Andrew Grant shares insights on innovation, transformation and Design Thinking in his keynote “Why Design Thinking (often) Fails?”
Innovation is key for organisation transformation – but to prepare for innovation there needs to be both a culture of creativity (at the organisation level) and creative thinking mindset and skill development (at the personal level). There are no shortcuts. This is why many companies that only focus on embracing design thinking, agile, digital, and other innovation activities and tools (such as innovation labs, hackathons, sprints, scrum and design thinking models) often fail.
For real design thinking to be implemented effectively (end to end), all stakeholders need to be briefed and need to buy into the process, along with having some knowledge about the content and process. Outcomes and expectations need to be set then managed by all involved, and realistically be matched to available time, resources, and budgets.
Don’t drown in the oceans of design thinking, innovation, agile and digital trying to swim before you are comfortable with being creative.
Design Thinking (DT) is a methodology for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result. In this regard it is a form of solution-based, or solution-focused thinking that starts with the an outside-in perspective of the customer needs goal or what is meant to be achieved, instead of starting with a problem framed from an inside-out business perspective. Design thinking is an ‘abductive’ solution-based approach to solving problems, and is especially useful when addressing ˜Wicked Problems. Wicked problems are wicked in the sense that they are ill-defined or tricky, not wicked in the sense of malicious. For ill-defined customer needs, both the problem and the solution are unknown at the outset of the problem-solving exercise. This is as opposed to “tame” or “well-defined” problems where the problem is clear, and the solution is available through some technical knowledge.
Watch Andrew’s video below to learn more:
Andrew Grant is CEO of Tirian International Consultancy, keynote speaker and co-author of the breakthrough new book The Innovation Race: How to change a culture to change the game along with international bestseller Who Killed Creativity?… And How Can We Get It Back?.
As an executive level global culture consultant and facilitator, Andrew has been engaged by market innovation leaders to help create a culture of innovation including: Nestle (sustainable solutions for emerging markets in Switzerland); Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts (preparing the exec team for the future of the hospitality industry, Canada); Disney (creating compelling ideas for marketing, HK), Mercedes Benz (assisting with
innovative brand positioning, China), Estee Lauder (reimagining regional retail models), Salesforce (looking at the future of marketing and the customer journey), Duke University, UAE Prime Minister’s office (to help Dubai and the region develop future leaders in innovation), along with a number of large finance institutions (eg assisting with dealing with changes to regulations).
In his role as a keynote speaker, Andrew has been in high demand internationally, including delivering the opening keynote at the Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO) Global Leadership ROW Conference, APEC CEO Summit, APRU University Leaders Forum, Four Seasons Hotel CEO Conference, The World Innovation Conference, TEDx, and he has shared the stage with recognised names such as Steven Covey & Tony Buzan. Andrew has also delivered a series of headline keynotes at extended international roadshows for Fuji Xerox, Salesforce, and Citibank.
Andrew has a wealth of knowledge & experience working internationally, and is both globally minded and culturally fluent, resulting in sessions that are always relevant and sensitive to both the local mindset and diverse audiences. He consistently receives the highest rated feedback for his sessions. He has co-authored over 30 corporate educational resources, simulation and programs in total, which are used by Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Companies such as Visa use Tirian programs as an induction program for every new manager worldwide.
Andrew’s significant success comes from the fact that he is not only able to talk intelligently and engagingly about the important elements of creative thinking and innovation, but it is easy to see in everything he does. As a result Andrew has been featured in a number of international media including BBC and ABC TV along with commercial TV, Reuters, Harvard Business review, Fast Company and the Wall St Journal.
As a dynamic husband-and-wife team, Andrew can team up with his partner and co-author, Gaia Grant, who is also a Director of Tirian Consultancy. Gaia is researching innovation culture and sustainability at Sydney University Business School, where she is also a lecturer. Gaia Grant (BA, Dip Ed, BD, Grad Dip Change Leadership, Masters of Science in Creative Thinking, MPhil, PhD (cand))
Outside of their corporate work, Andrew and Gaia have also worked on breakthrough pro bono education projects across Asia, including designing educational material that has been targeted to reach over 25 million people in developing countries worldwide.
Andrew’s keynotes and seminars include:
- Who killed creativity?
- Collaboration: The Collaboration Deception
- Leadership: Inventing the Future & The leader as a storyteller
- The Innovation Race: Who Wins, Loses, and gets Eliminated. How to change a culture to change the game
Contact us if you would like to engage Andrew Grant to speak at your next event.