How to stay ahead of the competition with Design Thinking in the post Covid19 era

We are all well aware that since we suffered the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, things are not the same as they were. It’s a fact that times are changed. We have changed and somehow adapted. Some more successfully and some less. This crisis affected us all, but despite everything, we live in the era of hyperconnectivity from which we can benefit a lot. In a matter of a second, we can get/receive almost any information on the world wide web.

As we can see, the lockdown has become a crucial moment for many companies to embark on digitalization and change the way they work. For faster adaptation, change of business models, and pivoting and introduction of digitalization, quite a few?EU funds will be available, which will help the most agile companies stay ahead of the competition.

But are you exploiting the potential for the common good??

VUCA?

To be honest, at the beginning of the lockdown, when everything stopped, we all felt a little unpleasant, panicked, unsecured because we didn’t know what to expect and what will happen and follow. While we tried to explain what VUCA means (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity), we all found ourselves in the actual VUCA situation. The whole Covid19 circumstances were actually volatile – uncertain – complex – ambiguous. And we all knew that we would have to adapt somehow. And the question for million dollars popped: how to become successful in the VUCA world and stay ahead of the competition after the pandemic?

To be humble

You probably already heard about “Design Thinking” – the human-centered approach for innovation. It is “as simple as it sounds” for understanding, but to live it, you need to drop all the ego, take “one step back,” and try to get a bigger/broader view. It is the philosophy, mindset combined with different tools that involve a business understanding of customer’s needs. The main focus is to create/design better products or services for them (customers). You can read more about?Design Thinking methodology in this article.

Everything starts with empathy & understanding and ends with it. Because at the end of the Design Thinking process, we try to understand (empathize) if our customers are satisfied and if the product or service solves their problems.

To stay ahead

We didn’t know what to expect during the lockdown, and we don’t know what to expect after. Will there be any more lockdowns? The question remains, but more importantly, we need to start listening to our customers’ needs and pains and try to understand them to adapt faster and more efficiently. The quicker and better you know your customers, the higher pace of experimenting and innovation you can get. Design thinking is not just a “one-time job.” It is an ongoing process of exploration and divergent thinking.

Takeouts

• Don’t forget to take advantage of the tech era that we are upon.
• Be humble at understanding customers’ needs.
• Time changes, and so do customer habits.
• Be aware and adapt quickly.
• Embrace Design Thinking – it can help you stay ahead of the competition.

If you wish to know more about Design Thinking methodology and approaches, please reach us at?[email protected].