Preface

There has never been a more appropriate season for thinking and executing differently than the last several years. In that time, we have endured the tragedies and impact of a global pandemic, unforeseen drama around elections and masks and vaccinations, a global recession, the horrors of war and racial inequity, and tremendous changes in the workplace. We’ve also experienced working from home and sleeping at work, shifting to living life remotely, returning to new normals several times only to go back to remote living, adjusting to massive inflation, and so much more.

In the midst of this chaos and churn, more than ever we are looking for calm and clarity wherever we can find it. And they seem in short supply. Against this backdrop of chaos and change, there are still too many people personally and professionally

• Adapting by standing still, clinging to what we know and what has worked in the past—even after it’s clear that the old norms and ways of thinking will never help us get to a better tomorrow.

• Pushing back against untried ways of thinking and executing given all the changes we have already been forced to accommodate or work through.

• Looking in exhaustion for greener grass, often accepting any kind and color of grass as long as it’s different from the old grass.

We are fighting harder than ever against further change as we seek to control the little we can actually control. We need a better way to think through challenges and solve our most difficult problems. A better way to navigate uncertainty by taking the next best step. A better way to cut through the ambiguity surrounding us and our situations. We need help, and we need it more than ever. There’s never been a better time to think and execute differently, to put Design Thinking to the test in our most cherished and prized circles at home, at work, and in our lives.