Design Thinking: The Danger of Driving Solo

Internal Innovations Teams Can’t Drive Change Alone

The Innovation Race Requires a Broader Team

Design Thinking is about to turn into a fad but definitely is not a silver bullet, as I discussed in my previous post. The reason for its wide adoption, that is a straightforward and simple method, can also become its kryptonite.

The other reason for Design Thinking’s success is the promise of empowering internal innovation teams. Or, better yet, a solution to get rid of external consultants. And this can be as harmful as thinking that learning a new process, such as Design Thinking, is enough. Betting only on your corporate innovation team can be as harmful too.

Don’t get me wrong. To move innovation forward, developing internal capabilities is critical. And I love helping unleash team’s creativity. But driving solo can limit an organization’s ability to drive real innovation.

In the past, organizations depended too much on external innovation firms, design studios or creative consultants. And that wasn’t good either. Jumping from one extreme t…