Design Thinking
Design with your users, not for them.
IDEATE
PROTOTYPE
DEFINE
EMPATHIZE
TEST
Design thinking starts at the gemba. Showing up where the work happens. Listening to employees, customers, partners, patients, or whoever is most important. Seeking to understand, not assume. Understanding builds empathy.
This approach grounds problem solving in real experience. By engaging the right people and observing firsthand, leaders and teams uncover insights that are critical to problem solving and innovation. It shifts the focus from quick answers to deeper understanding, ensuring we’re solving the right problem before we try to solve it well.
The IDEO Field Guide to Human-Centered Design offers a practical starting point, with simple tools to help you begin this work guiding observation, interviews, and early experimentation as you move from insight to action.
What “define the problem” really means
Defining the problem isn’t about backing into a solution you already have in mind (it's human nature - be mindful of this pull). It’s about clearly describing what is actually happening, who experiences it, when it shows up, and why it matters, before deciding what to do next. This clarity is critical, and it requires both divergent and convergent thinking.
“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem
and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” - Einstein
Divergent & Convergent Thinking
At the heart of design thinking is a rhythm between divergent and convergent thinking, intentionally expanding and narrowing your focus The first phase, often represented as the first “diamond,” is about deeply understanding and defining the problem. It begins with divergence: exploring broadly, asking questions, gathering perspectives, and challenging assumptions. This is where gemba visits, interviews, and observation come to life and help you to very clearly define the real problem. Most teams skip this step. High-performing teams don’t. Because a well-defined problem changes everything that follows.
Once the real problem is crystal clear, teams move into the second "diamond" where we start out by diverging; generating ideas, exploring possibilities, and inviting creativity across perspectives. No single solution is assumed to be “right” at the outset. Instead, multiple paths are considered. Throw everything onto the wall or shared workspace (e.g. Miro). Crazy ideas are encouraged, because they often lead to new insights and get everyone comfortable with thinking divergently. Plus, it's fun.
Once all possible ideas are out there, then converge again: pick the most intriguing ideas and bring them to life through rapid prototyping and testing. These are not final solutions. They are experiments. Each iteration creates an opportunity to learn, refine, and move closer to what actually works.
Ideation Exercises
Once the problem is clearly defined, get creative with all the possible ways you might solve that problem. Ideas should span from logical to aspirational to futuristic to super simple. The focus is on quantity over quality. Yes, you read that right. More ideas. Less analyzing if they make sense.
Helpful Resources
Meditations: Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
These meditations by Joe Dispenza train the mind to shift between convergent focus (narrowing attention) and divergent focus (opening awareness and exploring possibilities). Together, they help build the ability to consciously direct thought and attention, while also strengthening purposeful action.