Design Thinking a Business Solution

Business, governments and nations alike, all have one thing in common. Problems that needs to be solved. In fact, to some extend, various organisation's existence is made possible through, their ability to solve problems for their clients, customers, stakeholders or people.
The methodology, technique and skill used in each organisation, government or business, may vary, depending on the nature or cause of the problem; however, one form of thinking that can be applied across the board, is that of design thinking.
What is design thinking? The text book definition reads something like this:

EMPATHIZE: Work to fully understand the experience of the user for whom you are designing.  Do this through observation, interaction, and immersing yourself in their experiences.

DEFINE: Process and synthesize the findings from your empathy work in order to form a user point of view that you will address with your design.

IDEATE: Explore a wide variety of possible solutions through generating a large quantity of diverse possible solutions, allowing you to step beyond the obvious and explore a range of ideas.

PROTOTYPE: Transform your ideas into a physical form so that you can experience and interact with them and, in the process, learn and develop more empathy.

TEST: Try out high-resolution products and use observations and feedback to refine prototypes, learn more about the user, and refine your original point of view. (According to Stanford University)

Whatever definition you subscribe to regarding the process of design thinking. A few things always remain constant. That, design thinking is always human centred, takes into consideration the technological feasibility and economic viability.

Across all industries, primary, secondary or tertiary sectors of business; design thinking is applicable. It is a way of thinking, a form of culture, a manner of approach to problem solving; that can be learned. Although, occasionally, one may need to call in a team of experts who are experienced and skilled in design thinking, to help the particular organisation. This manner of approach can be beneficial and help set the tone so problem solving.

Design thinking is a discipline, however, it does not mean that since it is applicable across all sectors of business, professional skills that are critical in those functions of business, all need to be replaced by designers.

Design thinking allows organisations to change their outlook in their solutions findings, to look beyond the immediate surroundings for solutions. It is an integration and collaboration of resources and skills, with an objective of finding human solutions.