What Will Be the Most Impactful Use of Design Thinking in the Business/social Landscape of India and Why?

“What will be the most impactful use of Design Thinking in the business/social landscape of India and why?”

I think a key area where design thinking will play an important role is the way businesses manage and interact with their workforce. In most organisations, the decision making is top-down. When companies shifted to the Multi-divisional form, the aim was to free up the top leadership to take the important strategic decisions, but what this has caused is that there is hardly any connect between the top and the bottom. The organisations of the future will seek to bridge this gap. Design thinking will lead to the transformation of companies to have a more employee centric view.

With the VUCA world, the businesses need to be flexible and agile to be able to learn from as well as react to the market and the company itself. The lower levels of the company are more aware of the market and should have a prominent say in the decision making. The employees will also be able to contribute to the overall strategy of the firm. Only when the voice of the bottom is heard by the top and the top is able to convey the rationale behind their decisions, will the workplaces be more egalitarian and democratic.

It is important for the companies to be adaptive, innovation is important. When the traditional principles of scientific management are no longer relevant, it is important for the organisations to foster and nurture creativity. I see that the teams and departments will be more fluid and organic, I see more and more companies coming up with “idea incubators” as well as open “venture teams”. The firms can succeed only if innovation and entrepreneurship are an integral part of the culture. A company which imbibes creativity and innovation will be able to cater to the dynamically changing business landscape and customer requirements can only be met if it focuses on the actual issues faced by

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