Innovate your workplace through Design in Business

What is design in business?
Once seen as the cherry on the cake for high-end goods and luxury brands, over the past decade it has gained relevance for the way organisations are structured, how they operate, and how they think. Indeed, design is increasingly reported as a primary driver of innovation in both manufacturing and service-based organisations. While the business press is rife with examples – from Apple to BMW, from Google to Nike – of design’s significant role in business, less is known about how design can be successfully introduced and used.  Organisations can benefit from design at a strategic level – to differentiate themselves from competition, to strengthen existing brands while launching new ones, and to boost employee motivation.

Why is design in business so topical?
Because design is a new and effective approach to solve problems and innovate. To compete, organisations are increasingly required to innovate at various levels - product, service, process and business model. Traditional management approaches are suitable in periods of stability; however, in dynamic periods they tend to constrain firms’ capacity to transform and create something that is both relevant and original.

This is why an alternative approach – based on experimentation, iteration, collaboration and empathy – is more appropriate. However, introducing it into an organisation’s culture is not an easy task.

Collaboration through the WBS design in business network:
To support his research and to assist companies in innovation, Dr Pietro Micheli is developing a WBS design in business network. This network aims to discuss various aspects of design in business, the benefits of this approach, and the enablers and barriers to its successful implementation.

We hope to welcome Directors and senior managers - working in functions such as innovation, marketing, operations and change within large companies - who are interested in discussing and applying design principles within their organisations and sharing experiences.

About Dr Pietro Micheli:
Pietro is Associate Professor of Organizational Performance at Warwick Business School. He was awarded a PhD and a Master by Research in Management from Cranfield School of Management, and a Master in Management and Production Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano. Pietro is a founding member of the Evidence-based management collaborative in the US, and worked as a Research Fellow for the Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) Research in London.  Pietro has worked with, and consulted to, a number of organizations, including Amec, BAT, BP, British Energy, KLM, Morgan
Carbon, Orange, Shell, Veolia Water, Wartsila, Council of Europe, UK Department of Health, House of Lords, National Audit Office, UAE Government and the United Nations. In 2010-2011 he worked as Director of the Italian Commission for public sector evaluation in Rome.  Pietro has lectured in over a dozen European academic institutions. He speaks fluent English, Italian, French and Spanish.

Related article: http://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/design-in-business-how-to-trigger-radical-innovation/

Join us:
Network events will be held quarterly at the Shard in London, and will consist of significant cases of implementation of design in business, discussions among participants, and presentations of recent research findings. 

The next event will take place on Tuesday 21st March at 18:00 at Warwick Business School at The Shard, London

You can register your interest through this page.

Note: The network aims to be a small group of representatives from companies across industry sectors, therefore places will
be confirmed by Pietro, the first week in March.