"When you start looking at a problem and it seems really simple, you don't really understand the complexity of the problem. Then you get into the problem, and you see that its really complicated, and you come up with all these convoluted solutions. That's sort of the middle, and that's where most people stop. But the really great person will keep on going and find the key, the underlying principle of the problem – and come up with an elegant, really beautiful solution that works." Steve Jobs [Apple]

 Do not follow where the path
may lead. Go instead where there
is no path and leave a trail
–Muriel Strode

Design thinking: Step 1 – Define

Design approach = Define the problem to be solved
Business innovation = Assess the marketplace, get close to consumers to understand their behaviour, talk to users.

DT = DEFINE  +  DREAM  +  DESIGN  +  DELIVER

Design begins with the process of defining and redefining, the issue or problem at hand. You need invest time and effort to improve your understanding of it. The problem is to know what the problem is. For defining the problem questions need to be asked so that a correct problem definition emerges.

Defining the problem requires the suspension of judgment in defining the problem statement. What we say can be very different to what we mean. The right words are important. So much of what we are able to do with design is dependent on the context in which we ask our questions. It may be that a definition of an innovator is someone who is able to ask a question that no one else has thought to ask.

Problem definition is the key part of the discovery and opportunity identification processes, and will help business leaders see things in a new light. Looking at the world in new ways is the first step in the innovation process. Design thinking is about problem solving before people know there is a problem. It is about anticipating the needs of your customers and delivering a package of outstanding goods and services before they even know they need them.