The art of business design

Transcription

1 The art of business design Copyright Cultivar Consulting Limited 2010 an e-guide to authentic design thinking

2 Contents the author James Rock Chief Business Designer Cultivar Consulting introduction significant moments in time sustainability & CSR the next step - authenticity authentic leadership a profound sense of purpose thinking styles design thinking the design process the art of business design

3 introduction this e-guide is designed to quickly stimulate your thoughts and encourage you to act further the booklet isn t a how-to manual, but more of a summary of my philosophy of invention as it applies to designing innovative business models it introduces the concept of authenticity as a central core element of the business - a culture within a new type of business architecture it describes how creativity and innovation can be linked to business experience to invent new and more effective business models for established business leaders it explains why now is the time to re-think, re-design and rebuild for the future for new start-ups it should stimulate you to think differently and freshly, to seek inspiration in designing a business that really fires your passion and helps you to be more successful its all about - The Art of Business Design

4 significant moments in time sometimes events occur that give us a shock! if they didn t happen our life would continue pretty much as-is without the need to change - when they do arise it usually leads to initial disbelief, followed by realisation that the status-quo no longer applies 9/11 was one of those days... perceptions about managing public safety and transportation changed overnight, our world was turned upside down 2008 was one of those years... when consumerism driven by easy credit suddenly unravelled these events are often called black swans highimpact, hard-to-predict, and rare occurrences, and when these significant emotional events hit us we need to reframe our world... in 2009 there arose huge public distrust in capital markets after the banking sector crash, and in public institutions after the scandal of MP s expenses most of us now realise that greed isn t good, and that capitalism needs to be re-invented to provide both economic and social development we need to look at ourselves critically and determine if we need to change - we need to fundamentally address how we act in our life and in our business...

5 sustainability & CSR though it often seems like it, sustainability isn t just about tree hugging environmentalists it has become a wide-ranging term that encompases taking a long-term perspective of our future in business this covers three principal areas - environmental sustainability societal sustainability economic sustainability this holy trinity of sustainability is usually grouped together to form a company s corporate sociability responsibility (CSR) policy - many firms are doing this in the USA, CSR is often called the Triple Bottom Line i.e. its focus is about using CSR to impact on profitability and shareholder value - true capitalist thinking but isn t focusing on bottom line profit inherently unsustainable? doesn t taking short term profits often mean investment cutbacks? its well known that you can t save your way to sustainable long-term prosperity now there is a new trend to something more genuine - a sustainable approach that works - the new term being used for this is Authenticity...

6 authenticity authenticity isn t just a new management buzz-word its a set of values that guide individuals and organisations in facing the many tensions, forces, pressures, and influences of everyday life with honesty and integrity there are growing movements across the world that are building knowledge and expertise in this field every day more individuals, organisations and businesses are adopting authenticity as their way of becoming truly sustainable authentic people, leaders and businesses display the following attributes: - P - they have a profound purpose beyond profit, a purpose that is socially and/or environmentally positive I - they display integrity between communication and action R - they show respect for others S - they display sensibility to exploitation of resources and customers; and they have U - they have a distinct and unique business personality are you a truly authentic leader?

7 authentic leadership being a leader is a difficult role - it requires many qualities and skills we know the ones who inspire us they are full of life and passion they believe in the greater power of a team over an individual they are ethical and act with integrity they trust people to act responsibly they respect the needs of others they have the courage to follow their convictions above all, authentic leaders have a deep and true sense of purpose and deploy their energy in pursuit of it people are always willing to follow inspiring and authentic leaders so why not be the leader others choose to follow?

8 a profound sense of purpose do you know your own life purpose? it defines you and helps you to know who you truly are for most of us there is a gap between the life we are leading and who we truly are - this gap causes stress and the bigger the gap the more stress there is when we know our life purpose and apply our talents in pursuit of it we feel engaged, fulfilled and much happier - we become passionate in our work and if a group of people with a shared purpose work together their energy rises dramatically - in a business this energy can deliver amazing results so do your employees know their purpose? do they share your purpose? is everyone aligned? are you all passionate about what you do? authentic businesses focus on this shared sense of profound purpose to constantly drive them forward in pursuit of their goals they usually outperform their peers too... resulting in growth and profitability far above average

9 thinking styles if you have decided that now is the time to rethink then is now the time to change the way you do this too? it is well known that the brain has two distinct halves - left brain and right brain - and thinking originates from either side left brain thinking is described as logical, sequential, rational, analytical, objective - it focuses on the parts right brain thinking is described as random, intuitive, holistic, synthesising, subjective - it focuses on the whole in business, people are predominantly left brain thinkers - they deal in reality, and are usually conventional and predictable - our education system is primarily designed to foster and help develop these left brain skills but doesn t do enough to develop the right side of the brain but artists and designers are predominantly right brain people - they deal in creativity and innovation - often described as lateral thinking so why can t these thinking styles can be combined? they can - and this is now being recognised...

10 design thinking leading business leaders have said we need to rethink, re-design and re-build - but in ways that look not at the past... but by embracing the future society is changing, technology is rapidly developing, competition is global and on-line the west can t compete head-to-head with low-cost labour producers any longer, and is committed to creativity and innovation as a competitive response its recently been said that design schools are the new business schools - because it s now apparent that old-school businesses are out of date and some lateral thinking is needed - Design Thinking so leading business schools are beginning to develop collaborative links with the best art schools and top-end design companies like IDEO are now being engaged in business and service design this is because creativity and innovation is needed to design the businesses of tomorrow - injecting a dose of right brain, abductive thinking - so start to ask yourself what might be? the design process can then be used to provide a framework that helps you design your business of the future...

11 the design process designers manage the process of design in different ways, but there are similarities in every approach, typically covered by four common phases :- discovery - the start of the project - beginning with an initial idea or inspiration in which user needs are identified define - in which interpretation and alignment of these needs to business objectives is achieved develop - where design-led solutions are developed, iterated and tested within the company deliver - where the resulting business model is finalised and launched in the relevant market but whilst other design processes can deliver innovative solutions, they don t consider the crucial aspect of embedding authenticity as a central key element, nor the behavioural aspects of change that are required to deliver this so you need a design process that integrates the technical elements of change alongside those behavioural ones that are so critical for authenticity this ensures that everyone understands, buys-in and supports the business model as it is implemented...

12 the art of business design so we know business tensions will hit us from different directions, including economic cycles, changing customer needs, competition, and ever increasing shareholder expectations we understand that sometimes these tensions arise at different times, but very often they will occur simultaneously and require a bigger response so businesses need to be amorphous structures that will be flexible and responsive to change the authentic business architecture is a flexible and accommodating framework that interlinks the key elements of the business whilst retaining authenticity as the central culture at its heart any tensions cause the whole to flex together, but authentic values help every part to adjust accordingly without suffering a critical failure so while you are re-thinking, re-designing and rebuilding you can invent a business of the future that will cope with the tensions of tomorrow you can inject creativity and innovation to deliver excellence, engage your people, and display a passion that will truly excite your customers in short - The Art of Business Design

13 contact us now web: telephone : 44 (0) mobile : 44 (0) James Rock james.rock@cultivar.co.uk