Design thinking isn’t a “magic bullet.”
But in the hands of an experienced practitioner, design thinking does have some pretty terrific benefits:
- It generates better stakeholder buy-in. Because design thinking is, by definition, human-centric, addressing organizational effectiveness challenges using these methods will involve key stakeholders from the beginning. Listening and involving these individuals drives greater buy-in and understanding.
- It’s more inclusive and incorporates diverse points of view. Design thinking processes are typically more inclusive. Encourages you to look outside your discipline.
- It helps manage risk. If you’ve taken the time to truly understand your audience and their needs, you’re more likely to find relevant, useful solutions. Design thinking’s iterative approach allows you to take small risks more quickly to avoid huge leaps of faith.
- It effectively addresses “ill-structured problems.” An “ill-structured problem” contains lots of unknowns, has multiple criteria for evaluating solutions, and requires someone to make several judgment calls in order to move forward. As you might imagine, modern organizations face a lot of ill-structured problems, particularly when it comes to organization design (how your organization works in terms of processes, people, structures, technology, culture, etc.) as well as strategic planning.
- It reinforces a cultural of continuous learning. Incorporating design thinking methods into your organization signals a willingness to try new things, work together in new ways, and learn from your experiences.