Page 191 - The Design Thinking Playbook

2.6 How to prepare the organization for a new mindset

By now, Peter has carried out many projects with design thinking, and innovative and customer-centric So what is the problem that prevents design thinking from
solutions have emerged. His environment, his direct supervisors, and colleagues also know that design spreading?
thinking is an asset for the company. However, Peter notices more and more often that not all teams back
the mindset of design thinking. The problem Peter shares with others who are responsible for
innovation is the form of the organization in which they work. The
In discussions with like-minded people, at conferences, or in forums, he realizes that design thinking can company has a typical silo structure, which has become manifest over
bring about relevant solutions; yet many organizations have a hard time disseminating the approach trans- the years and allows management to deal with growing complexity
versally. Resentment grows, and solutions are sought to change the mindset. and the requirement for more efficiency. It is made up of specialized
teams that optimize their own fitness. The preferred tools are process
At a recent meeting of the DTP community in Zurich, a colleague of Peter’s who was an enthusiastic cyclist improvement and operational excellence, which make the silos even
came up with an apt metaphor: more efficient. Transversal collaboration for creating a consistent
customer experience falls by the wayside.
“Design thinking is like a fantastic racing bike and it effectively takes us where we haven’t
been before! But the fact we own a racing bike does not mean we’ll be able to cross an To overcome such a silo mentality, we must undertake consciously
Alpine pass. We must have the corresponding fitness for it!” designed measures and initiate change processes that make cross-
departmental collaboration possible. This is the only way to establish
Peter is convinced that his organization—like many other companies—does not have the necessary fitness a new mindset in an organization as a whole. Design thinking is
to live design thinking all the way, with all its consequences. always only as effective as the capacity of the organization to
Upon closer inspection, Peter quickly realizes that his organization has too many departments that do not implement the result comprehensively and evenly.
share the same mindset: Although they have a great racing bike, they have a beer belly and no fitness
whatsoever.

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