It has almost been thirteen weeks since I started Design Thinking at Sauder and I find it amazing how much more aware I am about how I think. When I started writing my first blog I had never thought about how I think before and it was an eye opener when I started analyzing my thinking process. As I have completed the many projects, blogs and assignments for this course, I have learned a lot more about myself and my abilities than I have done through many other courses at Sauder.
Starting with the backpack assignment at the beginning of the course, I learned that when I am thrown into an unknown situation my thinking process speeds up. I come up with many ideas fast and don’t really evaluate which ones are the better ideas until the assignment is over. Once I noticed this, I tried to work on my thinking during the next few projects we were assigned. The big project that opened my eyes to my abilities was the business canvas. I was forced to slow down my thinking process, which was a struggle for me. My partner, Joyce and I went to Matygo and talked with the CEO. After our meeting, I realised that all I wanted to do when I was talking with him was tell him what to change to make his business run better. I had not even evaluated where there were problems nor mapped out the business to even know what the best solutions were to his problems; I just jumped to the answer. On the other hand, Joyce was the opposite. She slowed right down and asked many questions about the business, trying to get a better understanding. During this project, I found my creative side came out. Doing finance as my option has pushed any creativity that I have had out the window. Having the freedom to do what I wanted with the business canvas was foreign to me. I found my thinking started to jump all over the place to the possible representations I could do for the business canvas. It was hard to narrow down my possibilities. I was thankful to have Joyce who was very good at making decisions.
When it came to my final project with Halfmoon yoga, I had already learned so much about myself and my thinking style. I figured out that I had a creative side that was ready to burst out into my projects. I also learned that I really consider the cons of alternatives when I take the time to think about them. Seeing as I enjoy doing yoga myself, I found that doing this project was not such a chore as many projects I have done over my undergraduate career. I enjoyed working with all my team members and I overcame some of my thinking barriers. I slowed down my thinking and tried to be open to all my group member’s ideas. When I considered what they were saying I could add my ideas to them and we came up with some really cool ideas.
Design Thinking really opened my eyes to my capabilities. I realised that I am not just an analytical thinker but I do have a creative, divergent side. By my final project, I had learned that I could intertwine my analytical thinking with my creative thinking in order to come up with better ideas and more developed solutions to business problems. Only having been in this course for one semester surprises me at how little time it took me to change my thinking style.
It’s encouraging to hear you were able to get back in touch with your creative side. The more of these I read, the more of I hear people talk about this re-discovery of creativity. Not discovery, re-discovery. It sounds like so many of us were creative, or at least very well rounded once upon a time. In fact, in many cases that is why we were selected to come to this school. Yet time after time it seems that Sauder students are having creativity bludgened out of them.
Surely there is a place where creativity and business co-exist, and even thrive off one another. It just seems strange that place would be limited to small room filled with 25 people while pipe-cleaners hold the door open to let the air in.