Design Thinking

Life is messy. There are problems which need attention. Design thinking is a five-step process to create answers or solutions for life's problems. 

  1. Empathize - This is done through observing, watching, listening, and engaging.
  2. Define - Who does the problem affect? Write a statement. 
  3. Ideate - Brainstorm to come up with 3-5 possible solutions. 
  4. Prototype - Write a plan of action and possible funding to implement the solutions.
  5. Test - Write down ways to test the plan. Run ideas by someone in the field that can help.
Erzsebet Szekeres is the mother of a disabled son, Tibor. She saw a problem with the way disabled people were treated in her community and country. Szekeres spent years creating a solution. Of this Szekeres said, "If you really believe in something, you just have to do it and do it and do it, because if I had given up one month prior to 1989, I would have ended up with nothing."

Design thinking is an important skill in social innovation. Design thinking establishes a framework that is in essence a road map to create change. Society benefits when problems are faced with empathy, clarity, new ideas, action plans, and testing.  

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