Roger Martin in his book “The Design of Business” describes how some companies protect themselves from the randomness of intuitive thinking. Companies that adopt this analytical thinking approach, attempt to replace instinct and gut feeling with quantitative data and rigorous analysis. This is sometimes the case in universities too, where students are taught to question assumptions and plan for the future by critically analysing the past. Best practice is often favoured over next practice.
An alternative “intuitive thinking” approach places an emphasis on creativity and human ingenuity above all else. The inability to systemise and routinise best practice means that organisations adopting this approach find it difficult to achieve economies of scale.
Neither singular approach is enough. Design thinking organisations, argues Martin, are those that can bridge the seemingly irreconcilable nature of intuitive and analytical thinking. I would argue that graduates who can effortlessly cycle between intuitive and analytical thinking modes are similarly unstoppable.
The Design Thinking and Service Design Blog
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