Lecture: How to Solve Business Problems Using Creativity.
The Idea Guy • March 3, 2019
Every CEO has a business problem, and every one of them can be solved with a good idea.
In my lecture, attendees learn a process for generating solutions to business problems using Design Thinking, and understand how to apply the process to theirs. With the addition of a Project Plan, a CEO can move confidently into addressing the issues that impact their brand, their differentiation or revenue goals.
“Not only does Design Thinking help CEO’s solve problems, but we can show 10-year returns for companies using Design Thinking that is helps generate a 211% better return compared to those who do not.”
Design Thinking has been adopted by some of the largest brands in the world, like Apple, HP and Disney. The Design Value Index Study shows 10-year returns for these companies yielding 2.11 times (211%) that of the S&P 500. This marks the third year in a row we have seen such results in excess of 200% over the S&P.The Design Business Council reports, “Return on design investment (RODI) has been measured across many years by the UK Design Council and the U.S. Design Management Institute. This research shows that in the UK an average design investment will multiply the turnover by 2.25 when compared with the invested resources. In the U.S. the Design Value Index shows a 228% increase in value for listed companies rated as design led. In Denmark companies investing in design have gained a growth 22% greater than companies that have not invested in design and the difference will rise up to 40% when talking about continuous investing.”
When we add project management to the front end of problem solving we help create a vision for our team, and others, to understand how we will solve the problem before we start work. This is helpful to CEO’s and business leaders in order to properly evaluate the effort and the potential impact or return on the time and money invested.
Once the project is underway, a project plan helps keep the work on track and on schedule. Throughout the project, management can assess how well the project is being executed, i.e., on time and on budget. This is a critical element when help leadership solve a problem where they may not be the expert of project lead.
The slides are available for download lead you through my lecture, including my notes and an exercise for developing a problem statement. It also includes a checklist for solving a business problem. The project plan is a Google sheet that you can download as an Excel file and update to use during your project development.
If you have questions about the material, or would like to schedule this lecture at your event, contact me.
