The Design Thinking Playbook

The Design Thinking Playbook is an actionable guide to the future of business. By stepping back and questioning the current mindset, the faults of the status quo stand out in stark relief—and this guide gives you the tools and frameworks you need to kick off a digital transformation. Design Thinking is about approaching things differently with a strong user orientation and fast iterations with multidisciplinary teams to solve wicked problems. It is equally applicable to (re-)design products, services, processes, business models, and ecosystems. It inspires radical innovation as a matter of course, and ignites capabilities beyond mere potential. Unmatched as a source of competitive advantage, Design Thinking is the driving force behind those who will lead industries through transformations and evolutions.

This book describes how Design Thinking is applied across a variety of industries, enriched with other proven approaches as well as the necessary tools, and the knowledge to use them effectively. Packed with solutions for common challenges including digital transformation, this practical, highly visual discussion shows you how Design Thinking fits into agile methods within management, innovation, and startups.

• Explore the digitized future using new design criteria to create real value for the user
• Foster radical innovation through an inspiring framework for action
• Gather the right people to build highly-motivated teams
• Apply Design Thinking, Systems Thinking, Big Data Analytics, and Lean Start-up using new tools and a fresh new perspective
• Create Minimum Viable Ecosystems (MVEs) for digital processes and services which becomes for example essential in building Blockchain applications

Practical frameworks, real-world solutions, and radical innovation wrapped in a whole new outlook give you the power to mindfully lead to new heights. From systems and operations to people, projects, culture, digitalization, and beyond, this invaluable mind shift paves the way for organizations—and individuals—to do great things. When you’re ready to give your organization a big step forward, The Design Thinking Playbook is your practical guide to a more innovative future.

About the Authors
Michael Lewrick (Ph.D.) had different roles over the last years. He was responsible for strategic growth, acted as Chief Innovation Officer, and laid the foundation for numerous growth initiatives in sectors that are in the digital transformation. At the moment he advises internationally the most innovative companies with his concepts and frameworks about design thinking for business growth, innovation and success.

He is a motivational international speaker and teaches Design Thinking as a visiting professor at various universities. With his help, a number of international companies have developed and commercialized radical innovations. In his international bestseller, “The Design Thinking Playbook”, he postulated with his colleagues from Stanford University a new mindset of converging approaches of Design Thinking in digitization. In 2020, he published together with Larry Leifer and Patrick Link “The Design Thinking Toolbox” outlining 50 of the most valuable Design Thinking tools. In addition, he published “The Design Thinking Life Playbook”, which applies the design thinking mindset for personal change and career planning. His latest book “Design Thinking for Business Growth” focuses on the design of business ecosystems completing a series of books for applied design.

PHOTO CREDIT : SURJA SEN DAS RAJ