SO What is Design Thinking ANYWAY?

Design Thinking is a process for creative problem-solving. It's a methodology often used by designers to solve complex (or wicked) problems through a stepped process in order to find desirable solutions for their clients (= humans who have problems they need solved).

In order to use Design Thinking, you need to use a design mindset which parks what you know and let's you instead go deeply into understanding the human you are solving problems for. You need to EMPATHIZE with their world, and notice what's happening for them, so you can best gather insights about their experiences.

Once you've gathered your insights about the problems you have observed you will need to DEFINE them. Kind of come up with a set list of the things you've observed, and patterns you've recognised, so you can then try and solve for the problems therein.

The next stage is to IDEATE (ie: brainstorm to come up with as many awesome solutions as you can to solve the problems on your DEFINE list).

You can THINK BIG here! Moonshots. The idea is you just get as many wild and wacky ideas out there as you can. Flex your creative muscle. Go nuts. Because the whole point of Design Thinking is that it pushes you to explore the possibilities of what could be, by drawing on logic, imagination, intuition, and systemic reasoning to create desired outcomes that will ultimately benefit the end user (the customer/human).

The next step is to build the solution: PROTOTYPE. Make it. But make it simple. And make it fast. Do it for under $100. Under $1 is even better! Use paper, wire-framing on a free web tool, sketch it, act it out. Whatever you do. Don't overcomplicate it. Just bring it to life as fast as you can because once you've built your PROTOTYPE you need to quickly get it into the hands of a human (customer) as soon as you can to TEST it.

Why? The human can tell you if it sucks, or not. They can also tell you if your solution is solving their problem well, or not at all. If it does solve quite well but not quite well enough, work with the human to change it (iterate), so it gets closer to what they need, and then ask them to TEST it again. If it still sucks, go back to the start of the process and see if you started with the right problem in the first place. Then step through the cycle again. Rinse and repeat. Til ultimately, you place in the hands of the human (customer) a solution so insanely awesomely customised just for the problem they needed solved, that they'll be begging you to keep it.

Voila. Simple as that.

Problem solved. Solution beautiful.

You now have a product worth making and shipping to the world!

GIRLEDWORLD WOW (WORLD OF WORK) 🌏SUMMIT 2018 🙌🏽

This year's Summit has been developed and designed with RMIT Melbourne (where the event will be held) and will feature two days of immersive, real-world, hands-on learning for girls in Australian Secondary Schools (Year 9 - Year 12) so they can radically upskill, powerfully goal-set and get ready to thrive in the Future of Work.

Across one extraordinary, transformational weekend, the @girledworld WOW 🌏Summit will bring together top speakers, industry experts and amazing career mentors to explore the new world of work and emerging areas of technology and STEM. This interactive, highly curated, Australian curriculum aligned event will empower, educate and equip all attendees with the mindsets, skillsets and toolkits they'll need to make informed choices about their future career pathways.

As a working female who knows all too well the pace and juggle of balancing the needs of four busy daughters with the mid-career portfolio demands of building a startup, speaking engagements, active mentoring and board directorships, time is the core currency I trade in these days.

There are only so many hours in any given day, and the opportunity cost of time ill-spent down an email black hole or in zero-outcome meetings mean I've become more binary about how I will and won't spend my business time.

I choose to work with people and on projects that align to my purpose, and that solve for problems that really matter. It means the work can dial up and down as the projects demand, and it also means I therefore have to know when to flick the switch to family.

But like many women of my generation raising businesses and babies, finding true balance can be a challenge.

Sometimes the mix is just right, other times all wrong. You wing it anyway, and remind yourself that balance isn't static, and life is a continuum of change within which we chart our course, adjusting sails along the way where we need to. Some days are rough and tough, others blue-skied and calm watered (personally and professionally).

But in the mix of busy, I have, and always will, carve out time for mentorship. Because bringing up businesses and babies is not an easy juggle, and to make it work I have relied on the active mentorship of generous, intelligent women to help me navigate the way.

Because I have lived the benefit of having other women empower and mentor me, I believe in paying it forward. Daily, I still draw on the power and knowledge well of my collective circle to stay afloat, accelerate my opportunities and make strategic career choices. In fact some of the best business decisions I've made were shaped with mentors.

Sheryl Sandberg’s 2013 book Lean In: Women, Work and the Will To Lead has a dedicated chapter called Are You My Mentor? and in it she explores the idea of mentorship, and how to find the right mentors for your personal and professional stage.

Some of her key points about mentorship are that at its best it must be:

1. AUTHENTIC: Healthy and effective business relationships take time to nurture and develop, and most often arise organically from real human connections where there is inherent mentor/mentee chemistry, authenticity and generosity. Find mentors who understand who you are, what your values, vision and purpose are, and who will then bring people into your network who share this, too.

2. RECIPROCAL: Mentorship cuts both ways, and provides both parties with the opportunity for growth, transfer of knowledge, personal learning and professional extension. The mentor can sharpen and shape their leadership style through mentee feedback, and the mentee can also provide “grassroots intelligence” on industry insights, market intel and internal culture (access the mentor would not otherwise gain). In turn mentors can push you to your limits, challenge your thinking, strategically connect you to key stakeholders, champion your cause and actively market you and your business to amplify your message/vision.

3. ACTIONABLE: Mentors and mentees must commit to progress, and measurable outcomes. In order for both parties to benefit most from the relationship, mentees must create actions around advice dispensed, embed key learnings, and then circle this back into the learning loop with mentors.

4. AUTONOMOUS: Great mentors don’t cut the path but light the way. The greatest learning for mentees is learning by doing, even if it means failing and floundering a few times before charting the right path. Taking autonomous steps but knowing you have someone to bounce off when the going gets hard can be just the support you need to realise your potential and better achieve your goals.

Some of the most successful women I know have attributed active networking and mentoring to their success, saying that by putting themselves out there, finding their tribe and building a trusted group of people around them, they have achieved far more than could ever have done on their own.

If you’ve been thinking about becoming a mentor or seeking active mentorship as a mentee, there are now multiple organisations, digital platforms and online communities offering professional and personal coaching services if you’d like a hand to get started rather than reach out to your existing networks. Everwise, Mentorloop, Inspiring Rare Birds, Business Chicks and Mogul are just a few.

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SHE MENTORS - SUMMER NETWORKING PARTY

Inspire9, Richmond, Wednesday November 1, 6.00pm-8.00pm

Alternatively, if you’re in Melbourne and would like to connect in the real with a room full of female business women from all walks of life, register for the She Mentors Summer Networking Party at Inspire9 in Richmond on Wednesday November 1 6.00pm-8.00pm, and join me alongside Gemma Lloyd of Diverse City Careers as part of a She Mentors event celebrating female mentorship and the power of networking.

Lloyd is the co-founder of DCC Jobs, Company Secretary of the Diversity Practitioners Association (DPA), winner of the Sue Wickenden 2016 Entrepreneur Of The Year Award and has served on multiple not-for-profit Boards including IT Queensland Females in and Technology and Telecommunications (FITT).

In this event Lloyd will share her journey at the helm of DCC Jobs, where she has been campaigning for flexible working conditions for women, and regularly presenting on topics including diversity and inclusion, entrepreneurship, developing confidence for career success, and personal branding strategies, so will have a wealth of knowledge to impart to the audience.

DCC is a social enterprise helping women pursue rewarding careers, particularly in sectors with high gender inequality rates. Since its conception, DCC has grown rapidly and is now regarded as one of Australia’s leading authorities on gender diversity.

The DCC jobs board is Australia’s only exclusive jobs board, meaning employers must be pre-qualified before advertising to ensure a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. DCC were winners of the 2016 #techdiversity awards and finalists in the 2015 ARN Women in ICT Awards in the Innovation category.

I’ll also be sharing my story and some of the thrills and spills as a social entrepreneur, Mum, mentor and co-founder of girledworld.

Mainly, I’ll be chatting about how I’ve charted my career path around businesses and babies, built connections and communities along the way, and what I’ve learned from mentors and other extraordinary business women in my network.

There’ll be plenty of time for Q&A and networking afterwards, so we can all share stories, forge new connections and learn from each other.

I look forward to seeing some of you there.

Madeleine Grummet
Co-Founder & CEO girledworld

She Mentors Summer Networking Party.
Bookings here.