These days successful companies don’t just manage their businesses, they design them. Design is fundamentally about enhancing the way you look at the world. It’s is a disciplined and iterative approach that marries creative thinking and analytical rigor focused on creating relevant, intentional, unique value for real people with real needs. When done right, it not only informs what the value is, but how it gets delivered in a repeatable and viable way. So, how might you do “this” right? As an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, or change agent, there are seven essential skills you must master to design something better… something bigger.
1.IT ALL STARTS WITH THE CUSTOMER.
The first of the Essential Skills: Observing customers to understand them will give you fresh insights into their needs. You must ask the right questions to get the answers you seek.
2.THINK AND WORK VISUALLY!
Working visually helps you to see the bigger picture, gain clarity on complex topics, create a visual anchor for your strategic conversations, and engage with your audience. Think like a designer.
3.DON’T FLY SOLO. YOU ARE NOT SMARTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE.
Gather different insights by working and brainstorming together. Connecting the brains in the room and in your market will enable you to uncover hidden opportunities.
4.TELL STORIES AND SHARE THE EXPERIENCE
Start with storytelling. Stories have a clear beginning and end, and most likely they have heroes your audience can connect with. Cool stories stick; cool stories will be told by others, and cool stories spread like wildfire.
5.KEEP IT SIMPLE
Just start. Don’t try to build the final product. Don’t add features that don’t solve real problems. Prototype your ideas, to get a better understanding of what will work and what may not work.
6.SET UP SMALL EXPERIMENTS AND LEARN SHIT.
Every little iteration and trail will net tons of useful new insights – thing you wouldn’t have learned if you just started building. Reality is different than what you assume.
7.EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY. IT’S CANDY FOR THE BRAIN.
Except for change, there is no such thing as certainty in business. Accept this and harness opportunities from uncertainty.
Get to know your customer, work with visuals, work with your colleagues, spread cool stories, keep it simple, try new things and don’t forget to embrace uncertainty. Curious about how to design a better business and how to start with business model innovation? We have written a book specifically for you and your colleagues.
