Design Thinking for Business Innovation

Come with A Problem – Leave with A Solution

Boost Your Business Potential with Design Thinking Design Thinking is an approach to innovation that is driven by deep user understanding, early prototyping, and iterative testing of the potential solutions. It is a practical methodology and process that guides the development of new, innovative products and services, processes, business models, and strategies.

For corporate leaders and managers, the Design Thinking for Business Innovation program from Aalto University Executive Education and Esade Business School will take you on a seven-day deep dive into its practical and actionable methodology and show you how to make it work.

You will learn the central methods and concepts of Design Thinking, and practice using Design Thinking first-hand through a real innovation challenge that you bring with you from your own organization.

By the end of the program, you will be able to identify opportunities for innovation through user research, develop innovative ideas, turn the ideas into early prototypes, and test them with users for feedback. Finally, you will learn how to practically apply Design Thinking to business models and how to implement it in your organization.

Why Design Thinking?

In the times of affluence and complex challenges, a solely analytical approach to innovating can no longer bring competitive advantage. The Design Thinking process, which is also the methodology behind Service Design (Palvelumuotoilu in Finnish), combines and mixes analytical and creative phases for solving business challenges in a practical way. It helps you to enhance creativity and your organization´s capability to innovate. Design Thinking combined with business innovation methodology forms a powerful and actionable approach to innovation.

It is vital to leverage deep customer understanding to be able to cater to the ever-growing, varying demands of customers and users. Design Thinking methods guide toward rethinking and reframing the challenges and acquiring new insights for idea development. The new concepts are prototyped and get validated by your customer. The Design Thinking / Service Design process and methodology can be applied to developing new, innovative products and services, processes, business models, and strategies.

Benefits

By attending the program, you will gain a toolkit of new skills, ready to drive innovation and create value for your business and customers.

Gain customer understanding and insight to meet real customer needs

Quickly develop, prototype and validate concepts

Quantify value propositions and increase the effectiveness of your sales pitches

Drive business model design and maximize value creation and value capture

Conceive and execute agile strategies that link innovation to growth

Generate and implement cross-company innovation – on all levels

Contents and Schedule

The program starts with an online module two weeks prior to the event days. This virtual kick-off will get you started with the program content as well as with the project assignment you will be working on during the program. The kick-off module is an integral part of the program and will require about one working hour per week during the two weeks.

The six program days in Helsinki and Barcelona include different kinds of sessions and activities such as

• interactive lectures and discussions with experienced faculty members that are top experts in their own special field
• learning by doing: applying step by step the design-driven innovation methods to a real-life business challenge that you bring from your organization
• learning from others: experienced business practitioners from different industries or branches will present how design thinking is used in their organizations