Design thinking is a way for non-designers to approach problem solving the design way. Design Thinking has captured the imagination of everyone, with everyone adding their thoughts. Where do I start, you ask? We have carefully selected some of the best articles available on the internet for you to get started.

1. #DesignThinking
Buzzword in the wild
Overwhelmed with all the talk about Design
Thinking? It seems to be everywhere; where do I
start, you ask? We have carefully selected some
of the best articles available on the internet for
you to get started.

2. | February 2017 2
Using Design Thinking to Embed Learning in Our
Jobs
Harvard Business Review
Jul 25, 2016 - As I talk with learning and HR executives around the world, I hear these
issues coming up everywhere. In fact, our recent research on global human capital
trends shows that 84% of business leaders cite the “need for improved organizational
learning” as a top priority, and 44% say it’s urgent.
Unfortunately, the problem is not one of designing better programs or simply replacing
or upgrading learning platforms. Rather, there is something more fundamental going on
— a need to totally rethink corporate L&D, to shift the focus to design thinking and the
employee experience.
Go to article:
https://hbr.org/2016/07/using-design-thinking-to-embed-learning-in-our-jobs
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3. | February 2017 3
The promise of ‘design thinking’
Livemint
Jul 15, 2016 - Indian IT firms are beginning to talk about design thinking in an attempt to
get away from the “factory” model of software services and break free from the “back
office” tag.
We have grown used to industries routinely adopting new nomenclature every once in a
while in order to breathe life into old concepts, and our spam filter gets set on the
highest setting at this time every quarter.
A refreshing exception is the concept of “design thinking”, especially when used in
relation to the enterprise software industry. While some industries have flirted with
design thinking over the years, it has never really been mainstream except in a few.
Design has been considered a creative endeavour, and not a commercial one, except of
course, if you are a design firm like Ideo or an Internet portal for designers like
Dexigner.
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4. | February 2017 4
Generation Y is beginning to change this dated viewpoint. There is a groundswell
movement at management schools worldwide that focuses on the concept of design
thinking, which starts with putting the user first. I had a recent conversation with the
young founders of TinkerLabs, a start-up that was founded as a training company to
help foster this type of thinking at campuses in India. The conversation revealed that
they have also worked on training programmes with a number of industries, and that
even the world’s largest employer, the Indian Railways, has benefited from the
application of design thinking. And no, I am not talking about former railway minister
Lalu Prasad Yadav’s introduction of clay cups for beverages on Indian trains, though that
itself is an outstanding example of such design thinking.
Go to article:
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/BISFclA6j1M4VvlKuTPGVI/The-promise-of-design-thinking.html
IBM, Infosys, Accenture and Cognizant lead in the
industry's first Design Thinking Blueprint
Horses for Sources
Jan 24, 2016 - Without Design Thinking, enterprises are really just retrofitting expensive
solutions into legacy processes and likely wasting a whole load of time, resources and
money. It all starts with Design Thinking.
Design Thinking, and new creations of Design Thinking-esque collaborative methods, are
increasingly important ways to bring together new concepts and ideas, better
teamwork, and ways to design outcomes jointly that can incorporate investments from
both sides.
Design Thinking is helping several relationships inject lateral thinking and renewed
motivation to work together, not only in the customer-facing front office, but also in the
back office operational functions. Design Thinking in services is based, primarily, on both
service buyer and provider coming together to create business outcomes that are
mutually beneficial – and motivational – for both parties. However, this must be
established as ongoing collaboration across all key relationship stakeholders, and not
simply two days of senior management putting sticky notes on each others’ foreheads.
There must be senior pressure and buy-in to adopt Design Thinking as a means to move
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5. | February 2017 5
away from Six Sigma-obsessed old world models, and really change the way the service
buyer and provider teams work together.
Go to article:
http://www.horsesforsources.com/design-thinking-blueprint_012416#sthash.oryOibV8.dpuf
How Indra Nooyi Turned Design Thinking Into
Strategy: An Interview with PepsiCo’s CEO
Harvard Business Review
Sep 2015 - As CEO, I visit a market every week to see what we look like on the shelves. I
always ask myself—not as a CEO but as a mom—“What products really speak to me?”
The shelves just seem more and more cluttered, so I thought we had to rethink our
innovation process and design experiences for our consumers—from conception to
what’s on the shelf.
In focus groups consumers told us they went to another product because it was bite-
size. We had to conclude that SunChips were too damn big. I don’t care if our mold can
only cut one inch by one inch. We don’t sell products based on the manufacturing we
have, but on how our target consumers can fall in love with them.
Go to article:
https://hbr.org/2015/09/how-indra-nooyi-turned-design-thinking-into-strategy
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6. | February 2017 6
How Pepsico, Godrej and Marico are 'designed to
succeed’
Brand Equity
Aug 29, 2015 - Pepsico chief executive Indra Nooyi has given employees two-three years
to adapt to a new design thinking culture, telling managers that if they don't change, she
would be happy to attend their retirement parties.
Corporate leaders today are using design thinking to connect with customers at an
emotional level, and in the process boost growth. Vishal Sikka of Infosys, Nisa Godrej of
Godrej Industries, Kishore Biyani of Future Group and Harsh Mariwala of Marico are
betting on the same subject.
Go to article:
http://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/business-of-brands/how-pepsico-godrej-and-
marico-are-designed-to-succeed/48719157
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7. | February 2017 7
Applying design thinking across the business: An
interview with Citrix’s Catherine Courage
McKinsey
Feb 2015 - Traditionally, many of our product organizations would start with a problem
and then—based on intuition about what our customers want—race toward a solution.
Today, they actively engage customers along the way, with an iterative process of failing
and learning fast as part of the journey. Getting to this point has required big process
changes and a new mind-set across the company.
Go to article:
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/business-technology/our-insights/an-interview-with-
citrixs-catherine-courage
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8. | February 2017 8
How Design Thinking Transformed Airbnb from a
Failing Startup to a Billion Dollar Business
First Round Review
Mar 2013 - In 2009, Airbnb was close to going bust. Like so many startups, they had
launched but barely anyone noticed. The company’s revenue was flatlined at $200 per
week. Split between three young founders living in San Francisco, this meant near
indefinite losses on zero growth.
One afternoon, the team was poring over their search results for New York City listings
with Paul Graham, trying to figure out what wasn’t working, why they weren’t growing.
After spending time on the site using the product, Gebbia had a realization. “We noticed
a pattern. There's some similarity between all these 40 listings. The similarity is that the
photos sucked.
Go to article:
http://firstround.com/review/How-design-thinking-transformed-Airbnb-from-failing-startup-to-billion-
dollar-business/
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9. | February 2017 9
Co.Design
March 24, 2011 - The term has come in for a lot of scorn. But it's because we
haven't been clear about what it actually entails. Design thinking neither negates nor
replaces the need for smart designers doing the work that they've been doing forever.
Packaging still needs to be thoughtfully created. Branding and marketing programs still
need to be brilliantly executed. Products still need to be artfully designed to be
appropriate for the modern world. When it comes to digital experiences, for instance,
design is really the driving force that will determine whether a product lives or dies in
the marketplace.
Design thinking is different. It captures many of the qualities that cause designers to
choose to make a career in their field, yes. And designers can most certainly play a key
part in facilitating and expediting it. But it's not a replacement for the important,
difficult job of design that exists elsewhere in the organization.
Go to article:
https://www.fastcodesign.com/1663480/design-thinking-isnt-a-miracle-cure-but-heres-how-it-helps
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10. | February 2017
10
Starbucks, “The Third Place”, and Creating the
Ultimate Customer Experience
Fast Company
11 Jun 2008 - Starbucks goal is to become the Third Place in our daily lives. (i.e. Home,
Work and Starbucks) “We want to provide all the comforts of your home and office.
You can sit in a nice chair, talk on your phone, look out the window, surf the web… oh,
and drink coffee too”
Go to article:
https://www.fastcompany.com/887990/starbucks-third-place-and-creating-ultimate-customer-
experience
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Ideafarms is a Gurugram based
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Advisory that first brought the value of
Industrial Design approaches to
software, keeping the user’s experience
at the centre of all its thinking.
Smartphone-powered solutions are a
key strength the company invested in
and developed as early as 2010.
The company’s ethos combines
empathy with strong technology
competencies to highlight the value of
interdisciplinary work and prototyping.
Ideafarms has the distinction of
partnering with some of the largest
global corporations to help drive
strategic value through its proven
approaches to problem solving.
Ideafarms designs and executes short-
cycle business mock-ups for its clients
and customers—labelled Design
Fiction—as a tool to help them arrive
at quick and accurate investment
decisions.