3 Reasons Why Design Thinkers Matter to Organisations? 🌟

Daniel Ling
Jan 17, 2024
5 min read

Updated: Jun 20

Office meeting with eight people in Design Thinking NTUC Income; one presents a sheet. Colorful notes on the table. Yellow wall with words like "Innovate" and "Speed."

Introduction of Design Thinkers

Design Thinking is a game-changer, my friends! It's not just some fancy buzzword- it's a tool that propels brands, businesses, and individuals to new heights of success. 🌟

There are 3 areas of success that organisations require design thinkers - that I will use the gym analogy to help you understand:

Why do you go to the gym?

1️⃣ Look Good

We exercise and build our fitness so that we look healthy and become more attractive. Fitness can help you have a better body shape and healthier outlook.

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations look good by increasing empathy and understanding of its staff and customers. This builds good Customer Experience and Brand Recognition in the long term.

2️⃣ Lose Fats

We lose excess fats when we sweat it out in the gym. In the long term, with good diet and regular exercise, you can lose weight and be leaner.

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations to cut waste and increase productivity by looking at internal processes and ensuring the pain points of inefficiency are removed.

3️⃣ Build Muscles

We work on various parts of our body to build key muscles to strengthen the main ones, and also to create new muscles.

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations to think of new ways to be creative and innovate to cater better or new products or services to their customers.

Conclusion, Design Thinking makes organisations:

Look Good - Deliver Customer Experience

Lose Fats- Cut Costs and Increase Productivity

Build Muscles- Innovation and Increase Value

Two people at a table with papers and drinks, discussing a colorful paper model on Design Thinking in NTUC Income. Background features notes and diagrams on a wall. — Let's look at how Design Thinkers are so valuable to organisations. 👇

1️⃣ Look Good- Organisations Can Build Customer Experience with Design Thinking

We exercise and build our fitness so that we look healthy and become more attractive. Fitness can help you have a better body shape and healthier outlook.

1️⃣ Look Good - Deliver Customer Experience

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations look good by increasing empathy and understanding of its staff and customers. This builds good Customer Experience and Brand Recognition in the long term.

I am so proud to be part of the OCBC family that focus so much on Customer Experience, we:

Empathize Deeply: Immerse ourselves in the shoes of our customers- invite them to our office and understand their frustrations, desires, and unspoken needs. We also head out there to observe at branches to see the actual situation.
Iterate relentlessly: Embrace failure and continue to learn from the previous versions to make a better one better. Our Group Customer Experience team have been around for 10+ years and I have been part of the pioneering design team- what we have designed in the past have and should be replaced by better versions now- and rightly so!
Culture of Collaboration: Strive to break down walls and remove silos in the way of working. We empower every team member to champion the customer's voice, ensuring every touchpoint reflects a deep understanding of their journey and aspirations. We welcome everyone in the office from every other departments to have conversation with us.

People discuss documents at a table in a busy classroom in OCBC for Design Thinking. Whiteboards covered with sticky notes and diagrams fill the background. — OCBC deliver good customer experience by creating a culture of collaboration.

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2️⃣ Lose Fats- Organisations Cut Costs and Increase Productivity with Design Thinking

We lose excess fats when we sweat it out in the gym. In the long term, with good diet and regular exercise, you can lose weight and be leaner.

2️⃣ Lose Fats - Cut Costs and Increase Productivity

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations to cut waste and increase productivity by looking at internal processes and ensuring the pain points of inefficiency are removed.

In fact, when Design Thinking first started to be introduced in Singapore- some 15 years back- it impacted first the financial industry in terms of building Customer Experience. The next impact came to the government service industry in terms of increasing productivity.

One of my very first set of clients to learn Design Thinking courses

Mindef

NAVY

RSAF

SCDF

ICA

These are Singapore uniformed groups- where their leaders told me that they want to learn Design Thinking so that they can understand their processes better through empathy, define the root of the problem and start hacking some productivity improvements inside out.

Not for profits.

Not for commercialisation.

Not to improve their brand loyalty.

Not for feel good factor.

Just productivity.

This is the beauty of Design Thinking. It applies to also uniformed groups who just want their staff to have a delightful working experience. This makes employees with DT so valuable to organisations in all forms of business.

A group of uniformed individuals and two in casual attire pose in a bright room with scattered chairs and tables, creating a cheerful atmosphere in SCDF Design Thinking — SCDF conducts Design Thinking Workshop to be productive in all their defence processes.

____________________________________

___________________________________

3️⃣ Build Muscles- Organisations Innovate and Increase Value with Design Thinking

We work on various parts of our body to build key muscles to strengthen the main ones, and also to create new muscles.

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations to think of new ways to be creative and innovate to cater better or new products or services to their customers.

I have the pleasure to lead an Experience Design team and educate Design Thinking to NTUC Income who is so hungry for innovation and delivering micro-insurance leveraging on new business model to the mass market.

In all innovation work to create new value, we need to:

Understand the customers

Identify the opportunity

Align business goals to meet the opportunity

Ideate business model and innovation enablers

Evaluate and analyze feasibility

Hack and test it

These are some of key points- and I do not have all day to run through specifics. If you interested in an Innovation Course, especially applying AI as an enabler- please DM and sign up for an upcoming course. 🤖🤖🤖

Team in an office with yellow walls discusses ideas. One person holds up a paper. Post-its and notes cover the table, creating a collaborative mood. — NTUC Income conducts intensive Design Thinking sessions to innovate new micro-insurance into new market segments.

Last Words

I will be adding more articles on Design Thinking, Strategy and Innovation throughout the year. Articles of these 5 Step Action Plan and Modern Soft Skills will be added periodically to give my readers a broader insights to how to crush complex problems, overcome future challenges and spot AI opportunities.

Check out more articles via my blog: https://www.emerge-creatives.com/blog-1

Follow me on social media:

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-ling-designthinkersgroupdtv

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/designthinkersgroupdtv

Instagram- @designthinkersgroupdtv https://www.instagram.com/designthinkersgroupdtv?igsh=ajg2NGplbXJ1cWU4&utm_source=qr

About the Author

Daniel Ling is a regional ex-Design Leader turned educator, and business owner of Emerge Creatives, an registered SSG training provider (RTP) to deliver modern soft skills to professionals through Design Thinking, Business Strategy, and AI Innovation.

With over 15 years of experience in the financial and e-commerce tech industries- including key leadership roles at Lazada, NTUC Income, OCBC, and DBS- Daniel has led cross-regional design teams, built design functions from the ground up, and spearheaded large-scale transformation initiatives. But beyond industry success,

Daniel has reinvented himself as a “designer in a business suit”- equally fluent in creative strategy and commercial impact.

How to sign up for his WSQ Certification Courses

WSQ Advanced Design Thinking:

https://www.emerge-creatives.com/wsq-design-thinking-certification-course

WSQ Entrepreneurship Business Strategy:

https://www.emerge-creatives.com/entrepreneurship-business-planning

WSQ AI Business Innovation:

https://www.emerge-creatives.com/wsq-ai-business-innovation-management

Where to get Complete Design Thinking Guide for Successful Professionals

Download PDF Digital Copy here: https://payhip.com/b/hM4U

Purchase from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1514202735

Download eBook from Apple Store here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/complete-design-thinking-guide/id1022432207?ls=1&mt=11

Design Thinking Guide Book- Learn how to problem-solve, creative and innovative in the digital transformation, impress your boss and get you promoted

Introduction of Design Thinkers

Design Thinking is a game-changer, my friends! It's not just some fancy buzzword- it's a tool that propels brands, businesses, and individuals to new heights of success. 🌟

There are 3 areas of success that organisations require design thinkers - that I will use the gym analogy to help you understand:

Why do you go to the gym?

1️⃣ Look Good

We exercise and build our fitness so that we look healthy and become more attractive. Fitness can help you have a better body shape and healthier outlook.

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations look good by increasing empathy and understanding of its staff and customers. This builds good Customer Experience and Brand Recognition in the long term.

2️⃣ Lose Fats

We lose excess fats when we sweat it out in the gym. In the long term, with good diet and regular exercise, you can lose weight and be leaner.

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations to cut waste and increase productivity by looking at internal processes and ensuring the pain points of inefficiency are removed.

3️⃣ Build Muscles

We work on various parts of our body to build key muscles to strengthen the main ones, and also to create new muscles.

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations to think of new ways to be creative and innovate to cater better or new products or services to their customers.

Conclusion, Design Thinking makes organisations:

Look Good - Deliver Customer Experience

Lose Fats- Cut Costs and Increase Productivity

Build Muscles- Innovation and Increase Value

1️⃣ Look Good- Organisations Can Build Customer Experience with Design Thinking

We exercise and build our fitness so that we look healthy and become more attractive. Fitness can help you have a better body shape and healthier outlook.

1️⃣ Look Good - Deliver Customer Experience

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations look good by increasing empathy and understanding of its staff and customers. This builds good Customer Experience and Brand Recognition in the long term.

I am so proud to be part of the OCBC family that focus so much on Customer Experience, we:

Empathize Deeply: Immerse ourselves in the shoes of our customers- invite them to our office and understand their frustrations, desires, and unspoken needs. We also head out there to observe at branches to see the actual situation.

2️⃣ Lose Fats- Organisations Cut Costs and Increase Productivity with Design Thinking

We lose excess fats when we sweat it out in the gym. In the long term, with good diet and regular exercise, you can lose weight and be leaner.

2️⃣ Lose Fats - Cut Costs and Increase Productivity

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations to cut waste and increase productivity by looking at internal processes and ensuring the pain points of inefficiency are removed.

In fact, when Design Thinking first started to be introduced in Singapore- some 15 years back- it impacted first the financial industry in terms of building Customer Experience. The next impact came to the government service industry in terms of increasing productivity.

One of my very first set of clients to learn Design Thinking courses

Mindef

NAVY

RSAF

SCDF

ICA

These are Singapore uniformed groups- where their leaders told me that they want to learn Design Thinking so that they can understand their processes better through empathy, define the root of the problem and start hacking some productivity improvements inside out.

Not for profits.

Not for commercialisation.

Not to improve their brand loyalty.

Not for feel good factor.

Just productivity.

This is the beauty of Design Thinking. It applies to also uniformed groups who just want their staff to have a delightful working experience. This makes employees with DT so valuable to organisations in all forms of business.

3️⃣ Build Muscles- Organisations Innovate and Increase Value with Design Thinking

We work on various parts of our body to build key muscles to strengthen the main ones, and also to create new muscles.

In the same way, Design Thinking helps organisations to think of new ways to be creative and innovate to cater better or new products or services to their customers.

I have the pleasure to lead an Experience Design team and educate Design Thinking to NTUC Income who is so hungry for innovation and delivering micro-insurance leveraging on new business model to the mass market.

In all innovation work to create new value, we need to:

Understand the customers

Identify the opportunity

Align business goals to meet the opportunity

Ideate business model and innovation enablers

Evaluate and analyze feasibility

Hack and test it

These are some of key points- and I do not have all day to run through specifics. If you interested in an Innovation Course, especially applying AI as an enabler- please DM and sign up for an upcoming course. 🤖🤖🤖

About the Author

Daniel Ling is a regional ex-Design Leader turned educator, and business owner of Emerge Creatives, an registered SSG training provider (RTP) to deliver modern soft skills to professionals through Design Thinking, Business Strategy, and AI Innovation.

Daniel has reinvented himself as a “designer in a business suit”- equally fluent in creative strategy and commercial impact.

WSQ AI Business Innovation:

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