Embracing DesignThinking at SAP has been an eye-opening professional and personal journey affording me many opportunities for learning and growth. I have witnessed and participated in many unique, amazing experiences across the globe and learned the fine art of truly collaborating with colleagues, customers and partners alike, along the way.
Thinking back to when my journey officially began, I remember being excited about the really cool tools I was being exposed to and all of the different ways I would be able to use them. It wasn’t too long before I realized that it really wasn’t about the tools, it was much more about the ‘softer’ skills I was opening up to and beginning to hone.
Here are some of the lessons from my journey:
Lesson 1:
Letting go of existing paradigms and challenging all assumptions can help you be more open minded and less likely to judge, which, in turn, can enhance your ability to create new and unique connections and get in touch with your imagination
Lesson 2:
Accepting ambiguity is critical. Not knowing what the output or even the outcome will be can be disconcerting and exhilarating at the same time. You don’t always end up where you think you will and sometimes that will lead to incredible insight and nuggets of genius.
Lesson 3:
Failure is not a destination, it is a fork in the road of your journey and if you can’t go back the way you came, create a new path and see where that takes you.
Lesson 4:
It takes a little courage to ask open ended questions such as ‘why is that important to you?’ and ‘how does that make you feel?’ The insight gleaned from such questions is well worth the effort it takes to build up the courage to ask them
Lesson 5:
It’s not just about doing, it is also about taking the time to think without judgment. As Dr. Seuss put it: ‘Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try’
