and societies — never for 'consumers' — and in doing so, he tries to fulfill my responsibility to our planet: protecting and nurturing it in any way I can.  Show Highlights [01:04] Jos talks about Reckitt, building toolkits and frameworks, and the clients they work with.[03:01] Jos’ early background as an industrial and product designer.[03:21] A stint in marketing and commercial interior design.[03:50] Moving into branding, working at Cadbury Schweppes, and experience marketing.[05:14] Starting at Reckitt and diving into OTC healthcare and hygiene branding.[05:40] Finding his place in innovation and brand building.[06:18] Jos talks about the more challenging moments of his career journey.[07:00] Blind spots and education gaps that arise when you’re a student.[10:02] Ways Jos is working to close those gaps in his own team and the teams he works with.[10:11] How humans learn best.[11:56] Design doesn’t lend itself well to formal training.[12:14] Designers learn most when directly involved in solving problems.[12:28] Jos’ team makeup.[14:31] Things Jos wishes designers understood better.[16:48] Mapping is a great way to pinpoint gaps in knowledge and experience.[17:34] Exploring the concept of purpose with Reckitt’s clients.[17:56] Clarifying purpose starts with going back to the beginning of the brand.[18:40] People now expect corporations to make positive effects on the world in some way.[20:59] Jos offers an example using the Lysol brand.[24:03] A fascinating look into the many micro-interactions that, over time, build a brand.[25:32] Easier to build a brand in the past.[26:06] Jos talks about how the industry is different now.[25:24] The omnichannel experience and how it’s made brand building more complex.[27:39] Creating customer cohorts.[28:26] The experience map tool.[29:35] Why it’s important to understand your customer’s attitudes and behavior.[31:08] Why storytelling is so important in design.[34:22] Designers create for someone else.[35:16] People are Jos’ greatest resource for learning.[36:54] Why Jos recommends organizations partner with creatives.[39:27] Jos’ final thoughts about our need for more empathy, and design’s role in fostering more empathy in society.  Links: Jos on LinkedIn Reckitt Five minutes with Jos Harrison Q&A with Jos Harrison of RB How to nail your brand's purpose Get them talking – why designing for advocacy is crucial for FMCG brands Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like: Humble Design Leadership + Design Agency and Experience Design Evolution with Aleksandra Melnikova — DT101 E33 Learning Design + Designing for How People Learn with Julie Dirksen — DT101 E42 Employee Experience by Design: How to Create an Effective EX for Competitive Advantage with Belinda Gannaway — DT101 E75

Marc Bolick is the managing partner of the DesignThinkers Group. We're talking about innovation and culture, the future of work and designing value. Listen to learn about: >> DesignThinkers Group>> Using design thinking in innovation strategy and projects>> The future of work>> Innovative leadership>> International Development>> Change management and “corporate antibodies” Our Guest Marc leads DesignThinkers Group, an innovation support firm with consultants across North America and associates in 20 countries. He uses his technical, business and design skills to help organizations ask the right questions and find innovative solutions through human-centered problem solving methodologies. Marc has led projects for a range of multinational brands, non-profits, foundations, NGOs and public sector agencies both in the USA and abroad. He holds an MBA and Master of Business Informatics from Rotterdam School of Management and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University. Marc is an inspiring speaker, a probing strategist, a curious observer of human behavior, and a highly experienced group facilitator. Show Highlights [00:59] Marc gives a brief introduction to DesignThinkers Group.[02:00] His early career in mechanical engineering and working for GE.[02:34] Seeing design first-hand in a GE research lab.[03:47] Representing CT service engineers gave him the chance to interact with customers.[05:08] Shifting into product management.[05:45] Becoming an “accidental consultant.”[06:38] Discovering design thinking.[07:50] Incorporating design thinking into his innovation work.[08:10] Jeanne Liedtka’s social technology concept.[11:32] Working with clients and showing what’s possible with design thinking.[11:58] Learning design thinking isn’t just about taking a class. You have to practice it.[12:38] Using design thinking to design the project.[13:07] Creating the guiding star for the project.[15:48] Working with company cultures.[17:41] One of Marc’s favorite questions.[19:10] The future of work.[19:48] Echoes of the Industrial Revolution.[20:49] Marc offers thoughts on what makes a strong innovative leader.[22:53] Exploring the opportunities, offered by design thinking and human-centered design, for improving how we work.[23:53] Why Marc doesn’t like the term “empathy building.”[24:30] Better connecting with customers leads to better serving them.[27:24] Pitfalls of personas.[28:27] Marc and Dawan talk about using Indi Young’s mental models instead of personas in design work.[32:01] Working as a designer and innovator means you’re always learning.[32:45] Books and resources Marc recommends.[34:41] Being with clients is Marc’s biggest learning space.[35:04] Marc talks about a co-creation workshop DesignThinkers Group did in Cambodia and using design thinking to solve wicked problems.[39:15] Some other projects DesignThinkers Group has worked on.[41:47] Innovation requires putting something of value out into the world.[43:55] Innovation is all about change, and change management.[44:19] A project DesignThinkers Group did with a large corporation that wanted to tackle the issue of gender representation in top leadership roles.[46:21] Corporations and the status quo fight back against change.[47:47] The responsibility designers have to work on better inclusivity and representation in design.  Links Marc on Twitter Marc on LinkedIn DesignThinkers Group DesignThinkers Group on Twitter DesignThinkers Group on LinkedIn Design Talk What is Design Thinking? Delivering Innovative Solutions Through Service Design Thinking With Marc Bolick How Design Thinking Can Take Service to Another Level, interview with MarcSeth Godin Dave Gray Wednesday Web Jam Book Recommendations The Connected Company, by Dave Gray and Thomas Vander Wahl Gamestorming, by Dave Gray and Sunni Brown This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See, by Seth Godin Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers, by Seth Godin This is Service Design Thinking: Basics, Tools, Cases, Marc Stickdorn, Jakob Schneider This Is Service Design Doing: Applying Service Design Thinking in the Real World, by Marc Stickdorn, Markus Hormess, Adam Lawrence, and Jakob Schneider Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building Breakthroughs, by Larry Keeley, Helen Walters, Ryan Pikkel, and Brian Quinn Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Designing for the Greater Good, Strategy + Design Thinking, and Measuring Design Thinking with Jeanne Liedtka — DT101 E1 Problem Spaces, Understanding How People Think, and Practical Empathy with Indi Young — DT101 E6 Experiencing Design: The Innovator’s Journey with Karen Hold — DT101 E71 Looking for a design job? Maybe you’d like mine!

Thank you for listening to this Ask Like a Designer episode of the Design Thinking 101 Podcast.  This episode continues where episode 89 on crafting transformation stories left off, and focuses on telling your solution’s transformation story.  This episode is based on this article: ALD011 // Protect Your Solutions with Transformation Stories: Part 2 — Telling Well. Read the article and others like it on Fluid Hive’s Ask Like a Designer. In these short Ask Like a Designer episodes on the Design Thinking 101 podcast, you’ll find new ways to explore the show’s stories and ideas about design-driven innovation. I’ll share methods, templates, and ideas that have worked in my practice in teaching. What did you think of this episode? Please send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ Dawan Design Thinking 101 Podcast Host President, Fluid Hive Show Highlights [00:54] What is a transformation story?[01:15] The magic bridge.[01:44] Defining a good transformation story.[02:19] Fluid Hive’s Story Shield checklist.[02:28] Story.[03:14] Translating.[03:49] Shape-shifting.[04:21] The 360 perspective.[04:40] Be Bold.[05:10] Be Natural.[05:36] Always Ask.[06:05] Avoid the Spandex.[06:50] Fluid Hive’s free thinking tool will help you tell your solution’s transformation story. The Design Thinking 101 Podcast’s Ask Like a Designer series  Ask Like a Designer — DT101 E61 Design, and One Question to Rule Them All // ALD 002 — DT101 E63 There Are No Problems Worth Solving — Only Questions Worth Asking // ALD 003 — DT101 E65 Your Good-Life OS: Designing a System for Living Well and Peak Performance // ALD 004 — DT101 E67 The Swiss-Army Lives of How-Might-We Questions // ALD 005 — DT 101 E69 Designing Facilitation: A System for Creating and Leading Exceptional Events // ALD 006 — DT101 E73 The Innovation Saboteur’s Handbook // ALD 007 – DT101 E77 Three Little Words for Better (Business) Relationships // ALD 008 — DT101 E79 The 30-Minute Solution Matrix: How to Think and Solve Under Pressure // ALD 009 — DT101 E87 Protect Your Solutions with Transformation Stories: Part 1 — Crafting Well // ALD 010 — DT101 E89

Raja Schaar is an industrial designer, afrofuturist and doomsday optimist. She is the Director at Drexel University's product design program and co-chair of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council. Listen to learn about: >> Raja’s career in design>> Climate change and design>> How Raja uses science fiction and futurism in her teaching and work>> Black Girls STEAMing Through Dance>> Social Impact Design>> The power of design>> Media resources for designers wanting to explore future-thinking Our Guest Raja Schaar, IDSA (she/her) is Director and Associate Professor of the Product Design Program at Drexel University’s Westphal Collage of Media Arts and Design. She co-chairs IDSA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council is the past Education Director for the organization. Raja studies the ethical implications of design and technology through the lenses of speculative design and climate change. Her current projects address biases maternal health through wearable technology and participatory design; community-based co-design for engaging black girls and underrepresented minorities in STEM/STEAM; and generating frameworks and tools to embed Afrofuturism, biomimicry, sustainability, and climate justice into Design praxis.  Show Highlights [02:09] Raja takes us on a fun trip through her childhood “what do you want to be when you grow up?” dreams.[05:47] STEM and creativity.[06:24] How Raja ended up going into industrial design in college.[09:03] The interdisciplinary design class that changed everything.[11:37] Diving into materials life cycles and sustainability in her junior year.[13:31] Why Raja got angry at her major and wanting to change the way we do design.[16:37] Volunteering at a science museum and discovering a love of exhibition design.[17:22] Replacing the museum’s carpet tile introduced Raja to Interface, Inc. and their sustainable modular carpet system.[19:28] Product design can be ethical and sustainable and conscientious of its environmental impact.[20:38] Creating a conceptual project for the Children’s Museum of Atlanta.[21:13] Graduate school and studying critical pedagogies and looking at new ways of teaching rooted in social change.[21:59] How Raja got into teaching.[23:52] Raja talks about some of the design challenges she’s passionate about right now.[24:03] Climate change.[24:34] Economic accessibility and inclusion.[24:50] Usability.[25:27] Social impact design.[26:00] Who has access to the power of design?[28:00] Raja’s mission to open the doors of design to young black girls.[28:40] What Raja loves about design.[30:06] The true power of design.[31:14] Founding Black Girls STEAMing Through Dance at Drexel.[32:37] Looking at the effects of climate change on communities of color worldwide.[35:01] Science fiction and speculative design in Raja’s work.[35:18] Everybody’s a futurist.[36:14] Raja’s love of science fiction came from her parents.[37:08] Reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in an engineering ethics class.[40:25] There’s a lot to learn from science fiction’s futurist thinking.[41:41] Using ideas from science fiction in her work on climate change.[44:54] Raja calls herself a “doomsday optimist.”[49:35] Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower.[53:25] Looking at the world through the eyes of black women.[58:14] The connection between science fiction and speculative design.[58:41] Designing the future.[1:01:10] Speculative design allows us to ask deep questions.[1:01:46] The Keurig K-Cup example.[1:04:35] Speculating and futuring has to be part of how we teach and learn.[1:05:07] The importance of reflecting on our own design decisions and their potential future consequences.[1:06:36] Books and resources Raja recommends for those wanting to explore...[1:07:07] Climate change.[1:15:25] The role of technology in society.[1:16:19] Netflix’s documentary, Coded Bias.[1:30:29] Doomsday and the idea of the point of no return.[1:33:23] The Avengers’ Thanos as a hyper-violet environmentalist.[1:38:40] Thinking about where we’re at now, and what future we want? Links Raja on LinkedIn Raja on Instagram Raja on Drexel University Raja on IDSA Drink in Design: Raja Schaar & Ann Gerondelis on Bio-Inspired Design Tulane Taylor Center: March Design Thinking Breakfast with Raja Schaar, IDSA Coded Bias on Netflix Book Recommendations The Green Imperative: Ecology and Ethics in Design and Architecture, by Victor Papanek Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change, by Victor Papanek Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, by Safiya Umoja Noble Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, by Cathy O’Neil Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need, by Sasha Costanza-Chock How Long 'til Black Future Month?: Stories, by N. K. Jemison The Giver, by Lois Lowry Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams The Lorax (Classic Seuss), by Dr. Seuss Movie/TV Recommendations For designers wanting to think about climate change: Avatar, Fern Gully, Waterworld, Elysium, Snowpiercer, The Expanse For designers wanting to think about the role of technology in society: Minority Report, Omniscient, Interstellar Futurist: Matrix, Terminator, Wall-E Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Speculative Design + Designing for Justice + Design Research with Alix Gerber — DT101 E27 A Designer's Journey into Designing for Health and Healthcare with Lorna Ross — DT101 E45 Working and Leading at the Intersection of Engineering, Business and Design with Kevin Bethune — DT101 E76

Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy are the founders of How Might We, a service design studio in Ireland. We talk about Lego Serious Play, creating together, and designing for being. Listen to learn about: The importance of giving adults permission to be playfulThe LEGO Serious Play methodHow LEGO Serious Play can unlock creativity and innovationThe changing view of the workplace and how teams work post-COVID-19Design for Being philosophy Our Guests Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy are co-founders of How Might We, an Irish Service Design studio that facilitates meaningful conversations to improve employee and customer experiences. At the very core of their studio’s capability is the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY method. They LEGO Serious Play to make service design and systems thinking more accessible to organisations. Ronan and Jane believe the LEGO Serious Play method has untapped potential in the corporate world and they see great potential for its usage. Show Highlights [01:24] Ronan and Jane talk about their very different career paths into service design.[05:32] Moving home to Ireland after living in Australia and founding their studio.[07:04] The How Might We studio and its services.[09:44] An introduction to the LEGO Serious Play method.[10:37] The role listening plays in How Might We’s workshops.[10:58] The need for bravery and vulnerability in managers wanting to use Lego Serious Play.[11:44] The importance of play.[14:01] LEGO Serious Play encourages marginalized team members to speak up and share ideas.[15:07] The three-step process Jane and Ronan start their workshops with.[17:45] How LEGO Serious Play taps into our innate curiosity.[18:21] Play as a prehistoric survival mechanism.[19:33] The way in which Legos draw people into the experience.[20:18] Jane offers thoughts on ways organizations can use LEGO Serious Play.[20:44] COVID-19 is changing the way teams work and our ideas about the workplace.[23:33] Using LEGO Serious Play with systems thinking and design.[27:02] Embodied cognition.[30:16] LEGO Serious play creates a social environment.[31:31] Play vs playfulness.[32:37] LEGO Serious Play as an extension of the mind.[33:21] Ronan talks about the coherent communication that happens in a LEGO Serious Play session.[34:27] Prototyping ideas using LEGO Serious Play.[37:13] Having a physical object to play with can help teams better grasp the system they are working with, and subsequently ask better questions about the problem they are trying to solve.[39:57] LEGO Serious Play democratizes the design process and levels organizational hierarchies.[41:30} Jane and Ronan talk about how they work with clients.[47:31] Designing for being.[55:29] Complex Responsive Processes Thinking.[56:12] LEGO Serious Play is open source.[57:00] Be Brave and Play. Links Dr. Jane Hession on LinkedIn Ronan Healy on LinkedIn Ronan Healy on Twitter How Might We websiteHow Might We on Twitter How Might We on Instagram How Might We on LinkedIn Listen Notes: Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy, The Power of Play Lego Serious Play applications to enhance creativity in participatory design Threshhold Concepts, LEGO Serious Play and whole systems thinking: towards a combined methodology An Introduction to Complex Responsive Process: Theory and Implications for Organizational Change Initiatives Ralph Stacey on complex responsive processes of relating at the Complexity and Management Conference Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Collaboration + Facilitation + Workshops with Austin Govella — DT101 E83 A Designer's Journey into Designing for Health and Healthcare with Lorna Ross — DT101 E45 Mapping and Service Design + Implementation + Accessibility with Linn Vizard — DT101 E17

Thank you for listening to this Ask Like a Designer episode of the Design Thinking 101 Podcast. This episode shows you everything you need to create your solution’s transformation story (and why it’s so important to do so). This episode is based on this article: ALD010 // Protect Your Solutions with Transformation Stories: Part 1 — Crafting Well. Read the article and others like it on Fluid Hive’s Ask Like a Designer. In these short Ask Like a Designer episodes on the Design Thinking 101 podcast, you’ll find new ways to explore the show’s stories and ideas about design-driven innovation. I’ll share methods, templates, and ideas that have worked in my practice in teaching. What did you think of this episode? Please send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ Dawan Design Thinking 101 Podcast Host President, Fluid Hive  Show Highlights [00:56] Why we need stories.[01:27] What is a transformation story?[01:33] The magic bridge.[02:14] Storytelling neglect.[02:43] We tell stories all through the design process.[03:51] The transformation story creation pattern.[04:07] The people.[04:45] The problem.[05:19] Influence.[05:27] Using the COM-B behavior change model.[06:47] Bridges, the heart of the transformation story.[07:38] Evidence.[08:09] Solution outcomes.[08:45] Destination: a better world.[09:27] Fluid Hive’s Transformation Story Questions.[11:08]  This Ask Like a Designer Thinking Tool download will help you use the transformation story questions. Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Ask Like a Designer — DT101 E61 Design, and One Question to Rule Them All // ALD 002 — DT101 E63 There Are No Problems Worth Solving — Only Questions Worth Asking // ALD 003 — DT101 E65 Your Good-Life OS: Designing a System for Living Well and Peak Performance // ALD 004 — DT101 E67 The Swiss-Army Lives of How-Might-We Questions // ALD 005 — DT 101 E69 Designing Facilitation: A System for Creating and Leading Exceptional Events // ALD 006 — DT101 E73 The Innovation Saboteur’s Handbook // ALD 007 – DT101 E77 Three Little Words for Better (Business) Relationships // ALD 008 — DT101 E79 The 30-Minute Solution Matrix: How to Think and Solve Under Pressure // ALD 009 — DT101 E87

Michele Ronsen is the founder of Curiosity Tank, a leading user research consultancy and educational institution, helping individuals and organizations learn how to ask better questions, conduct research, and make better decisions around the world. Listen to learn about: >> The benefits of user research to designers>> User research skills>> Quantitative vs qualitative research>> Curiosity Tank’s six-workshop series, Ask Like a Pro>> Where user research is headed Our Guest Michele Ronsen is an executive with 20 years of experience in Fortune 500s, academia, and start-ups. A professionally trained graphic designer, Michele worked at top design firms before moving to Nordstrom where she built two creative teams from the ground up. From there, she built a career helping numerous entities strategically design and grow their businesses. In 2010, Michele founded Ronsen Consulting, a design and strategy firm specialized in human-centered research and development. In 2020, she founded Curiosity Tank to further expand the team's research consulting and education efforts. Recent clients include Slack, Zillow, Blue Shield of California, Xero, Facebook, Gusto, Invisalign, Microsoft and Kaiser Permanente. Michele has inspired hundreds of students and professionals at UC Berkeley, the California College of the Arts, the Academy of Art University, and General Assembly teaching design, research and strategy classes and workshops. Show Highlights [00:33] Drawing the gear inside the McDonald’s sign and how Michele’s father taught her and her brother to ask how and why instead of what and when.[02:14] Michele’s first career in graphic design and as a creative and design director.[02:56] How conducting ethnographies helped Michele fall in love with user research.[04:47] Michele talks about the user research skillset.[07:02] Michele reminisces on her design process before she knew more about user research.[09:18] Advice for organizations that want to do more qualitative research.[10:37] The value of qualitative research.[12:09] The Moccasins Project at the California College of the Arts.[14:20] How Michele starts the process of working with clients.[16:05] Curiosity Tank’s Ask Like a Pro workshop series helps people level-up their user research skills.[20:18] Ensuring user research makes it into the product or service starts in the planning phase.[22:05] Getting stakeholder buy-in right from the beginning.[23:24] The problem space and the opportunity space.[26:19] User research trends and the future of user research.[26:49] The surprising way the pandemic changed the trajectory of user research.[29:48] Thoughts and advice for those wanting to learn more about user research.[29:58] Open versus closed questions.[31:48] Having a curious mindset is key to becoming a great researcher. Links Michele on LinkedIn Michele on General Assembly Ronsen Consulting LLC Curiosity Tank Wild Business Growth Podcast: Curiosity Tank, How to Ask Better Questions Happy Market Research podcast: How the key to Asking Better Questions is Tied to Developing Better Listening Skills and What you can do About it Breaking into User Research How to start a UX research project Breaking into UX Research  Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Problem Spaces, Understanding How People Think, and Practical Empathy with Indi Young — DT101 E6 Understanding Customers: Research, Insights, and Storytelling with Steve Portigal — DT101 E48 Trauma-Informed Design + Participatory Design Perils + Research with Vulnerable Populations with Sarah Fathallah — DT101 E72

Thank you for listening to this Ask Like a Designer episode of the Design Thinking 101 Podcast. This episode is about what to do when you need to solve like a designer FAST. This episode is based on this article: ALD009 // The 30-Minute Solution Matrix: How to Think and Solve Under Pressure. Read the article and others like it on Fluid Hive’s Ask Like a Designer. In these short Ask Like a Designer episodes on the Design Thinking 101 podcast, you’ll find new ways to explore the show’s stories and ideas about design-driven innovation. I’ll share methods, templates, and ideas that have worked in my practice in teaching. What did you think of this episode? Please send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ Dawan Design Thinking 101 Podcast Host President, Fluid Hive Show Highlights [00:56] Thinking and solving like a designer when in crisis mode.[01:06] Fluid Hive’s 30-Minute Solution Matrix: nine questions that can help you solve quickly.[02:19] How to use the 30-Minute Solution Matrix.[02:41] Learning gaps.[02:58] Be ready to adjust and change your answers as you learn more.[03:11] What problem are you trying to solve?[03:51] Who is the solution for?[04:26] Who is making the solution?[04:48] What systems are involved?[05:27] What evidence do you have?[05:56] What do you need to learn?[06:44] What solution might you try right now?[07:53] How might you build this solution?[08:35] How will you know it worked?[08:55] “Cheating” design.[09:49] Fluid Hive’s 30-Minute Solution Matrix is a free Ask Like a Designer Thinking Tooll you can download. Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Ask Like a Designer — DT101 E61 Design, and One Question to Rule Them All // ALD 002 — DT101 E63 There Are No Problems Worth Solving — Only Questions Worth Asking // ALD 003 — DT101 E65 Your Good-Life OS: Designing a System for Living Well and Peak Performance // ALD 004 — DT101 E67 The Swiss-Army Lives of How-Might-We Questions // ALD 005 — DT 101 E69 Designing Facilitation: A System for Creating and Leading Exceptional Events // ALD 006 — DT101 E73 The Innovation Saboteur’s Handbook // ALD 007 – DT101 E77 Three Little Words for Better (Business) Relationships // ALD 008 — DT101 E79

Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg is the author of What’s Your Problem and coauthor of Innovation as Usual. We talk about problem reframing, developing innovation skills, and the power of thinking deeply about problems. Listen to learn about: >> Framing and reframing problems>> Helping teams and companies to change their approach to problem-solving>> Thomas’ books>> Advice for companies and individuals wanting to learn problem reframing>> A shortcoming in design thinking tools>> The future of innovation and problem framing>> Some hints about Thomas’ new book-in-progress Our Guest Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg is the author of "What's Your Problem," published by Harvard Business Review Press. He works with companies all over the world to help them solve the right problems. HIs first book was "Innovation as Usual," coauthored with Paddy Miller, focusing on how to drive innovation as part of an everyday job. He was born in Denmark and is now based in New York. Show Highlights [01:19] How a failure led Thomas into a collaboration with a professor from his business school.[01:50] Observing what happened to business innovation advice taught in school and how it played out in the real world.[02:39] Co-authoring “Innovation as Usual” with Paddy Miller.[03:54] Thomas talks about what led him to write “What’s Your Problem.”[07:00] Mistakes people make when framing, and re-framing, problems.[08:15] The slow elevator problem.[11:11] The importance of the people’s perspective when looking at the problem space.[13:28] The mental shift of having the answer to finding the answer.[15:05] Thomas’ advice to companies wanting to do better when it comes to finding and framing problems.[16:13] Two critical things a team needs when starting to incorporate reframing in their work.[19:09] Thomas asks Dawan to talk about his use and emphasis of the question, “What problem are you trying to solve?”[20:56] Problems that arise when a company starts solving the wrong problem.[22:09] Solving the right problem and reframing also works for internal problems.[24:54] Problems change over time.[27:23] A problem by any other name is still a problem.[29:27] Thomas shares a story about PayPal.[31:49] Thomas talks about the future of problem-solving and innovation.[34:28] One thing Thomas discovered while developing his workshop.[35:09] The question storming method.[36:31] Thomas points out a shortcoming of current design thinking tools.[38:27] Advice for those wanting to develop their problem framing and questioning skills.[39:33] Books and resources Thomas recommends and that have influenced his work.[42:15] Thomas gives some hints about the book he’s working on now.[42:28] Thomas asks Dawan to recommend resources that he really likes and that influenced him.[44:14] The success of “What’s Your Problem.”[46:03] Where to find out more about Thomas and his work.[47:01] Why Thomas says he’s like a truffle-sniffing pig, and how it’s similar to problem reframing.[47:49] “Thought leadership” is the topic of the book Thomas is writing now. Links Thomas on Twitter Thomas on LinkedIn Thomas’ website How to Reframe Reframing: How to Solve the Right Problems What’s Your Problem? Big Idea Webinar The Secret to Better Problem Solving, HBR IdeaCast Are You Solving the Right Problems? Reframing Problems To Solve Tough Issues Jeanne Liedtka  Book Recommendation: Innovation as Usual: How to Help Your People Bring Great Ideas to Life, by Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg What's Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve, by Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days, by Jessica Livingston How We Think, by John Dewey Creating Great Choices: A Leader's Guide to Integrative Thinking, by Jennifer Riel and Roger Martin Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like  Designing for the Greater Good, Strategy + Design Thinking, and Measuring Design Thinking with Jeanne Liedtka — DT101 E1 From Branding to Design + Teaching Design Teams + Leading Summer of Design with Karen Hold — DT101E13 Design Thinking at Work + Three Tensions Designers Navigate with David Dunne — DT101 E23

Josina Vink is a designer and researcher based out of Oslo. They're often working in the spaces of health and care, and focusing on shaping social structures. We talk about systemic service design, design labs in healthcare, and the potential of critical approaches to design practice. Listen to learn about: >> Service design in the health and care industries>> Changing the focus of service design>> The ideas of coexistence and plurality in design>> The state of design labs in the healthcare industry Our Guest Josina Vink is a designer, researcher and facilitator based out of Oslo, Norway. They are an Associate Professor in Service Design at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. They teach and research critical, systemic approaches to service design, with a particular focus on shaping the social structures of health and care. Josina has over 10 years of experience working as a service and systems designer in healthcare internationally, including in Canada, the United States and Sweden. Show Highlights [02:00] How the movie Patch Adams and wanting to become a doctor led Josina into design.[03:28] Practicing design at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota and later in Toronto.[04:01] Josina talks about their frustrations while working on healthcare systems change.[04:40] Getting their PhD in Sweden and working with Experio Lab.[04:57] Moving on to teach service design at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.[05:05] Josina’s current healthcare work in Norway.[05:47] The state of service design, and the movement towards a more systemic approach and practice.[06:32] Giga mapping / mega mapping big systems.[06:56] There needs to be a fundamental rethinking of how service design works.[08:44] Josina talks about their work in Norway to decentralize and digitize health care to increase accessibility.[11:17] Looking at the possible negative implications of this work.[12:58] Repositioning service design away from its focus on new innovation.[14:06] Advice for service designers who want to bring a wider view to their own work.[14:19] The challenges of ontological occupation.[14:39] The potential pitfalls when we create grand system maps.[16:57] Compossibility and plurality in service design.[18:43] Josina offers some tips for mapping and understanding systems.]20:12] How approaching design from a coexistence standpoint could transform the design industry.[24:53] Josina talks about some great work happening in Toronto in the health and care fields.[29:15] The state of design labs in the healthcare industry.[29:43] Josina gives an example of one design lab in Sweden that is having great success.[35:26] Designers whose work inspires Josina and who are at the forefront of transforming service design.[37:27] Books Josina recommends.[38:36] Where to learn more about Josina and their work. Links Josina on Twitter Josina on LinkedIn Josina on ResearchGate Josina on Centre for Design Research Josina’s articles available on Google Scholar SDGC 19: In/Visible - Shaping Hidden Social Structures Through Service Design Service Design Show: Designing with the invisible glue that holds us together Experio Lab Kelly Ann McKercher Ahmed Ansari Yoko Akama Design Justice Network Book Recommendation: A World of Many Worlds, edited by Marisol de la Cadena and Mario Blaser Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need, by Sasha Costanza-Chock Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Learning Service Design + Leading Service Transformation with Clive Grinyer — DT101 E66 A Designer's Journey into Designing for Health and Healthcare with Lorna Ross — DT101 E45 Design Thinking + Learning Science with Adam Royalty — DT101 E18