Is Design Thinking different from other approaches? The casual assumption in the design thinking movement is a resounding YES (that’s why we’re talking about it). I see things like Roger Martin’s excellent comparison of typical business vs. design approaches, and I feel inclined to agree.

That said, I’m still working to clarify the difference between ‘design thinking’ and ‘analytical problem solving’. I debated this with Jesse James Garrett over dinner in Montreal back in March, taking the side that design thinking *is* different. Since then though, I’ve notice more and more instances in mainstream business thinking that express things that are at the core of design thinking approaches. While design thinking is consistently different from mainstream business approaches, business excellence has come to many of the same principles, and has learned these principles from different sources than design methods.

For example, two articles from HBR show a lot of the principles we discuss during conversations about design thinking. Lean Consumption (March 05) and Fixing Healthcare from the Inside, Today (September 05) are both solid examples of design thinking that don’t draw on design.

Lean Consumption is the flip side of Lean Production, and is about looking at a system to eliminate wait times, innefficiencies, etc. in the customer experience. It’s been my favorite pragmatic article this year, most directly reflecting the work we already do.

Fixing Healthcare looks at how the principles of the Toyota Production System improved care at a number of hospitals. Iteration, prototyping, modeling, fast feedback, and continuous improvement are all principles that are outlined.

Neither article mentions design thinking.

So, is this a case of convergent evolution? I think so. Design thinking emerges from design methods and process. But people can get to approaches that correspond to design thinking, without designers or design methods. The principles of iteration, of prototyping, of observation , systems approaches, and play are powerful ingredients in business success. Those principles are discovered by more than just design thinkers, and it’s arrogantly risky to assume we have a monopoly.

As a community, how do design thinkers both learn from and integrate with these other players? I know humility will have a significant role to play - if design thinking assumes no one else ‘gets it’, we’ll be swiftly relegated to a management fad, instead of designing lasting impact.

All this said, ‘design thinking’ is good shorthand for a group of methods and perspectives. And I’m still convinced that there’s something different to design thinking than the regular business approach, even in organizations like Toyota. But I’m still working to articulate those differences…