"To establish a truly creative mindset, we therefore looked to learn more about design thinking, and we came away from the workshop armed with a far more logical approach as to what to do next."
Tim Preece
Business leaders from the Leeds City Region have another chance to learn how to trigger significant organisational change with a human-centred approach to innovation, thanks to a second fully-funded event being held by design collective What Could Be.
The one-day immersion workshop on 8th May will provide practical advice and design thinking methodologies that delegates will be able to use to approach almost any organisational challenge –ranging from cultural change and the redefinition of business purpose, through to product innovation or establishing wider marketplace competitiveness.
With 20 places available, the goal of the masterclass is to help transform attendees’ approach to planning, ideas generation, strategy and customer service.
Nas Maqsood from Nestlé attended What Could Be’s first design thinking masterclass in February. Recalling the value of the event, he said: “The workshop provided a great opportunity to soak up and relay a wealth of information to the wider team, especially people in different departments in the business. We now have a toolkit to use as we tackle various issues, and because everything was so clearly communicated, I think non-designers can better understand the role that design thinking plays.”
Tim Preece attended the inaugural workshop because he and his fellow directors are currently establishing the foundations for a whole new way of thinking within their 100-year-old business, Sutcliffe Play: “It’s easy to liberate and improve products for clients. It’s far more difficult to work out what we don’t yet know. To establish a truly creative mindset, we therefore looked to learn more about design thinking, and we came away from the workshop armed with a far more logical approach as to what to do next.”
The What Could Be team is made up of four creative minds – Jonathan Ball, David Townson, Darren Evans and Lesley Gulliver – with more than 110 years’ combined experience. The workshop will once again delve into intensive design thinking theory in the morning, before inviting delegates to begin applying the design-led innovation techniques to their own business challenges for the duration of the afternoon. Two hours of follow-up coaching will also be provided.
The Design For Growth masterclass will take place at The Piggery in Mirfield, on May 8th. For more information and/or to apply, please visit https://www.whatcouldbe.com/workshops/masterclass-2/.
