As a student, I am in this constant process of learning, growing, evaluating and changing. After reflecting on the last three months in the design studio, I found that there were some key macroscopic takeaways that have changed the way I approach business problems as a whole.
First of all the design process is collaborative. In order to be work well with a team and have the project be a success, it is so important to open up to others in order to learn from them. Design and innovation is not a field for loner superstars.
Secondly, idea generation through brainstorming and other design techniques are important skills to have. I was speaking with a retired IBM employee recently and his advice to me was to develop my idea generation skills and get comfortable pitching them. The world is constantly changing. Companies are not looking for students who can memorize and regurgitate information; they are looking for young professionals who can think outside the box and develop new, feasible solutions for problems. Design thinking techniques are at the cutting edge of this.
Thirdly, prototyping skills give students a competitive edge when it comes to projects, processes and organizational design. By understanding how to visually or tangibly create a draft of a real life situation, this increases the likelihood of the project, process and design to be successful.
Design skills are essential to have in the business world where the environment is changing at a rapid rate. These tools allow the user to deal appropriately with ambiguity and create valuable observations / insights / recommendations to solve undefinable problems.