i only have 2 problems with the term "design thinking"...

...And those are the words "design" and "thinking".

It's the New. Hot. Thing. Over the Christmas break, I read Change by Design and The Design of Business (having consumed The Ten Faces of Innovation a couple of years ago) - and there are several other books on the topic available.

So what is design thinking?

Well, according to Roger Martin, it's abduction - which is all very clever but not especially helpful. More helpful is the chapter in TDOB devoted to P&G's attempts to become an innovative organisation.

So is "design thinking" just a another phrase for "innovation" then? It will probably be used that way. Expect organizations that want to look good in their annual reports without actually doing anything new to create "Head of Design Thinking" roles and then axe them 18 months later.

For those of us who wish to take this opportunity more seriously, design thinking seems to be made up of the following:

• A human-centred (rather than technology-centred) approach to innovation & improvement.
• A systemic concern with the total user experience rather than a narrow focus on a particular product or service.
• A focus on unarticulated needs rather than articulated wants requiring immersive research techniques.
• A willingness to visualise & prototype solutions rather than relying on words alone.
• A willingness to iterate solutions rather than expecting them to be immediately fully-formed.
• An appreciation of the power of storytelling, theatre and emotional communication in general.

Now designers do not have a monopoly on these attitudes and skills (in fact some famous designers exhibited them quite poorly) and this is primarily about doing, about practice, rather than thinking*. But we now seem to be saddled with this term so let's make the best of it.

*Of course it is thinking but in a Damasio style not a Cartesian one.