I recently participated in an ACMP (Association of Change Management Professionals) event titled Design Thinking for Change. Alongside fellow panellists Tim Seddon and Rachel Wood, both highly experienced in design, and moderators Jennifer L. Bryan and Andrea Jones, members of the ACMP, we explored the role of design thinking in driving organisational change. During the event, we addressed a range of thoughtful questions, including how design thinking artefacts can support change activities, how to engage resistant stakeholders, and the role of leadership in fostering a design-thinking mindset.
I’ll start by outlining the history of design thinking, explaining why it was created and how it is currently being used. I will weave in some of the questions posed by the audience during the discussion, as they align closely with the queries I’ve encountered throughout my career. Framing this discussion in the context of change feels particularly timely, given the rapid transformations occurring in organisations and society. Design thinking offers a lens through which we can navigate this complexity and create meaningful solutions.
According to the Interaction Design Foundation, Design Thinking’s journey begins with its roots in architecture and engineering. In the mid-20th century, researchers like Herbert Simon laid the groundwork for understanding design as a systematic, problem-solving process, talking about things like prototyping and testing through observation - core concepts of design processes today. Around the same time, Horst Rittel introduced the idea of "wicked problems," complex challenges with no definitive solutions. This emphasised the need for iterative and collaborative approaches to address ambiguity.
In the 1990s design thinking was brought into the mainstream by IDEO, which formalised it as a user-focused methodology. David Kelley, one of IDEO’s founders, highlighted empathy as a core principle, enabling organisations to create products and services that genuinely address user needs. This era also saw academic institutions, like Stanford’s d.school, incorporating design thinking into interdisciplinary education and influencing business, engineering, and social science practices.
Since the 2000s, businesses have begun to recognise design thinking as a strategic asset, particularly for navigating organisational and technological change. Companies like Apple, Airbnb, and IBM institutionalised Design Thinking to enhance innovation and customer-centricity, and frameworks like the Double Diamond, developed by the UK’s Design Council, further refined the process, breaking it into phases: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver.
Design thinking is a human-centred approach that was created to address the complexity of modern challenges. It emerged as a response to the limitations of traditional problem-solving methods, which often prioritised efficiency over creativity. It encourages a balance between analytical and creative thinking, providing a structured yet flexible framework for innovation.
The methodology typically involves five phases:
Empathise: Understand users’ needs and pain points.
Define: Frame the problem clearly to align stakeholders.
Ideate: Generate diverse ideas through collaborative brainstorming.
Prototype: Create tangible representations of solutions to test assumptions.
Test: Gather feedback to refine and iterate solutions.
Design Thinking in the Context of Change
During the panel discussion, one of the audience members asked, What are the key challenges in implementing Design Thinking for organisational change? This is a question that resonates with the realities that I and many professionals face when trying to introduce design methodologies into existing systems.
Design thinking offers several advantages in driving change, such as fostering empathy for product and service users. It aligns teams by using artefacts like journey maps to clarify current and future states, ensuring everyone works towards shared goals. It also focuses on iterative experimentation, using prototypes to test change initiatives in controlled settings, which minimises risks before full-scale implementation.
However, challenges such as leadership resistance, organisational silos, and regulatory constraints can hinder its application. One effective strategy is to introduce design thinking through small-scale pilots that deliver measurable results to build buy-in. In my experience, sharing internal success stories and guiding senior stakeholders through the process are crucial for gaining support and approval to scale adoption. Storytelling is key—bringing opportunities to life in relatable ways helps contextualise the benefits and makes the case for change more compelling.
Another question that was asked was Are there certain types of organisations or stages in their journey that benefit the most from Design Thinking? While design thinking can be adapted to various contexts, its impact is particularly significant in environments facing ambiguity and rapid transformation. Apple is a great success story for IDEO. In the 1980s, IDEO used Design Thinking to help Apple design the first original computer mouse revolutionising the way users interacted with technology. This iterative prototyping and user-centred design approach influenced product innovation across industries.
Another example of a company that successfully applied design thinking is Airbnb. In 2009, the founders used design thinking to tackle stagnating growth. They conducted immersive research to deeply understand their users’ needs, which led to improved customer experiences, such as introducing professional photography for listings. This approach marked a turning point for the company.
Airbnb worked iteratively on their generated ideas, testing them with real users to refine their solutions. While the company is data-driven, it avoids being dictated by metrics. Instead of reacting to data, the team often begins with a creative hypothesis, implements a change, assesses its business impact, and repeats the process.
Even retail companies like Nike have embraced design thinking in both product development and customer experience. Nike applied a designer’s mindset to its talent development strategy, empowering its teams to innovate and create projects such as the Air footwear line.
The design studio at the LeBron James Innovation Centre serves as the hub for A.I.R. (Athlete Imagined Revolution). This collaborative process brings together Nike designers, innovators, and 13 elite athletes, including Wembanyama, Sha'Carri Richardson, and Kylian Mbappé. A.I.R. leverages the expertise of top athletes and Nike's innovation teams, enhanced by advanced technologies and AI, to shape the future of Air products.
However, for design thinking to be successfully embedded within an organisation, strong leadership is essential—a point that emerged as a recurring theme during the panel. An audience question, What are the key behaviours and mindsets needed for leaders to champion Design Thinking?, underscored its significance.
Effective leaders in this space must be willing to experiment, demonstrate curiosity, and challenge the status quo. Building cross-functional teams is critical to breaking down silos, alongside fostering a culture where failure is seen as an opportunity to learn. For example, IBM’s company-wide adoption of Design Thinking was largely successful due to executive sponsorship, which ensured alignment and adequate resources for its implementation.
One of the most thought-provoking questions from the panel asked, How does Design Thinking align with regulatory compliance and process optimisation during transitions? This highlights the importance of adaptability in integrating creative approaches within structured environments. While design thinking encourages creativity and user-centred innovation, it must coexist with the constraints of specific industries and organisational frameworks and approaches, ensuring compliance without diminishing its transformative potential.
To achieve this balance, organisations often integrate design thinking with delivery-focused frameworks like Agile and Lean. While Agile and Lean primarily emphasise efficient delivery and execution, design thinking shifts the focus to discovery and definition. This ensures that teams address the right problems and design solutions for the right questions before developing and implementing. Together, these approaches allow organisations to remain empathetic and user-centred while navigating complex challenges, regulatory constraints, and process optimisation.
The financial sector has seen organisations like DBS Bank adopt Design Thinking alongside Agile methodologies to improve customer experiences while maintaining compliance with stringent financial regulations. By combining these approaches, DBS transformed its technology infrastructure to incorporate Big Data, AI, and biometrics, addressing both user needs and regulatory requirements. This example illustrates how blending Design Thinking with other methodologies fosters innovation even in highly regulated industries, enabling organisations to remain agile, customer-focused, and compliant during periods of transition.
Design thinking has evolved over decades into a versatile methodology for addressing complex problems. In the context of organisational change, its human-centred focus enables solutions that not only address business objectives but also resonate with stakeholders. As organisations continue to navigate uncertainty, design thinking offers a way to create meaningful, lasting impact through empathy, creativity, and collaboration.
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