Three types of corporate culture

Have you ever wondered if corporate culture can be organized onto types? I have. In a tiny nutshell, here are what is generally accepted in the HR world as the three types of corporate culture. Expertise cultures. In an expertise culture, the key motivation of employees is for the employee to become an expert, building […]

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A kick start to designing cultures of innovation

To transform a corporate culture requires the changing of individual and collective behavior. One of the greatest values of design thinking is how it does both. The power of the collective imagination of employees, coupled with the Pull Factor and design thinking at scale is simply amazing. It can have a great impact on an […]

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The need for Curious Confrontation

Since design thinking is a way of leading with creativity, it encourages embracing ambiguity, uncertainty and curiosity. One of the greatest challenges any organization or team will face lies in how it effectively manages competing interests, differing views, disagreement and conflict, all of which are natural contributors to innovation. One of the key advantages design […]

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Design thinking at scale

I’ve just completed a major research project with leadership psychologist Edgar Papke. We’ve synthesized our findings in a new book, Innovation by Design. The cool thing is that it is about the benefits of design thinking at scale – we looked into the intersection of design thinking, innovation and corporate culture. We went into our […]

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The Fifth Order of Design

The evolution of design that has unfolded over the past century is likely best explained by Richard Buchanan’s Four Orders of Design. Buchanan, a professor of design, management, and information sys­tems, suggests that as an organization matures in its use of design, it tends to move from visual design and graphic communication, to industrial design […]

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How to multiply creativity

This post is based on an analysis of some of the most extensive and advanced use design thinking on the planet. My research partner Edgar Papke and I reached out to a select group of organizations and looked under their hoods – to understand to what level they were using design thinking, how they were […]

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What do UX leaders lead?

Given the right context and corporate culture, User Experience leaders can do amazing things for any company. Much like Design Leaders, here is a snapshot of what the best UX leaders lead, and it goes far beyond usability. Process UX is about making new experiences, services and products, and this requires process discipline and methods […]

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New book: Innovation by Design

Coming this November, a new book by Thomas Lockwood and organization psychologist Edgar Papke: Innovation by Design. Why are some organizations more innovative than others? How can we tap into, empower, and leverage the natural innovation within our organizations that is so vital to our future success? Now more than ever, companies and institutions of […]

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What do design thinkers think?

Have you ever wondered which problem is the most important to solve? Do you focus on the smaller problem at hand, or the bigger problem that lies beneath? The answer is yes, to both. That’s what design thinkers do. They solve the issues before them, while taking a bite out of the bigger issues too, […]

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