Page 31 - Transforming an Idea Into a Business with Design Thinking

10 ◾ Transforming an Idea Into a Business with Design Thinking

together on the project. While building the team, consider the following
aspects:

◾◾ Trust: This is the single most important aspect of any team’s success.
Without trust between team members, no idea would see the light of
day.

◾◾ Positive attitude: You do not want people who are skeptics or who
drain your energy by pointing out how an idea could fail. Build a team
with members who are upbeat about the topic and possess a “can do”
attitude.

◾◾ Skills: You should look for members who bring complementary skills
and experiences to the team so you could build on each other’s ideas.

◾◾ Personal chemistry: Finally, you need to build a team with whom you
can hang out and spend hours at a stretch without getting bored.

1.7.2 Review the Framework with the Team

Make sure every member of your team reads through all the steps in this
framework and discuss their perspectives as a group.

1.7.3 Collaborative Engagement

I recommend gathering in one room as you work on your idea. Have a
whiteboard or flip chart easel with an easel pad, a set of sticky notes and
pens or markers to capture thoughts as you work through the framework.

In certain cases, you’ll realize that you already have insights about a spe-
cific topic. In those cases, just share your insights with the team and ensure
that everyone is on the same page. You’ll be surprised to find at every step
of this framework how much you assumed about the problem and how var-
ied are the insights from different team members.

1.7.4 Capture Assumptions

Pay close attention to all the assumptions you are making at every step of
this framework, and make sure you record these assumptions in one place.
These assumptions help you focus on activities that are most important to
move your idea forward. These assumptions also help you recognize the risk
inherent in your idea.