Resist The Urge To Shortcut Stages in Design Thinking

Companies are adopting design thinking to create better innovations and improve the quality of life, but some are falling into a trap by skipping the empathy and define stages. The author warns against this approach, as it lacks knowledge of the customer’s real problems and aspirations, sabotaging innovation efforts. Successful companies invest in training employees, creating a cross-functional team, and building innovation rooms to carry out brainstorming sessions. Still, many are disappointed with the outcome of their design thinking experimentation due to their "build it, and they will come" mentality, resulting in products or solutions that nobody needs. The article highlights the relevance of empathy and define stages and the importance of deepening the investigation to understand human needs. Skipping these stages can result in product failure or even lead the company to go out of business.