Stop Design Thinking From Becoming 'Innovation Theater'
Too many times design thinking projects fall victim to the trappings of innovation theater. Here's how not to let that happen.
Stop Design Thinking From Becoming 'Innovation Theater'
Too many times design thinking projects fall victim to the trappings of innovation theater.
The innovation and design thinking project becomes more about checking all the boxes than making transformative change.
I’m not the first to give this critique of design thinking. Many have. It’s even been addressed in cartoon form by one of my favorite thinkers, Tom Fishburne.
Why do Design Thinking initiatives fail?
There are a lot of reasons a design thinking initiative fails. Sometimes I can tell right away from initial conversations with new clients.
Why Does Innovation Often Fail?
Read our research report, Failure Modes in Innovation, for more signs that failure modes may be blocking innovation in your organization.
One red flag for us is when key client stakeholders aren’t bought in to design thinking, and we hear something like, “We already have a way of doing things that works. Why try something different?”
Another red flag is when the client’s experience with design thinking amounts to, “So my boss read this article…”
But the true reason a design thinking approach can fall apart or fail to produce results is because project stakeholders treat the initiative as a one-off or a point-in-time intervention instead of a longer-term process.
Design thinking is an ongoing thought exercise that can build new habits and transform mindsets, but your team and stakeholders must be all-in if you want to realize the benefits of design thinking.
5 Questions to Ask to Maximize Design Thinking Success
Before you make the leap to a design thinking process, here are a few questions to think about to maximize your team’s likelihood of success.
1. What are our motivations?
Do we feel behind? Do we want real change? If the motivation is more about trying something once or checking a professional development box, you will not have as great of success.
2. How strong is our growth mindset?
How often do we change our minds or admit mistakes? Can we imagine what else is possible by harnessing the opposable mind or rethinking our assumptions? If “this is how we have always done it” is a mantra, that’s a problem. If failures aren’t celebrated or at least deconstructed in a safe way, it will be difficult to find breakthroughs.
3. Does empathy feel worth it?
If going to the foundation of the problem space—to truly get deep with your users and their challenges—doesn’t feel worth the time, then design thinking will be very hard for you.
4. How siloed are big projects and initiatives?
How cooperative vs. adversarial are department relationships? Would you normally go it alone without other disciplines being bought in? If it feels like you’re always going to battle, that’s going to be a blocker to success. Design is about calling people in, not calling them out.
A Guide to Action-Oriented Design Thinking
At Delve, we don’t focus on design thinking for its own sake, but rather, on design thinking and doing. What does action-oriented design thinking look like?
5. How will we keep up the momentum?
Who will keep this going after the project ends? What happens next? If the flywheel will stop as soon as the final presentation is over, then it’s dead on arrival. There must be a plan and a champion to carry out the next steps.
At Delve we build and deliver plans to our clients to ensure this transfer happens and you aren’t left paralyzed wondering what to do next.
By digging into these five questions with your team, you’ll be in a better position to use design thinking to transform your business or product.
Learn more about Product Development & Design Services at Delve.
