Building a foundation for the future requires radical thinking, creative solutions, and collaborative action to navigate beyond today’s economic and global challenges.

1. BUILD A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
WITH ART AND DESIGN THINKING
BY DR. BASTIAAN HEEMSBERGEN
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2. "Don’t judge, and be truly curious. Encourage stories, listen to non-verbal cues, lose
your own agenda and absorb what is being stated."
Building a foundation for the future requires radical thinking, 4. Engage and collaborate:
creative solutions, and collaborative action to navigate beyond Make sense and meaning by unpacking observations and
today’s economic and global challenges.1 Many of the issues we sharing them with the team. To open up communication,
face today are so complex they cross organizational boundaries, create an open and playful space. For example, use
have many interdependencies, and are highly resistant to movement exercises to get team members thinking
resolution. The issues can lead to unforeseen consequences, divergently, and body sculpting to physically experience a
and usually involve changing behaviour.2 So what kind of situation in order to generate new ideas. Next begin
thinking is required to navigate these challenges? to toss out possibilities, seed and water ideas generated, and
Let’s start by asking another question. What do the Royal impose constraints to stretch thinking (“What if it had to been
College of Art and Design in London; Roger Martin, Dean of done without additional resources”, or “What would Google
Rotman Business School; Jerry Sternin and colleagues from do?” Or “Could it be done in less than 30 seconds?”). Finally,
Save the Children in Vietnam; INSEAD in Paris; Stanford identify patterns and trends.
University; IDEO; and finally, the Australian Government, have
5. Test possibilities:
in common? Answer: They all understand the crux of what may
be necessary to build sustainable foundations through art and Design is a way of thinking. Do a mock-up, which can be a
design thinking (ADT). Here are some principles on how to wall of post-it-notes, a storyboard, or even an improvisation.
incorporate art and design thinking into your leadership practise: Give life to new ideas, and experiment, make ideas real, try
lots of ideas, get feedback, play around, and then refine
ideas before locking into a solution. Why? To resolve
1. Get clear on a desired future:
disagreements, build shared understanding, reduce risk, and
Seek clarity around purpose and intent. The challenge generate learning.
or problem is the important starting point. Ask the right
questions to elicit focus and direction. Ask “Why?” and “What 6. Evaluate:
do we need to achieve?” “What is the underlying purpose?” Alternate between convergent and divergent thinking.
“Why is that important to us?” “So what?” Clarity will then Divergent thinking can be used to generate the next
enable us to create solutions to our seemingly intractable round of improved creative alternatives. Use convergent
challenges.3 thinking to evaluate, assess risks, identify worthy options,
plan continued development, and eventually implement the
2. Explore with fresh eyes: solutions. Finally share what you’ve learned with stakeholders
Get out from behind the desk, look around and become an to test your new ideas.
anthropologist. “Unscrape” your mind and “unthink”. See Art and design thinking engages both sides of the brain — it
not just “what is” but also what “might be”. The key is to makes leaders more creative, more empathetic toward the human
think “outside in” rather than “organization out”. Take condition, and more capable of navigating today’s complexities.
a camera or video, go to where people in your organization Leveraging art and design thinking allows us to act less like a
congregate, capture some real time images, and at the solo engineer and more like a collaborative jazz combo.
same time observe to gain deeper insight into behaviour.
Collect information from different sources and angles
to build new insights and deepen your understanding of the Dr. Bastiaan Heemsbergen is faculty with Leadership
primary stakeholders inside and outside your organization. Development at The Banff Centre
3. Listen intensely: 1. The Value of a Harvard or Wharton MBA Will Slide to Zero.
A new Masters of Business Design Should Replace It. Blog
Don’t judge, and be truly curious. Encourage stories, listen posted by Bruce Nassbaum on June 08, 2009.
to non-verbal cues, lose your own agenda and absorb what is
2. Tackling Wicked Problems: A Public Policy Perspective,
being stated. Gain empathy for your client/user/citizen/ October, 2007, http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications07/
patron/stakeholder. You can't just stand in your own shoes; wickedproblems2.htm
you've got to be able to stand in the shoes of others.
3. Carlopio, James, (2010). Strategy by Design. Palgrave
Empathy allows you to have original insights about the world. MacMillan: New York
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