Recently, we were invited to speak at a UX conference in Singapore. The topic was ‘Is design thinking a magic wand for product success’. At first, I was a bit wary to accept the invitation for two reasons - one, a packed work schedule, two; design thinking seems such a beaten topic (at least in Singapore circuits, everyone seems to be an expert in design thinking). I was concerned what new could I offer to the audience that would add value to their current knowledge.

When we talk about empathy in the problem solving context, we typically relate it to empathy for users. When we try to help organizations innovate and change, understanding user experience is important, but one sided empathy alone is not enough. To drive and facilitate change we need three-way empathy. 

research |ˈrēˌsərCHrəˈsərCH|
the systematic investigation to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

All organizations invariably conduct some type of research to validate assumptions and establish a basis for future actions. Typically, research activities are seen as the marketing department’s domain - which hires research agencies to help find answers. Larger companies might have research specialists or even research departments, yet agency help is sought from time to time. In the majority of cases, people from organizations don’t talk directly to their customers.

innovate |ˈinəˌvāt|
make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products:
innovat-  ‘renewed, altered,’ 
verb innovare, from in- ‘into’ + novare  ‘make new’ (from novus  ‘new’).

Innovation is new ideas that create impact. Ideas that take form of a solution that is new, not to the whole world but to the context of the problem it is solving. Innovation is about creating a solution that is better, that brings some improvement to the existing problem, and a solution that creates certain value for the organisation, monetary or otherwise. Innovation is generative by nature. Innovation is about changing the existing....