Start Smart: Five Minutes to Focus Your Design Day

In Design Thinking, clarity and focus can make or break a day. At the HPI d–school school, we’ve developed a five-minute routine that sets teams up for a productive start into their Design Thinking Studio day, rooted in a simple yet profound principle: conatio. Derived from the Latin word for an innate inclination or natural drive, conatio embodies the emotional energy and motivation that fuel innovation.

Each morning, we dedicate just five minutes to help teams connect with their inner drive and align with the work ahead. This routine doesn’t just structure the day but it grounds the process in purpose, ensuring every decision is guided by a deeper resonance with the challenge at hand.

What Is "conatio" and Why Does It Matter?

Conatio is the emotional core of strategic behavior — the natural tendency or inclination that drives meaningful action. In Design Thinking, it represents the inner motivation to address user needs, solve problems, or create meaningful change.

When teams connect to their conatio, they’re not just following a process, they are guided by a blend of clarity, determination, and urgency. This emotional anchor ensures that their strategies are not abstract goals but deeply resonant objectives tied to real human experiences.

Setting Strategy, Tactics, and Operations

Each day begins with teams focusing on three key areas, all grounded in conatio:

1. Strategy — the strategic goal for the day is not just a task — it’s an emotionally driven objective tied to the team’s deeper motivations. Whether it’s solving a user pain point or creating something meaningful, the strategy must resonate with an innate drive. This connection transforms strategy from a static goal into a dynamic force that energizes and aligns the team.
2. Tactics — with the strategy defined, the team identifies the most effective methods to achieve it. This step allows for creativity and adaptability, ensuring that the chosen processes amplify the team’s emotional connection to their goal rather than diluting it.
3. Operations — finally, teams create a practical plan, outlining when, where, and with whom activities will happen. This operational clarity ensures the team can act efficiently while maintaining alignment with their strategic and emotional compass.

This daily alignment, grounded in conatio, provides the focus and energy needed to tackle complex challenges effectively.

The Trap of Rigid Processes

Design Thinking is inherently flexible, yet teams often fall into the trap of rigidly following every step of the process. This approach can lead to superficial insights, as it prioritizes procedure over purpose.

Grounding the work in conatio helps teams avoid this pitfall. Rather than mechanically moving through stages, teams are empowered to adapt their approach. Returning to unresolved phases or skipping ahead when clarity strikes. This emotional flexibility keeps the process dynamic and user-centered.

Tools for Channeling "conatio"

Across Design Thinking frameworks, the cyclical nature of the process mirrors the iterative power of conatio. Here are some key models that guide teams in harnessing their emotional and strategic drives:

• IDEO 's six-step model
• Stanford d.school 's hexagon model
• HPI d–school 's six-step model
• IBM ’s Enterprise Design Thinking “Loop”
• Double Diamond model by the UK Design Council
• 谷歌 ’s Design Sprint

These models are not rigid instructions but frameworks for channeling conatio, helping teams balance empathy, exploration, and testing while maintaining their emotional connection to the work.

Five Minutes to Focus and Energize Your Day

By grounding their work in conatio, teams at the HPI d–school start each day with clarity, purpose, and energy. This five-minute routine is more than a logistical check-in. It is a way to reconnect with the emotional essence of their work. In just a few moments, teams align their strategy, tactics, and operations with their deeper motivations, setting the stage for creativity, agility, and meaningful progress.

The Heart of Design Thinking

Conatio is the unseen force that drives innovation. By centering Design Thinking on this emotional foundation, teams move beyond mere processes, templates and checklists. They create strategies that resonate, actions that inspire, and solutions that truly connect. In the fast lanes of innovation, the power of conatio ensures that every step is purposeful, creative, and human.

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