Course Details

This course is appropriate for a wide range of professionals but not limited to:

• Innovation and R&D Directors
• Product Managers and Designers
• Strategy and Business Development Professionals
• Executives seeking to embed a culture of innovation

• Expert-led sessions with dynamic visual aids
• Comprehensive course manual to support practical application and reinforcement
• Interactive discussions addressing participants’ real-world projects and challenges
• Insightful case studies and proven best practices to enhance learning

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Apply the core stages of Design Thinking (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test) to solve customer problems.
• Utilize advanced divergent thinking techniques (e.g., Assumption Busting, Attribute Listing) for idea generation.
• Develop a framework for rapid prototyping and low-cost experimentation.
• Identify and overcome the organizational and psychological barriers to innovation.
• Measure and manage an Innovation Portfolio for strategic balance.
• Champion a culture of creative risk-taking and learning from failure.

DAY 1

The Innovative Mindset and Design Thinking

• Welcome and introduction
• Pre-test
• The strategic imperative for innovation (disruptive vs. sustaining)
• Introduction to the principles and stages of Design Thinking
• Developing an "Empathy" mindset: Deep customer understanding
• Challenging mental models and embracing ambiguity

DAY 2

Deep Dive into Creative Ideation

• Techniques for radical divergence: Lateral thinking, Random Entry
• Advanced techniques: Assumption Busting, Attribute Listing, Biomimicry
• Facilitating high-energy, non-judgmental ideation sessions
• Techniques for effective idea capture and synthesis

DAY 3

Prototyping and Experimentation

• Principles of rapid, low-fidelity prototyping (physical and digital)
• Designing effective experiments to test key hypotheses and assumptions
• The "Test" phase of Design Thinking: Gathering and integrating feedback
• Iterative development and the concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

DAY 4

Organizational Barriers and Strategy

• Identifying and dismantling structural and cultural barriers to innovation
• Metrics for measuring innovation success (input, process, and outcome metrics)
• Building and managing a balanced Innovation Portfolio (Core, Adjacent, Transformational)
• Funding innovation: Business case development and pitching to executives

DAY 5

Culture and Personal Mastery

• The leader’s role in fostering a psychologically safe environment for risk-taking
• Creating an institutional memory for innovation and lessons learned
• Developing a personal innovation leadership action plan
• Post-test
• Certificate ceremony