Bovendien werken we als VoyEdge steeds vaker samen met partijen zoals de Design Thinkers Group waarbij we opdrachtgevers een innovatieconcept aanbieden waarin design thinking en onze innovatiereis samen komen. Op dit moment werken we met David bijvoorbeeld aan een fintech concept in Londen. De opening van de Design Thinkers Academy in Londen deze maand leek ons een mooie aanleiding om David hierover te spreken.
VoyEdge: "Why is design thinking important for leaders?"
David: "Design thinking is important for creating a culture of innovation in organisations, an environment where ideas aren't just generated, but people have the tools and resources to develop and prototype them then take them to market. It's easy to spot businesses that are really doing it right. Leaders in those companies are big fans of design thinking, and it starts right at the top in the board room, for example the co-founders of Airbnb and the CEO of Nike are designers."
VoyEdge: "Why and how did you get involved in Design Thinking?"
David: "Design thinking is not a new thing, it's a helpful new term for capturing the role of design in business and the management of complex services and systems, so you can separate it out from the craft-based discipline of design. It serves to connect the principles and practice of human-centred design to everyday management practice. Design thinking has become the terminology to apply when bringing design tools and approaches into the DNA of business culture and process. It is now taught in most leading business schools and has been widely adopted by management consultancies and corporates.
I was excited when I joined the Design Council in 2003 by the opportunity to use it in business and public sector. We supported transformation within commercial companies and around complex issues for government departments such as Designing out Crime for the Ministry of Justice and Designing out Bugs in hospitals for the Department of Health. Through supporting practical delivery we perfected the 'Double Diamond' approach which is now widely used and published many case studies demonstrating the impact of a design thinking approach.
The Design Thinkers Academy London is a natural extension of this work - helping people to excel at design thinking and feeding it back into education in partnership with the Design Museum."
VoyEdge: "What are your ambitions with the Design Thinking Academy?"
David: Our ambition is to turn leaders into design thinkers who innovate in business. As our world gets flatter and smaller so design becomes one of the most important qualities that defines our humanity. However fast the computer, however clever the algorithm, the solutions that we need to make life on our crowded planet worth living will be a human endeavour. Harnessing our creativity and turning ideas into reality around the needs of people - that's design. And as someone once said design is far too important to leave to designers. That's why design thinking is so important in education, business and in public policy too. Design Thinkers Academy is a way to embed this within organisations and truly help them succeed.