Design thinking… because our future depends on it.

Most, if not all of us are born creative. Any child trying to solve a problem or achieve something is proof of that. Their perseverance, and the fascinating ideas they come up with, speak only of creativity. And yet, as we grow up, we sacrifice that creativity for logic and process. Even if it costs us our freedom and our peace of mind.

In our ever-changing business environment, we have had our share of situations where all the logic we have cannot seem to solve certain business problems. It could be about boosting business sales or delighting customers or creating a corporate environment of innovation. No amount of incentivizing or threatening sales and marketing personnel, and no amount of ‘carrots or sticks’ can solve people-problems easily. There’s only so much you can expect from an average product or service. And one cannot squeeze good ideas out of a team that is not in the right mindset for it.

That’s where I come in. Using a combination of human-centered design thinking, business strategy and principles of human behaviour, I help businesses understand customer (or employee) needs better. I then work with them to conceptualize products or services or solutions design that are more aligned to those needs, in turn helping business grow. Similarly, I help corporate teams break out of analysis paralysis and become more creative in their innovation or problem-solving efforts.

Design thinking helps go beyond traditional problem-solving and ‘meeting room innovation’, by helping evoke spoken and unspoken user needs, and then creating far-more relevant, effective and sustainable solutions.

This is what my 9-step version of the Stanford Design Thinking Process looks like:

 

These are three ways in which I can be of service to you and your company:

  1. My Innovation & Design Strategy practice, RattL [Crystal Planet Labs LLP] strives to work with companies, governments and non-profits in India and abroad, using our unique blend of design thinking, strategy & behaviour principles to help organizations grow by creating more meaningful products and services for their customers. Our primary offering is the ReCog Program – a 2-to-5 month, deadline-driven engagement where we work alongside teams at companies, governments or non-profits to help them better understand their customers’ needs, and then create more meaningful offerings for them.
  2. Get my book: Design the Future
  3. Follow my blog

You can reach me at shrutin@rattl.net or connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.