DESIGN THINKING FOR THE GREATER GOOD by Jeanne Liedtka, Randy Salzman and Daisy Azer is published by Columbia University Press and discusses applying design principles from the business sector to non-profits and government. It is split into three parts: first, an introduction which defines design thinking ("a problem-solving approach that is human centered, possibility driven, option focused and iterative"); then, the majority of the book which contains ten stories of its application; and a third part which offers insights for adopting design thinking in the reader's organization.

The authors note that we are seeing the democratization of innovation from trained experts to everyone and argue that their case study participants "used the tools of design thinking to reduce risk, manage change, use resources more effectively, bridge the communication gap between parties, and manage the competing demands of diverse stakeholders." One example involves "turning debate into dialogue" at the FDA. Another describes the "power of local thinking" at the Community Transportation Association of America in order to better meet needs of low-income workers. The tone of this book is rather academic, but the message is powerful: "have a passion for exploration and learning and the courage to try" while focusing together on key questions like What is? What if? What wows? and What works?

Innovation is not restricted just to the technology industry and big business, even social-sector organizations are looking for new ways to benefit from innovation to help them and their challenges. This book seeks to transplant the concept of design thinking and provide a new, powerful way of thinking and working.

It is an interesting read about a challenging implementation, built around case studies in sectors such as social services, education, agriculture and healthcare, showing how ‘big business’ thinking and collaborative working can yield benefits, even if it is not necessarily an easy shoe-in for many. Metaphorical blood, sweat and tears may need to be expended, but the sacrifice may be worth it. The focus is on how big government-backed agencies in the USA as well as others in Canada, the UK and Australia, have took design thinking to their heart to reap many benefits and boost service to stakeholders.

When suitably deployed, design thinking can even kick the most entrenched bureaucrat out of a complacent state, it is claimed, and the authors give practical advice and tools to achieve this aim. It is a specialist read but it will have you smiling and being frustrated at the same time due to the excellent examples given, such as the ‘case of the smoking cucumber’ that created a right old hoo-hah for the US Office of Personnel Management (you will need to read the book for more!).

The book expertly introduces and seduces the reader to the concept of design thinking. The only downside is the book’s style as it grated a bit to this reviewer. It seemed to portray mixed messages and wavered between being engaging and waffling. You may need a bit more a focus on the book that should be strictly necessary, which can be a risk if you are not seized on the ideas being discussed. Yet, if you can get on with it, then there is certainly a lot of goodness waiting for you. Fortunately, once you get to the actual cases, the waffle quotient is much reduced, so you can focus on implementation stories and learn from them.

It is worthy of closer consideration if you have a need for its intelligence.

Design Thinking for the Greater Good, written by Jeanne Liedtka, Daisy Azer & Randy Salzman and published by Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231179522. YYYY