Innovative ideas and out-of-the-box thinking are not random acts of serendipity. At Resultant, we live and breathe the belief that there’s a systematic approach to creativity and big ideas—and that we can leverage this technique to help our clients better understand their challenges and then work together to build tailored solutions for their unique challenges. What is this game-changing approach? It’s called Design Thinking, and it permeates all aspects of not only how we deliver innovative answers to our clients’ most pressing needs but how we’ve architected our organization, culture, and business practices.
Resultant CEO Mark Caswell sat down with the folks at TrueU to discuss how, specifically, Design Thinking can enhance company culture.
Key Takeaways about Using Design Thinking to Enhance Company Culture
What is Design Thinking and Why Should Companies Adopt this Approach?
- Design Thinking as defined by Mark: a philosophy and a method for systematically creating innovative solutions for problems that require innovative solutions
- Some problems can be solved in traditional ways, but the “answer” may not be the best for that specific situation. Now, more than ever, we need innovative solutions to help us move beyond the status quo
- There is a philosophical aspect of Design Thinking: Letting go. When you let go of the past, of what’s been done before, and when you open your mind to the universe of possibilities, you have the ability to gain innovative insights that were not immediately obvious
“A lot of people think that innovation is this magical thing that happens, but the reality is that innovation happens in a very methodical way, and it walks you through empathy for people who you are truly solving problems for.”
Mark Caswell, CEO
How Design Thinking Enhances a Company Culture:
Design Thinking takes inputs from anywhere
During the brainstorming phase of trying to address cultural needs within an organization, there are no wrong answers and anyone can contribute. This open atmosphere of “Yes, and…” helps build unity among teams, leaders and employees.
Measure inputs and analyze data
Understanding employees and teams is more than weekly one-on-one and all-hands meetings. It’s about gauging employee sentiment, measuring engagement, and understanding the team-member lifecycle. All of this requires data and insight into that data to get a full picture of what is happening. Only accurately measured datasets can help organizations fully understand where things stand.
“It’s not the kind of thing you can invent the day after you hear a problem, but those organizations that really invested in data and information and cultures associated with using it have a bit of a leg up.”
Mark Caswell, CEO
A good culture is about distributed leadership
When an organization has a strong, flexible and mission-oriented culture where people know how to make good decisions for the business, regardless of whether the CEO is in the room or not—this is a sign of really strong culture. This kind of culture can turn into a financially tangible asset.
Learn more about Design Thinking and its applicability for company culture enhancement by listening to the full TrueU podcast featuring Resultant CEO Mark Caswell.
