How Lean and Design Thinking Transformed Airbnb

In the vibrant world of business strategy and innovation, two methodologies, Lean Thinking and Design Thinking, are making waves with their transformative power. But what happens when you bring these two heavyweights together? Let’s take a dive into the realm of Lean and Design Thinking. In this brief article, we explore their dynamic synergy through the remarkable story of Airbnb’s evolution.

Getting to Know Lean and Design Thinking

Lean Thinking, born from Toyota’s renowned Production System, can be used across any industry or organisation to improve processes. It is all about cutting out waste and constantly improving processes to deliver maximum value. It’s like tidying up your business’s room, making everything efficient and effective. Think of it as your friendly efficiency expert!

Design Thinking, on the other hand, is your creative problem-solving buddy. It focuses on understanding people’s needs, coming up with innovative ideas, and trying things out until you hit the jackpot. It’s like crafting the perfect solution by putting yourself in your customer’s shoes.

The two approaches share overlaps, for example DMAIC and PDCA are frameworks withing Lean Thinking that are comparable to phases of the Design Thinking:

• DMAIC is your data-driven friend, helping you define, measure, analyse, improve, and control your processes. It’s like having a GPS for your business journey, guiding you through the twists and turns to reach your destination — similar to the “empathise”, “define” and “ideate” phases of Design Thinking.

• With PDCA, you’re constantly planning, doing, checking, and acting, just like when you’re trying to perfect your dance moves. It’s all about learning from your steps and adjusting to get better, much like the “prototype”, “test” and “implement” stages of Design Thinking.

• The Design Thinking Loop is your safe playground for creativity and empathy. It’s where you empathise with your users, define their problems, brainstorm solutions, prototype ideas, and test them out. It’s like being a detective, scientist, and artist all rolled into one!

While Design Thinking focuses on the customer’s journey, experience, perception and felt value, Lean Thinking focuses on value-adding activities versus non-value adding activities for the business.

Case Study| Airbnb’s Journey

Now, let’s zoom into the real-life combined methodology adventure of Airbnb. Back in the day, Airbnb faced the challenge of convincing people to open their homes to strangers. But with the magic blend of Lean and Design Thinking, they turned this challenge into an opportunity.

Lean Thinking helped Airbnb streamline its platform, making it easier for hosts and guests to connect. They constantly tweaked their website and app based on user feedback, making booking a breeze. In fact, by 2017, Airbnb had over 4 million listings worldwide, a testament to their relentless pursuit of efficiency.

Meanwhile, Design Thinking guided Airbnb in understanding the hopes and fears of both hosts and guests. By empathizing with their users, Airbnb crafted features like personalized recommendations and trust-building mechanisms. This human-centred approach paid off — Airbnb’s revenue skyrocketed from $250 million in 2013 to over $2.6 billion in 2017.

In the end, Airbnb’s story is a shining example of how Lean and Design Thinking can work hand-in-hand to drive success. By combining Lean’s focus on efficiency with Design Thinking’s emphasis on empathy and creativity, Airbnb transformed the hospitality industry and became a household name worldwide. So, whether you’re tidying up your processes or crafting the perfect solution, remember — Lean and Design Thinking are better together!

What’s next?

Our next article will deep dive into Business Process Improvement. At Change Consulting Scotland, our BPI offering integrate Lean’s data and process driven methodologies with Kotter’s Change Principles and Design Thinking to increase value through data while remaining human-centred.

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