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How to engage people getting on the journey of a NWOW

9 November 2016

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I have been thinking about a conversation I had with one of our main clients in the health sphere. Over the last twelve months Veldhoen + Company has helped two hospitals in New South Wales, Australia develop 2 pilots that will trial the implementation of  NWOW as a workplace strategy within their non-clinical staff area’s.

In  particular their challenges dealing with:

  1. the process oriented mentality of clinicians.
  2. managing the resistance of some people that like reading the last chapters in a book first before they start reading the book from the beginning.

I believe the application of a practice of design thinking is relevant here,  because of it’s decision making methodology. It’s a novel problem-solving methodology that makes sense, as it focuses on creating a sense of shared purpose upfront. Design thinking empathises with the problem before defining the problem. Then starts the design and trial of a possible future possibility.

Before applying design thinking we tend to fit the often more process orientated way our working. We meet with timelines and planning, with tangible analytics of space. The assigned area’s for a potential NWOW implementation. Our less tangible Change management process runs in parallel to the more tangible data driven linear process, with all the workshops we do with the users of the spaces. We take them one the journey and educate and engage with as we meet their specific needs. Both inform the overall workplace strategy. Both are integral and essential in the whole process of developing a workplace strategy.

The light house on the horizon

The third layer we apply, the Light house, is the process of Design thinking.  This process has significant attention in the business press and has been heralded as a novel problem-solving methodology well suited to the often-cited challenges business organizations face in encouraging innovation and growth. Yet the specific mechanisms through which the use of design, approached as a thought process, might improve innovation outcomes have not received significant attention from business scholars. In particular, its utility has only rarely been linked to the academic literature on individual cognition and decision-making. This perspective piece advocates addressing this omission by examining “design thinking” as a practice potentially valuable for improving innovation outcomes by helping decision-makers reduce their individual level cognitive biases.

More stories about design thinking will follow soon. Stay updated.

To better understand the process, you might also like to read more in-depth about the methodology of Design thinking at Irenevanderdoes.com.

Ultimately, we will work with you to create a unique culture and environment where people will have the space to thrive, the freedom to genuinely connect with one another and will proudly work as a part of your organisation.