How Design Thinking is Revolutionizing the Culture of Innovation in Companies

Because one thing is certain: Design Thinking is a lived innovation culture, a lived mindset - and far more than just a method case full of techniques. Stefanie Gerken, Lab Designer, and Falk Uebernickel, Professor of Design Thinking at HPI, analyze the developments and changes in Design Thinking practices in organizations and compare the current -results with the older study to derive development trends. The study results show that design thinking is still growing exponentially in its application in companies today. Only the way design thinking is looked at has changed since 2015, the two experts emphasize.

"Previously, many looked at design thinking in a very technical way as a kind of recipe for success, with recipe steps that must be followed and adhered to closely"Professor Uebernickel told us. Today, design thinking is seen more as a mindset that gives people room to interpret and reinvent. However, the central principles of design thinking have remained the same: user-centeredness, a willingness to experiment, interdisciplinary teams, prototyping and the courage to fail from time to time. "Being open to new things, as well as making mistakes, is part of the deal if you want to break new ground." emphasizes Stefanie Gerken.

The challenge in the future will continue to be implementing Design Thinking with employees and leaders who are generally used to working in a more traditional and hierarchical way. In doing so, Design Thinking has great potential for the success of the company and offers a more flexible way of working when unexpected events occur. "We generally need to move away from sticking strictly to our plans - this inflexibility is simply no longer appropriate"says Stefanie Gerken. Because even if the introduction and practice of an innovative corporate culture is challenging, design thinking promises immense innovation potential.