According to
Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto,
and cited as the third most influential business thinker by Thinkers50 in
London, the current challenge for businesses is to embrace ‘design thinking’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ySKaZJ_dU
The central
theme to design thinking is the ability to work with two opposing perspectives in
order to create something new, e.g. asking a creative designer to work with a
traditional organisation to bring about a change in culture. Imagine the challenge on both sides of this
equation. However, by combining logical
and intuitive thinking processes both of which are essential for design
thinking, Martin suggests it is possible to create a more robust output.
This led me
to reflect on my life here in Manila and how it is filled with contrasts. For example, I recently delivered a workshop
for the Filipino Dept of Education on Coaching & Mentoring for a group of
50, in contrast I am about to run a workshop on Creativity & Innovation for
a group of 6. Last week I was invited to
a ‘Boodle Fight’ which was a simple
birthday lunch for a Filipino friend where the food was laid out on banana leaves
and we sat around and ate with our hands, in contrast I attended an extravagant
charity ball organized by the expat community of ANZA in Manila. As the tag line for tourism in the
Philippines, says, “It’s more fun in the
Philippines”.
Our lives
are filled with many contrasting thoughts and experiences; it’s how we embrace
these differences that will help us to create an enriching life for individuals,
organisations and society.
Gill
Manila
14 March
2014
