When ideas and opinions push to the extreme finding where the middle ground is becomes an innovation challenge. Darling I don’t know why I got to extremesToo high or too low there ain’t no in-betweensAnd if I stand or I fallIt’s all or nothing at allDarling I don’t know why I got to extremes The […]
Design thinking is ready to evolve to the next stage with evidence, case studies, definitions and theories. We look at the current state of the science, art, and practice.
Time for Design Thinking to Grow Up Read More »
You knew it would come . This week we started to see accusations and conflict peek through what had been a largely harmonious, if somewhat fragmented, response to the global pandemic. What was at first behind the scenes now took centre stage. Governments, citizens, public health officials, and scientists are starting to point the fingers
Learning As Our Outcome Read More »
Our data collection efforts during a time of VUCA are impaired by not only our methods, but our sense of what is actually happening.
Survey Says What? Read More »
‘Achieving scale’ might be the golden goose of social innovation. It’s a simple phrase, but its meaning and misunderstanding is not. “How do we take this to scale?” This common and often well-meaning question has enormous problems with it for social innovation besides the grammar. Scale might be among the most widely misunderstood concepts in
Empathy is considered to be at the bedrock of good design. But what if how we’re thinking about empathy is wrong? Empathy is certainly having its moment. Anywhere you look for writing on design and innovation and you’ll likely find a big role for empathy. Designers are encouraged to empathize with their potential customers and
Failure deals in absolutes while learning is about discovering possibility. Focusing on the former often leads us to miss the latter. Failure. It’s an emotionally laden word and also a big part of innovation work. Lately, the term failure is having a moment — it’s even got its own toy to help people learn how
Failure and Learning Read More »
Labels can shape the behaviour they describe, affecting our research. Knowing when labels describes or shapes actions makes a difference. Are you creative because you do creative things or is it because you do creative things that you’re considered creative? What if both were true? The next question: do you self-identify with that label (or
Deception and Labels Read More »
Developmental evaluation is a powerful tool to support innovation, engaging communities, and foster deep learning. While it might be growing in popularity, increasingly in demand, and a key difference-maker for social and technological innovators it might also not be for you. Developmental evaluation (DE) is an approach to evaluation that is designed to support innovation
Developmental Evaluation is not for you Read More »
Design thinking has brought the language of design into popular discourse across different fields, but it’s failings threaten to undermine the benefits it brings if they aren’t addressed. In this third post in a series, we look at how Design (and Design Thinking) can elevate themselves above their failings and match the hype with real
Elevating Design and Design Thinking Read More »
