Design Thinking.
A strategy framework, not a sticky note exercise.
Strategy fails in predictable ways: the team solves the wrong problem, builds a plan no one in the building believes, or funds a big initiative on conviction instead of evidence. Stonehill leverages Design Thinking to help uncover better strategic bets - the kind that actually move the needle. It forces a clear problem statement before a solution. It puts the people closest to the customer and the work into the room where the plan gets made, so they own what they helped build. And it tests the riskiest assumptions cheaply - before they become expensive. That's not creativity for its own sake. It's management for decisions that matter.
The Design Thinking Process
Design Thinking is a five-step process - Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test — rooted in understanding what people actually need before deciding what to build. Through structured customer and stakeholder interaction, you reach defensible answers in weeks, not quarters.
Empathize - Develop a deep understanding of the challenge: the customer, the market, and the people who have to execute the plan.
Define - Articulate the real problem worth solving, separating it from the symptom that got everyone's attention.
Ideate - Generate the full range of strategic options before narrowing — so the chosen path is a decision, not a default.
Prototype - Build a low-cost version of the bet — a pricing test, a pilot, a service blueprint — that can be tried before it's funded.
Test - Run a short-cycle loop with real evidence, refining until the answer holds up.
Desirable, Viable, Feasible - The test every strategic bet has to pass.
Sustainable value comes from initiatives that clear three bars at once: customers want it (desirable), the economics work (viable), and the organization can actually deliver it with the resources it has (feasible). Most failed initiatives clear one or two and skip the third. We hold every option against all three before it earns a place in the plan — then track leading and trailing indicators through execution so the plan keeps improving after the workshop ends.
Where we apply it
Strategy & growth - pressure-testing the value-creation plans, prioritizing the bets that move EBITDA, and building strategy from the customer point of view.
Post-merger integration - aligning leadership and protecting the revenue and culture you acquired.
Operating model & org design - designing how the business actually has to run to deliver the plan.
Customer & process experience - finding where experience breaks and rebuilding it around what customers value.
Ready to elevate your business?
Design Thinking is a five-step process consisting of Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test. The framework is rooted in empathy (understanding what people want) to create successful solutions. Through a series of customer interactions and prototypes, outcomes can be attained in a quick period of time.
The secret to sustainable innovation is to develop something that people want (desirable), where is cost reasonable (viable), and that can be done with the available resources (feasible). Stonehill keeps this in mind as we design and develop programs to accomplish client goals.
As we move through implementation , our team spends time to identify leading and trailing indicators. This allows us to consistently improve solutions and innovate for users. Solutions can be as simple as an ad for a product or as advanced as an immersive experience. Regardless of the challenge, Stonehill can assist!
Design Thinking Process
-
Develop a deep understanding of the challenge
-
Clearly articulate the problem you want to solve
-
Brainstorm potential solutions; develop your solution
-
Design a prototype(s) to test all or part of your solution
-
Engage in short-cycle innovation process to continually improve design
Download our free, printable Guide to Design Thinking!
Design Thinking is one of the most valuable problem-solving methodologies an organization can adopt. The Stonehill team created the most simple and effective guide to arriving at human-centric business solutions, all based on our proven-to-work everyday Design Thinking practices.
This guide features different canvases with tutorials that walk you through the Design Thinking process in the most practical way. Fill out the form to immediately access Stonehill’s simple guide to Design Thinking and begin your team’s journey to empathetic problem-solving!