90 minutes · Live online · Future Skills 101
Fresh insight beats forcing an answer.
A 90-minute, hands-on crash course in the same user-centric methodology that drives innovation at IDEO, Apple and Google: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test.
Before you book
Two minutes on what the session actually covers and who it's for.
The problem
You've got a real challenge in front of you. The instinct is to jump straight to a fix. Most of the obvious fixes fail because nobody stopped to check what the actual problem was.
It's easy to design a clever answer to a question nobody asked. The fix looks great and helps nobody.
Without real contact with the people affected, your best guess about what they need stays a guess.
Plenty of good thinking never gets tested against reality, so it never gets better.
If you've ever shipped the right solution to the wrong problem, this is the session that shows you where it went sideways.
The core idea
Empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test.
Design Thinking is a five-step method for tackling any challenge with fresh insight instead of a first guess. You'll walk through all five in miniature, on a real challenge of your own.
How it works
The 90 minutes are the middle. What happens either side is what makes them stick.
No pre-work worksheet. Watch the two-minute intro above if you like, then just show up ready to think about your own challenge or project.
Optional, before the sessionArne van Oosterom walks you through the five steps of Design Thinking, live, using interactive exercises and rapid prototyping so the method sticks in your hands, not just your notes.
90 minutes, live onlineTake your certificate, then bring what you've learned back to your work, or go further with a private session for your whole team.
Optional · ongoingWhat you take away
This is an introduction and it's honest about that. Ninety minutes buys you a working method for your own challenge, which is more than most courses manage in a day.
How to uncover the genuine needs and motivations behind a challenge, instead of assuming you already know them.
101How to define and reframe a problem into something you can actually act on.
101Techniques for generating inventive solutions that challenge the first answer you reach for.
101How to turn a concept into something tangible quickly, so you learn from reality instead of guessing.
101Who it's for
What people notice
They notice that you:
And afterwards
Everyone who attends gets a Future Skills Certificate for Design Thinking 101, shareable on LinkedIn and one tile in a collection that grows as you take more of the series.
If the session opens something up, coaching is there: one-to-one, or with your team, on a real challenge you're facing. Ask on the day, or get in touch.
Practical details
Want it for your whole team, in your own context? Get in touch.
Dates & booking
Pick a date below, or ask us to schedule one. Confirmation and a calendar invite arrive straight away.
No date is on the calendar for Design Thinking 101 right now.
Want it for your own team? Every Future Skills 101 course is also available bespoke and in-house on a date that suits you. Get in touch to set it up.