Business Design Principals: Empathy, Prototyping and Strategy
The three principals of business design are the foundation for my success as a student and after graduation. The art of becoming an active listener and using empathy to guide my daily actions will help me become a better student, a better employee and a better person. While the process of prototyping is taught as a tool in business design the same process will improve my grades and make major projects easier to complete. Finally the concept of strategy relates to the concept of planning and preparation for success. These three principals are not only key to successful business models but can also improve my view on the world and become a better person.
The principal of empathy is key to success in business and in life. Research is key to understanding the needs and wants of other stakeholders. Without a deep understanding of the feelings of others projects are one sided, lacking insight into the purpose. An organization is defined as a group working together towards a common goal. Without empathy and understanding of the feelings and needs of the groups individual members the organization loses its ability to perform the required tasks needed to accomplish the organizations goal. Without empathy that same organization lacks understanding of their clients/consumers their needs and how to best serve them. Without empathy that same organization will have a difficult time establishing suppliers and business partners to work with. Empathy is a core principal of business design so important that it creates a foundation for business relationships.
The principal of empathy is the basis of my view of the world. I am a strong believer of the phrase ‘listen to be heard’. The phase originates from the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey. In the book Covey wrote “"Seek first to understand, then to be understood." (1989). Though Covey was describing active listening as a key skill of successful people the concept applies directly to the principal of empathy. In business and in life if we don’t try to understand the message, needs and wants of other people those people will never seek to actively understand us.
Empathy is only possible after we seek to understand the basis of the point of view of other people. There are many ways we can further our understanding of the position of other people. The two most universal methods to seek out understanding are active listening and research. As a result of the review on the importance of empathy I plan to improve my understanding of others.In order to be better able to understand others I plan to practise my active listening skills. The skill of listening to understand others is a transferable skill. Active listening is as simple as trying to hear the message and understand the position of others when they are speaking. Rather than only listening superficially in order to respond. The second method of improving my ability to understand others is to use comprehensive research as the basis of my business plans. Comprehensive research will begin with an analysis of the stakeholders that may be affected by a plan or project followed by in-depth research into the wants, needs and beliefs of the targeted audiences. The review on empathy has reinforced the concept of using research and understanding before taking action.
Using empathy to guide my actions after graduation will become a daily activity. Using empathy to guide my daily actions will improve both my professional and personal life. In my daily conversations with others empathy will allow me to seek understanding of their point of view. While in my career empathy will be the underlying principal guiding every function, conversation, plan and project. For example, I arrive to the office and find the room silent. I slowly make my way to the meeting room where the meeting is about to commence. The silence almost feels heavy. The boss arrives with dark circles under his eyes, a folder under his arm and a new person following behind him. Using my ability to read non-verbal communication ques I know that the topic of the meeting has changed from planning the Christmas party to a serious topic. The boss begins the meeting by introducing us to the auditor behind him. Our company is under investigation, it is believed that someone from the company was involved with shady transactions and we are asked to remain in the meeting room as the files are moved. I know my own innocence and understand how stressed my boss feels at the moment. Our office had a very close team and the boss is likely feeling betrayed and scared for the company’s future. After a few minutes pass the guest leaves the room and we all sigh in relief. The day goes by and the office remains unusually quiet. Then at three o clock the boss walks out of his office with a smile from ear to ear. He eagerly begins yelling for everyone to come. I can already sense the good news. The whole incident was a misunderstanding from head office. During this crisis empathy allowed me to understand the intense stress of the situation and the relief felt at the end of the day.
Prototyping
The act of prototyping allows us to test a concept and minimize the effects of failure. The review on the principal of prototyping reinforced the costs of failure. Similar to product research if a concept goes untested it runs the risk of preventable disaster. Prototyping is costly but its benefits are priceless. The act of testing a concept within the safety of a controlled environment allows the testers to minimize the risk and costs of failure. Prototype testing gives the testers a chance to improve the design or scrap a catastrophic disaster before people are harmed. The review of the principal of business design prototyping has opened my eyes to the amount of work done in preparation to create successful business designs.
A prototype gives you a piece of concrete evidence to explain a complicated concept. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a prototype is worth 10,000. Prototypes go beyond the power of show and tell—they let you experience the design (Warfel, 2009, p. 5). A prototype can prove to others the benefits promised by the design. When I look at products I can see the impact of testing. Walking down the aisles at a grocery store it becomes apparent that many of the most outrageous concepts never made it to the shelves. All the brand name products that are similar in nature are often produced by the same major manufactures. The product line division of the major manufactures is visible when you begin comparing the products from one aisle with another.
After internalizing the principal effects and benefits of prototyping I can begin to apply this core principal of business design in my career development. The lesson’s about the principal business design function of prototyping has renewed my interest in watching the Dragon’s Den. Every week the dragon’s judge the feasibility of the prototypes of contestants. The dragon’s demonstrate the key areas I need to examine in my own work to judge its probability for success. Every demonstration on the show begins with participants presenting the final prototype of their concepts to the dragons. Some of the most comical failures latterly fall apart during the presentation. The lack of prototype testing becomes clear as those participants are ridiculed for their humiliating failure. The dragons judge the prototypes viability in the consumer market, the consumer knowledge of the participants, the financial planning and strategy backing the project. On every episode the process of design prototyping is broken down as participants illustrate every possible failure and challenge that can occur during prototyping.
Prototyping is a principal, an art and a way of working through a project. I plan to apply the process of prototyping to every fitting project in order to practise the skill. The process begins by creating an outline or simple drawing to communicate the proposed plan for the project. Then the simple outline or design illustration is reworked multiple times as the project moves forward. The third step of prototyping is selling the concept internally. If myself and my team members can’t be sold on the concept then the project still needs to be reworked. The fourth step of prototyping is user testing. The testing can be as simple as seeking out a proof reader or as complicated as comprehensive consumer testing. The final step in the prototyping process is to gauge the value and feasibility of the project. This step can be as simple as gather the team members of a group project to anticipate our expected grade or conducting focus groups to determine the pricing scheme of a product (Warfel). The process of prototyping is applicable to every project I will be involved in now and after graduation.
Strategy
Strategy provides the foundation of business design. Without a thought about strategy there would be no design. My personal strategy begins as I chose my view of the world. I choose to see the world’s shortcomings as opportunities. I chose to continue my education and prepare for a career. After internalizing the concept of strategy as it relates to business design I have gained more awareness of the choices I make in life. Strategic choices are not made impulsive but are made after careful consideration. The key concepts of a strategy can be applied to business decisions to ensure the organization continues to aim to accomplish its goals.
The concept of strategy has changed the way I see my values and goals. In order to maintain success in my studies and career I need to base every decision I make based on those values and goals. The same concept that proves itself effective in big business can be applied at every level. Consider Walmart, their strategy is to sell products cheaply, use their immense buying power and efficient business model to maintain the loyalty of their masses of consumers. If Walmart was to suddenly make a hasty decision and introduce an expensive extra to their design model by raising prices the retail giant would quickly lose the loyalty of their loyal consumers.
After internalizing the lessons covering the principal of strategy as it relates to business design I plan to apply the concept to my school work, personal life and my career. My career strategy will guide my behavior and actions during my period of academic development. As I prepare for my future career my actions are a result of the strategy aimed towards my future success after graduation. The lessons about strategy demonstrated the importance of strategy as it relates to success in business. Successful business models strictly adhere to their strategy, core values and goals. Their strategy shows through every aspect of the business. The products and services are designed to match the values and brand image of the company; the marketing and advertising matches the same principals of the company’s strategy. The best example of the strict commitment to a corporate strategy is Apple. Every product that carries the Apple brand is innovative, sleek and perceived by consumers as the best. The Apple products are all priced higher than the competition. The internal functions of the organization support the strategy with a competitive hiring program aimed at attracting only the best talent. Even the design and architecture of Apples retail locations are follow the same core concepts outlined in the company’s strategy. Every aspect of Apple’s operations, every decision made reflects the company’s strategy. Apple wants to be perceived as the best producer of consumer technology, the most innovative brand and as a premium choice for consumers. I plan to model my own actions and decisions around my own strategy for personal success.
Using a strategic plan to guide my actions is equally important now as it will be after graduation. As a student I will be presented with many competing opportunities. I need to guide my actions based on my strategic plan to achieve my goals. My goal is to obtain part time work within my field before graduation. I am actively seeking out volunteer positions that can further my experience while I am still a student. It is my goal to obtain meaningful employment after graduation. In order to prepare myself to achieve this goal I need to complete my program and gain some experience in the field. After reflecting on the principal of strategy I have to come to the conclusion that the principals of strategic planning and decision making are the foundation of success in business.
Works Cited
Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989. Print.
Warfel, Todd Zaki. Prototyping. [Electronic Resource] : A Practitioner's Guide. n.p.: Brooklyn, N.Y. : Rosenfeld Media, c2009., 2009. Conestoga College Library Catalogue. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
