A better economy by "Design"

• Main Author: Chong, Lawrence
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: Growth and Development; Technology and Innovation
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/ami/114; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/ami/article/1103/viewcontent/14._AMI_Issue11_ABetterEconomyByDesign.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The air was still, and I was going nowhere with the session until I asked the participants about their kids instead of talking more about the bank. The conversations soon turned chirpy as the mothers in the group spoke over one another, sharing their hearts out about their children and their hopes for them. I felt I had unlocked something new, even though this should have been obvious as this is a very family-oriented country. This experience was part of our transformation project for a Southeast Asian bank that would reshape its digital, brand and customer engagement strategy through a systemic design-thinking method, also known as ‘business design’. We then changed the core driving strategy for the bank to, ‘doing it with your heart to inspire the next generation’. The shift in approach helped to unite the different factions during the change process. Now the bank is an award-winning institution with an extensive social impact programme. This experience affirmed my belief in the value of empathy in the design-thinking process to shape common action.