Essay: Change By Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations - Review And Discussion.

Report Report includes 3 parts: (1) a review of the book, (2) a discussion about how it builds on the content of the OLP program and contributes to the field, and (3) a discussion on how you will apply what you learned from the book to real-world practice.

Review of the book

The report focuses on a review of a book by Tim Brown entitled Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation. The report is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on the review of the book. The second section focuses on a discussion about how it builds on the content of the Organizational Change and Leadership program and contributes to the field, and the third section discusses how I will apply what I learned from the book to real-world practice.

Within the context of Tim Brown’s fascinating book supported the idea of employing design thinking in all the tiers of life and in running the business (Brown, 2009). According to the author, incorporation of design thinking approaches establishes a paradigm shift on how people create products to the manner at which they analyze the correlation existing between same people and the products. He suggests that design thinking is an attitude that gives impetus to interdisciplinary measures targeted at handling and solving challenges with a drive to establish lasting solutions (Brown, 2009). The perspective gets done by conducting an evaluation of processes and products from the outlook of a humanistic lens.

The approach ignites creativity and innovative ventures which aid in minimizing financial, operational, and social issues within organizations (Martin, 2009). In supporting the objective, Tim makes an inference to various testimonies ranging from true innovations to his service delivery at IDEO. For instance, he makes reference to Victorian Engineer, Brunel who was an innovator and how the subsequent innovators were design thinkers who shared optimism, storytelling sessions, collaboration, experiments and showed apt in doing things practically (Brown, 2009).  The aim is to compel readers to adopt design thinking in all undertakings since it is an exploratory process. He says that innovation through design thinking must focus on human experience rather than function with emphasis on building a working environment by making a continuum of creativity a routine since the non-linear process involves inspiration, the coining of ideas, and implementation (Brown, 2009). The conclusion is cemented with a reflection regarding today’s power of design thinking which explores new prospects, institutes new choices, and presents new solutions to the world.

Tim Brown has a perspective of making his skills easier for every learner and every reader. He attempted to simplify many concepts and demonstrate how ordinary things can be turned into innovative projects. That is why the book has several case studies designed to emphasize different concepts covered. The only weakness about the book is that it covers so many concepts that are likely to confuse the reader. The book is designed for every person. It is relevant to almost every person because it gives key insights about innovation. However, the key targets could be scholars and entrepreneurs.

Tim Brown’s line of thought, therefore, is practical in building the concepts of Organizational Change and Leadership Program in various ways. He offers many intriguing case studies to support the necessity and the worth of innovation in an environment where team building and creativity are the pillars. Designing an all-encompassing organizational program that has its basis in design thinking borrows qualities from the book. The purpose of this is because the contents cover a broader spectrum with regards to reforming the redundant administrative structures and cultures while anticipating positive results. The author highlights a lot of ideas that the organizational management should emphasize while trying to handle unique and fundamental human needs. Other than concentrating on artificially manipulated desires which are inclined towards driving design thinking far from the status quo, organizations should enhance collaboration. The leadership program should be involving whereby CEOs from the corporate world appeal to all individuals across all the structures to get together on a typical course. For instance, the marketing, accounting, and various human resources should work as a team to solve issues (Tschimmel, 2012). The book recommends that the project personnel should always diverge to come up with varied choices, then later converge to decide which one to pursue.

A discussion about how it builds on the content of the Organizational Change and Leadership program and contributes to the field

The book encourages people to ask why and not what. The book reveals that for the design thinker, the question “why?” Is an opportunity to re-formulate the problem, define the limitations, try to find a more innovative answer? Instead of accepting the given restrictions, one should ask oneself: is this a problem to be solved? Do we really need faster cars? Or do we want to improve the efficiency of the transport network? Do we need a TV with additional features or better-quality entertainment content? A more beautiful hotel lobby or a good night’s sleep? The desire to ask the question “why?” Will annoy your colleagues in the short term, but in the long run, it will increase your chances of spending energy on solving the right problems (Brown, 2009). There is nothing worse than finding the right answer to the wrong question (Sibbet, 2013). This is further true for the project assignment or the development of a new strategy for the company, as well as for ensuring a meaningful balance between work and life.

The book also challenges people to think in a broader spectrum. For example, Thomas Edison, who is one of the greatest investors did not close on any narrow scientific specialty; he was the inventor of a broad profile - and had better business skills. In his laboratory, he collected the "quick-witted Newtons." He broke the stereotype of the ingenious lone inventor, inventing a collective way to create innovation. Although Edison's biographers love to write about how his company worked merrily and smoothly, she reeled in endless circles of trial and error, highlighting the very “99% sweat” (the famous Edison definition of genius: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% sweat "). He did not rely on testing ready-made hypotheses, where it was more important for him to help his staff extract nuggets of new knowledge from each experiment. Innovation is hard work (Liedtka, Bennett, & King, 2013); Edison made inventing a profession that incorporated art, craftsmanship, business experience, and understanding of the market and consumers. Design thinking is a direct follower of this tradition.

Another key concept expressed in the book is that design thinking has changed and that people should not use the mentality that was used several decades ago. Historically, an insignificant role was assigned to design in the development process: all the innovative work was done, and designers started to do business — they come up with a beautiful “packaging” for the idea (Daft, 2015). This principle, by the way, contributed to the growth of the market in many industries: new products and technologies were aesthetically pleasing to customers, and advertising, more elegant and catchier, supported by a competent strategy for working with the media, attracted more attention to the brand. In the second half of the twentieth century, design gradually acquired the value of a valuable competitive asset, especially in consumer electronics, automotive, packaged goods. However, for most industries, the design was still something of secondary importance - it was at the very end that the line reached it (In Brenner & In Uebernickel, 2016). However, now companies turn to designers not so much for beautiful packaging for ready-made ideas, now they need the ideas themselves, more responsive to the needs and needs of people. The former role of design was tactical because the design itself had no independent meaning; A new role is strategic, it allows you to create something fundamentally new (Liedtka & Ogilvie, 2011). Moreover, now in the economy of developed countries, there is a shift from industrial production to intellectual work; therefore, new open spaces for innovation are opening up. At present it is aimed not only at specific products, but also at new processes, services, and the sphere of entertainment. And it is in these areas that design thinking can play a crucial role. 

Application of what is learned from the book to real-world practice

The cornerstones of these perspectives include the building of models, storyboarding, rapid prototypes, and acting out skits which express the exchange of opinions. Another concept worth borrowing is the idea to augment a social environment fit for innovation whereby individual ideas are accommodated. The environs should also be spatial with opportunities for people to conduct experiments, take risks, and discover the full range of their departments. Brown’s thesis on collaboration reinforces these statements with examples that organizations should integrate into their leadership programs to realize growth and success (Roberts, 2007). The case of nurses collaborating at Kaiser Permanente to improve patient care is a wakeup call for organizational leaders to encourage teamwork. The team, just like the Mattel Coworkers, who created design products for kids, valued innovation (Brown, 2009). Thus, the primary idea that ought to be bolstered by organizations is the foundation of inventions if they have to stand out in the global spectrum with long-term and large-scale impact.

How I will apply what I learned from the book to real-world practice.

From the book, I have learned many concepts which I can apply in real life. I have learned that designers do not look for extraordinary things. Good design thinkers are watching the ordinary. The book challenges the readers to stop at least once a day and think about the most ordinary situation (Brown, 2009). The book warned me to look at the action and the object that I often ignore as if you were a detective looking around a crime scene. Why are manhole covers round? Why is my teenage child going to school like this? How can you understand how far should you get from the previous person in the queue? What is it like to be color blind? (Brown, 2009, P 237) By having a detective-like observation, I am likely to get the most unexpected information about the unwritten rules governing the life of a person. One of the cases that justifies this is the case of Thomas Edison. Edison invented the light bulb, and then created around it a whole industry – energy (Kesler & Kates, 2011). An incandescent lamp is considered to be its “proprietary” invention, its business card, but Edison himself understood that these are all toys: there is no sense without a system for generating and transmitting electricity from the bulb itself. Thus, he invented the system too. It turns out that Edison could imagine not just a separate device, but a fully developed market, the whole system of its consumption - this is the essence of his genius. He managed to predict how people would use his inventions, and he worked in accordance with this foresight. Sometimes he was mistaken (for example, he initially thought that the phonograph would be needed mainly by institutions for recording and reproducing dictations), but he was incredibly attentive to the needs and preferences of people (Lockwood & Papke, 2018). Edison's approach to business is one of the first examples of what is now called designer thinking, which suggests that all work of the creator of a new person is focused on people. Thus, it might be commented that the innovations are implicated in the deep knowledge of people, understanding of their wants, likes or dislikes in specific products and their packaging, in advertising, sales and support services. This understanding that might be attained exclusively as a result of direct observation of real life (Stickdorn, Schneider & Andrews, 2011).

Lastly, the book challenges me that the work of the designer is not a thoughtful series of consecutive steps, but rather a system of creative zones. These zones, interconnected activities, like details of a mosaic, form a single space of innovation. For those who come into contact with this method for the first time, design thinking may seem chaotic (Schmiedgen, Rhinow & Köppen, 2016). However, along the way, participants are beginning to understand that this is a meaningful process, leading to concrete results, although it differs from linear, business-specific processes. Total design projects must go through three zones. The first one is “inspiration”: these are circumstances (a problem or an opportunity, or both) that lead to the search for a solution (Brown 2009).  The second is the “birth of an idea,” the process of creating, developing and testing ideas. The final zone refers to the “implementation”, which deals with the implementation of the ideas.  The knowledge of the afore-mentioned factors would help me in my impatience. Tim Brown revealed that implementation entails a series of steps. This reveals that once the idea has been developed, it is not necessary that it will work automatically. I believe that many people, just like me, might lose hope once the idea failed. However, if they follow a planned path, they will not be disappointed.

References

Daft, R. L. (2015). Organization theory and design. Cengage learning.

Brown, T. (2009). Change by Design: How design thinking transforms organizations and

inspires innovation. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

In Brenner, W., & In Uebernickel, F. (2016). Design Thinking for Innovation: Research and Practice. Cham : Springer International Publishing

Kesler, G., & Kates, A. (2011). Leading Organization Design: How to make organization design decisions to drive the results you want. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Liedtka, J., & Ogilvie, T. (2011). Designing for Growth: A design thinking tool kit for managers. New York: Columbia University Press.

Liedtka, J., Bennett, K., & King, A. (2013). Solving Problems with Design Thinking. New York: Columbia University Press.

Lockwood, T., & Papke, E. (2018). Innovation by Design: How any organization can leverage design thinking to produce change, drive new ideas, and deliver meaningful solutions. Wayne, NJ : Career Press, Inc.

Martin, R. (2009). Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage. Boston: Perseus Book LLC (Ingram.

Roberts, J. (2007). The modern firm: Organizational design for performance and growth. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Schmiedgen, J., Rhinow, H., & Köppen, E. (2016). Parts without a whole?: the current state of design thinking practice in organizations (Vol. 97). Universitätsverlag Potsdam.

Sibbet, D. (2013). Visual leaders: New tools for visioning, management, & organization change. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Stickdorn, M., Schneider, J., & Andrews, K. (2011). This is Service Design Thinking: Basics, tools, cases. Amsterdam, The Netherlands : BIS Publishers, Amsterdam

Tschimmel, K. (2012). Design Thinking, an effective Toolkit for Innovation. In ISPIM Conference Proceedings (p. 1). The International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM).