📚 “Think Like an Innovator” is now available in PAPERBACK on major Amazon sites. It will be on Amazon India and Flipkart next week. A little hurdle to do with availability here. It’s being handled. As you know, the Kindle eBook is already available. Many of you asked for a physical copy. Here it is!…
IT’S HERE! Stop waiting for innovation to happen. Start designing it with intention. My new book, , is a practical, no-fluff guide to Design Thinking for complex problem solving and creative breakthroughs. Or your Kindle eBook today and be among the first to dive in: https://mybook.to/innovator Whether you are building products, shaping services, or tackling…
In 2017, I noticed something troubling. Innovation leaders at some large global organisations were selling ‘design thinking-led’ services to other companies. They ran workshops. Facilitated sessions. Bagged long-term projects. And charged good money. But when interacting with them, I realised many of them didn’t truly understand what design thinking was. They knew the buzzwords. They…
Random thought (or question) on easing travel fatigue and jet lag: For long, transmeridian flights, what if airlines timed their in-flight meals to match the destination city’s time zone? By serving lunch, snacks, or dinner accordingly? Might that help passengers’ body clocks start syncing earlier, even slightly reducing fatigue or the time it takes to…
Here’s a nice post by Nikki Anderson for anyone who’s debated whether innovators and designers should ask users for innovative solutions to their challenges, or if crafting the solution is solely the innovator or designer’s job. My short answer: A bit of both. In my experience, and as I have mentioned in my book ‘Design…
Over the decades, many business leaders have shifted their mindset, from building companies that are ‘built to last,” as Porras and Collins observed; to obsessing over this quarter, sometimes even this month. The collateral damage? Deep and widespread. Culture suffers when companies cycle through mass hiring and mass firing. CEO tenures focused on short-term metrics…
I’ve admired Lego since childhood, although I haven’t collected many sets over the years, the most recent being two Technic kits about 7-8 years ago. What holds me back is the plastic. I hope Lego soon finds a more eco-friendly alternative to their iconic bricks. When buying Lego kits, I usually apply a simple thumb…
Ever caught yourself telling someone, or even yourself, something like, ‘what difference can one person make?’, or ‘what can one person do?’ If you have, the name ‘Ferdinand Cheval’ might be one worth remembering. Born in 1836 France, he grew up to be a mail carrier (a postman) who cycled about delivering the post. In…
Back when I was researching for my book, ‘Design the Future’, that simplifies design thinking for businesses and curious individuals, I noticed something striking. The popular 5-step Stanford design thinking model closely mirrors DMAIC, a much older and effective quality improvement tool. (My book simplifies the Stanford process, btw). Having studied some quality improvement, I…
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is advice often ignored in UX design. While some changes improve user experience by simplifying or enriching it, others, like Netflix’s recent TV layout overhaul, Kindle’s slightly complicated update, and LinkedIn’s confusing messaging interface, prove that unnecessary redesigns can frustrate users and disrupt what once worked seamlessly. This post dives into why thoughtful, user-centered design matters more than novelty for its own sake.
For years, I’ve enjoyed sending free, no-strings-attached ideas to companies in various sectors; a practice I called, “RattL ’em”; and subsequently, “…thank me later.” Just a small way of contributing to customer-centric innovation and striving to be among the best. Here’s an idea for OTT platforms that create original series: Many web series today feel…
I have always found the pillar and ceiling design at the Terminal 2 airport in Mumbai (pic) very beautiful. While there are other designs that use sunlight in even better ways, these structures are wow. And yesterday, I came across this clip (link) about Tatami, traditional Japanese floor mats, that I thought was similarly fascinating….
A few months ago, I had posted about the concerning design of the current lot of cars, with their sheer vertical drop fronts. I was recently lucky to spot an old Honda Civic in a basement parking lot, and this photo shows side by side, the aerodynamic and generally safer sloping front of the Honda…
When designing products or experiences for customers who might be less privileged compared to you, a lot of people attempt to try and think of what life might be like for them in general, and specifically about how they work around the challenge statement. And often, they do this from meeting rooms and offices, well…
Part 4 was about how we should proactively try to improve or disrupt where necessary, the inefficient parts of the sector or space we work in. And now, arguably the most valuable lesson I was taught, something that ties up all previous learnings. In 2015, I had first stumbled upon design thinking when I signed…