Design Thinking—A Mindset for Firms

I am sure you have heard the term design thinking and probably thought: "Design thinking? That’s for designers, not firms like mine." But hear me out, because I think you might be missing out on something big.

Design thinking is more than just a buzzword. It is a way of thinking that can shift how you approach challenges in your firm. It is not about creating pretty visuals or reinventing the wheel. It is about problem-solving in a way that puts your clients at the center of everything you do.

Getting specific

Allow me to start at the beginning by defining what the term means, and then offer you a different perspective when looking at design thinking. 

Design thinking is not something specific to designers; it is a different approach to searching for solutions. Design thinking is a process in which you seek to understand your client and redefine problems to identify alternative strategies and solutions that might not be instantly visible based on your current level of understanding. It is a solutions-based approach to solving problems.  

There are many articles out there to walk you through a standard design thinking process: 

• Start with inspiration and observe clients from a different perspective to capitalize on the needs that your competition has not recognized yet. 

• Develop ideas based on your observations rather than based on your client's ideas. 

• Test your assumptions of ideas and fail until you make that idea better.  

Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, stated, "Design Thinking is a human-centered and collaborative approach to problem-solving, using a designed mindset to solve complex problems."

What if we broke the process down differently. Started to think of this as a shift in your strategic mindset that you could apply to other aspects of running your firm? It would allow you to become more focused on seeing the world through your client's eyes, what they need instead of what you think they need.  

Imagine for a second that you could completely change how you approach your firm’s challenges. Instead of working from assumptions, you could step into your client’s shoes, really understand their pain points, and come up with solutions that hit the mark every time. That is what design thinking allows you to do.

It is about learning to put yourself in your client’s shoes and use that perspective to fuel innovation in your firm. 

So what qualities are required to get there? 

Curiosity 

Curiosity is one of the fundamental mindsets behind design thinking. You need to be able to look at all sides as if you are seeing them for the first time.

To gain a real understanding, be like the toddler that keeps asking, "Why?" "Why?" "Why?" "Why?" Question everything: Why are we still doing it this way? Why is this piece not working? Why do our clients do this particular thing?

Be curious so that you go beyond the surface and learn to pay attention to what is going on below. Never assume, put your judgments away and seek to understand. Fostering a culture of curiosity within your team will help uncover hidden opportunities and solutions.  

Empathy 

Being curious leads you to truly understanding and empathize with perspectives and situations. As you design services and advisory solutions, the biggest challenge can be understanding your clients and their real needs.

Empathy comes into play because you start to learn how your clients think and feel. Have your team talk directly with clients. Get feedback, yes, but also ask about their experiences. What challenges are they facing? What do they wish was different?

Empathy will help you find deeper insights and lead to stronger relationships with your clients. 

Challenge to innovate 

Design thinking is all about breaking free from the way things have always been done. This is where you get to really shake things up and do things differently.

There is a popular quote from Henry Ford that is often used when discussing design thinking: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

When changing your mindset, you have to stop making assumptions based on previous experiences. Instead, it would help if you challenged those assumptions, the concepts of what you can or cannot do, the status quo, and go back to your curious side. How can we do this differently or better?

Encourage your team to think outside the box and be open to unconventional solutions. Innovation does not happen by sticking to the same old methods. 

Big picture 

With all the digging and learning and exploring the details, we need to not lose sight of the big picture and remember why you are solving for this to begin with. Focus on the value you are bringing your clients how what you are doing will help them in the long term.

Remembering the big picture also enables you to create something that clients will continue to come to you for, and help you avoid creating new problems after solving for one. 

Look, design thinking is not a magical fix for all your firm’s problems. But it is a mindset shift that can open up a world of possibilities. It gives you a fresh way to think strategically, solve problems, and innovate in ways that can really set you apart from your competitors.

And here is the real kicker: adopting this mindset is not just about improving your client offerings, it is about improving how your firm works, too. A culture of curiosity, empathy and innovation can transform not just client experience, but your team’s ability to collaborate and come up with creative solutions.