Beyond the Prototype: Navigating that Fuzzy Area between Ideas and Outcomes with Douglas Ferguson

This Anthro Life

Today we talk with Voltage Control president Douglas Ferguson and we're taking you beyond the prototype. If you ever run a design sprint, or even if you simply sat down at your desk to think through a really cool idea for a product or a new podcast or how do we improve something in your neighborhood. You started the design process. The question is, how do you go from a good idea to putting something out into the world? Douglas helps us find out.
"You gotta slow down to go fast" - Douglas Ferguson
Voltage Control president, design thinking facilitator and innovation coach Douglas Ferguson recently published a book called Beyond the Prototype that aims to help teams and organizations (and individuals!) go from generating awesome ideas to implementing them. Over the course of our conversation we cover:
the power of systems thinking
seeing variables in the design ecosystem
facilitation as model through systems thinking
The connections between organizations and society.
HR departments using design thinking to point the lens inward
Caution that when we compress ideas there is opportunity to meaning to be lost
Why facilitation is such a crucial role
for example, realizing if you’re using one word to mean two things, or two words to mean the same thing - skilled facilitating brings these discrepancies and differences in meaning into focus for teams to help them overcome roadblocks in understanding
Why so many start up founders get stuck on the idea of scale rather versus pursuing a smaller, but passion-driven idea
How design facilitation sessions are about harnessing the power of the child’s mind - playful energy
and debriefing as a crucial stage in any process: can you answer the question of why did we did this?
Links and Resources mentioned in today's episode
voltagecontrol.com
beyondtheprototype.com
startwithin.com
Beyond the Prototype book
Jake Knapp - Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days
Greg Satell - Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change
David Epstein - Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
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