Keep up the design thinking mindset and start hunting for the next big opportunity!

Foreword

Prof. Larry Leifer

- Professor of Mechanical Engineering Design, Stanford University

- Founding Director, Stanford Center for Design Research

- Founding Director, Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research Program at Stanford

I am quite delighted with this collection of factors of success in design thinking. My special thanks go to Michael Lewrick and Patrick Link. I also want to thank Nadia Langensand, who is responsible for the artistic implementation. As an interdisciplinary team, we were able to put together a fantastic book.

I want to express my gratitude as well to all the experts who shared their knowledge with us and contributed to reflections on the subject matter. The book that emerged is not only one on design thinking but also an exciting essay with deep insights into the application of design thinking beyond the digital context. This Playbook is entertaining and motivates readers to do it, not just think about it.

The book stimulates and helps readers

• to put well-known and new tools in the right context of the application;
• to reflect on the entire scope of design thinking;
• to direct the necessary mindfulness to the personas of Peter, Lilly, and Marc;
• to accept the challenges of digitization in which new design criteria in the human–machine relationship, for instance, are increasingly gaining in importance; and
• to set an inspiring framework in order to enshrine design thinking even more strongly in our companies and generate radical innovations.

I’m delighted in particular that this book contains contributions from experts from actual practice as well as from the academic world. A few years ago, the idea took shape that a stronger networking of the design thinking actors should be achieved. This Playbook and the communication in the Design Thinking Playbook (DTP) community today act as a stimulus for an open exchange of ideas and materially contribute to enshrining design thinking and new mindsets in companies.

Design thinking is currently experiencing a surge of interest because it is a pivotal tool for initiating digital transformation. We have seen how banks use it to shape the “era of de-banking” and how start-ups have created new markets with business ecosystem design.

At the ME310, which has become somewhat of a legend by now, I frequently have the honor of welcoming corporate partners from different industries from all over the world, who work out exciting design challenges with our local and international student teams.

Have fun reading!

Larry Leifer