Designing from the future

Abstract

In the last decade we have witnessed vibrant interest in Design Thinking that certainly has surpassed other important debates in management, such as on disruptive innovation or business model innovation (Google Trends or references listed in Google Scholar portray an impressive picture!). This development is remarkable insofar as research on Design Thinking is still in its infancy, generally lacking in robust findings. Moreover, the great outpouring of interest has rather simplified our current knowledge of Design Thinking, instead of deepening our understanding of its operative nature and possible applications. The purpose of this article is to take stock of Design Thinking by pinpointing a central feature that has been explicated, but not consistently developed further within current debates on the subject. I sense a great necessity to restate Design Thinking in ways that make it more future-oriented and less of a process that embraces today’s immediate challenges. This key enhancement provides a basis upon which to build future research that can offer a wider scope of application of Design Thinking and direct attention to leadership required to embed Design Thinking in organizations, to create desired futures for business or society as a whole.