The rulebook of any successful organization would have the word “innovation” in it. And, today I will be focusing on innovation in the thought process of organizations. Whatever role you may be holding at your workplace, you will find that the core requirement from you as a part of a larger team is to come up with ‘innovative’ solutions in the least amount of time, using the resources at your disposal most efficiently. This holds true irrespective of whichever field of work you may belong to or whichever level of the organization you may be working at. Today, innovation has become everyone’s business. And, that’s where design thinking enters the picture.
What is design thinking?
In layman terms, design thinking involves coming up with creative, practical solutions for problems. In short, you are designing the way you create, innovate, manage and perform. This way of thinking can be applied to just about anything in the organization – right from internal functions like project management, administration and HR to even solution formulation and project delivery for clients.
You don’t need to be a designer to think like one. Let me give you an example: When we were designing Suyati’s newest office space, I was clear that I wanted it to be a welcoming, happy and calm space that would inspire every employee to give his/her best. I thought of it from their perspective. What would I want a space that I spend eight to ten hours of a day in to look and feel like? What kind of an ambience would make me want to think creatively? I realized that our office should be open and inviting, while also giving employees their personal space and privacy. We chose fresh, basic colors to keep the ambience peppy and upbeat, and went for large glass windows to let natural light in. We now have aisles where employees can hangout, bean bags for informal chit-chats, and even a 100% glass wall stand-up meeting area for meetings that should ideally wrap up in less than 15 minutes. We have tried to lend a transparent and fresh character to our work space, expanding on the very philosophies that Suyati is built on. And, knowingly or unknowingly, we applied design thinking to come up with this creative solution.
The main tenets of design thinking
- Empathy: If you look at the above example, you will see that empathy is the starting point of design thinking. You need to be able to visualize what the person you are designing for would want out of the project. Put yourself in their shoes and ask: What would my employees want? What would my managers want? What would my clients want? The answers to these questions will form the foundation of your idea. Design thinking is about building up solutions with a human-centric approach. It doesn’t focus on the problem, but on the solutions and draws from logic, imagination and reasoning to create an outcome that would exceed expectations.
- Relevancy: It doesn’t also focus on a single solution. As an organization providing software solutions to businesses, it is common to be faced with similar problems from different clients. But, at Suyati, we do not encourage falling into the trap of doing things the same way every time. No matter how obvious the solution may be at first sight, we put in the effort to come up with various possible solutions for the problem. We place utmost emphasis on teamwork and encourage our employees to look at a problem from different perspectives. This, I believe, results in a richer, more informed and well-rounded solution.
- Flexibility: Design thinking is also a promise of utility. It is about creating an end-product that not just covers the client’s requirements, but is designed in a way to adapt to any unpredictable requirements that may arise in the future. It is about always being one step ahead and creating for the future. And, in design thinking, it is okay to fail. In the process of continuously trying to make something better, I feel, failure is a small price that we pay to learn. Design thinking is, thus, the process of simplifying your thoughts and humanizing your solutions.
Why I strongly believe that design thinking is the way to go in the future is because I have seen the effect it has on our team at Suyati. It transforms people’s attitudes, their working styles and brings emotion into the equation. There is now more of heart than head that goes into creating something at Suyati. It has brought us closer as a team and has changed mindsets. As a team, we have learned to empathize with others, listen to their viewpoints, celebrate our achievements, move on from failures and learn from our mistakes.
