Got an Idea for Your Business? Test Your Assumptions!

Business people are primed to take action to change the present and solve problems. But by jumping straight to solutions before they have thoroughly explored the current reality of the user experience, their grand ideas may fall flat. Although starting with a solution is rarely the best way to go, the author provides tips for those who go this route, suggesting how they can still leverage the design-thinking model to test assumptions and get back on track. Using the example of a U.S. hospital's innovation effort, the author highlights three common challenges that arise when companies get ahead of themselves. Sometimes you need to take a step backward in order to take two steps forward.