In
a recent Appreciative Inquiry workshop we were co-creating dreams for a
transformed future. After going through the workshop, my attention was drawn to
this cartoon clip.
While this may make some wince, I would like to put it in
perspective. Please click one of my earlier blog posts titled “Bubbles of
positivism”
The above clip and the blog post are meant to remind us of
the ground reality while dreaming for a better future. As already expressed in
the AI workshop, here is a quote from the book titled The Design of Business - Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive
Advantage by Roger Martin: “Design
thinking focuses on accelerating the pace at which knowledge advances from
mystery (an unexplainable problem) to heuristic (a rule of thumb that guides us
toward a solution) to algorithm (a replicable success formula).”
Hence, while appreciative inquiry embraces the world as a
mystery by not dwelling on problems, design thinking is not averse to the
mystery even if it is an unsolved problem (read nightmares, wicked problems etc.). It aims to find
creative ideas to overcome problems and exploit opportunities. It holds design
as a purposive application of creativity throughout the process of innovation
(where innovation involves the successful application of new ideas in the form
of improved products, processes and services). Thus, design, like appreciative
inquiry, aims to see the world as it could be, and not as it is.
Bottom line: Organizations need to exploit the
transformative power of design thinking through appreciative inquiry.
Related references:
- Avital, M., Boland, R.J. and Cooperrider D.L. (Eds.) Designing Information and Organizations with a Positive Lens: Advances in Appreciative Inquiry (Volume 2), Elsevier Science, Oxford, 2008.
- Boland, R.J. and Collopy, F. (Eds.) Managing as Designing, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 2004.
- Bruce, M. and Bessant, J. (Eds.) Design in Business-Strategic Innovation through Design, Prentice Hall, 2002
