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DesignThinkers Group

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Nederland
Amsterdam
DesignThinkers Group

Global representation in +25 countries, Design Thinking & Agile Expert Coaches. Empowering Teams Through (Online) Tailored Design Sprints.

Enabling Digital Transformation. Enhancing Human-Centered Mindset. Our mission is to empower teams & professionals to be inspired and challenged, to ‘learn-by-doing’ and strengthen their ability for creative problem solving to kick-start bold innovation and drive positive change. Let's connect on www.designthinkersgroup.com

12/10/2026

How to Set Strategy When the Path Is Unclear

When markets shift quickly and familiar assumptions no longer hold, setting a clear direction can feel increasingly difficult. Harvard Business Review explores how leaders can navigate uncertainty by grounding strategy in what matters most, staying open to new signals, and creating enough flexibility to adapt as conditions change.

According to Harvard Business Review, strong strategy in uncertain environments starts with clarity around your organization’s core: whether that is its mission, customers, capabilities, or the problems it is uniquely positioned to solve. Leaders can strengthen that direction by challenging assumptions, making priorities explicit, watching for meaningful signals, and turning strategy into continuous action rather than a fixed annual plan. The goal is to create enough focus to guide decisions, while keeping enough flexibility to respond when the path changes.

Read the full article here: https://hbr.org/2026/07/our-favorite-management-tips-on-setting-strategy-when-the-path-is-unclear

11/10/2026

This week’s book recommendation is ‘Resilient Optimism’ by Michelle Gielan.

Staying positive can feel natural when things are going well, but what happens when uncertainty, pressure, and setbacks persist? ‘Resilient Optimism’ explores how optimism can be strengthened and sustained during challenging moments. Drawing on research in positive psychology and neuroscience, the book looks at practical ways to recalibrate our mindset, manage our response to stress, protect our time and energy, and recover more effectively. At its heart is an encouraging idea: optimism is a skill we can all develop.

In this book, Gielan argues that resilient optimism comes from repeatable behaviours that help us remain grounded, hopeful, and effective under pressure. By learning to notice evidence of progress, focus our attention more intentionally, and recognise how our actions can make a difference, we can build resilience not only for ourselves but for the people around us. One idea worth carrying forward is to look for small signs of progress when challenges persist and consider what is still within your influence.

Happy reading!

05/10/2026

Dare to be bad at something

What if being great at something requires accepting that you’ll be bad at something else?
This HBR podcast focuses on why meaningful progress often depends on intentional trade-offs. Trying to excel at everything can spread attention and resources too thin. Instead, making deliberate choices about where to focus (and where not to) can create the capacity to excel at what matters most.

According to Harvard Business Review, the key is to understand what matters most to customers and prioritize accordingly. This means identifying where there is potential to excel, while intentionally giving less attention to areas that matter less. It also requires the courage to say a strategic “no”. Not because something has no value, but because protecting time, resources, and attention makes it possible to deliver greater value elsewhere.

Ultimately, prioritization is as much about what not to pursue as what to pursue. Being intentional about these trade-offs can create the space to focus on what matters most and turn limited resources into meaningful impact.

Listen to the podcast here: https://hbr.org/podcast/2026/09/dare-to-be-bad-at-something-from-fixable

04/10/2026

This week’s book recommendation is ‘Our Best Work’ by Nilofer Merchant.

What if the biggest barriers to innovation and better work are the ones we no longer notice? This book explores a number of invisible workplace norms shaped by hierarchy, control, and outdated ideas of success. The author challenges familiar practices like performance reviews, personal branding, speaking up, and “move fast and break things,” showing how they can limit trust, creativity, and contribution.

In this book, the author argues that better work does not come from fixing individuals, but from changing the systems around them. By replacing competition with trust, making space for new ideas, and questioning routines we take for granted, teams can create stronger conditions for meaningful progress. A useful takeaway is to look closely at the norms your team follows every day and ask whether they still serve the work you want to do.

Happy reading!

28/09/2026

AI can write, but can it lead?

AI is making workplace communication faster, helping us turn ideas into polished messages, presentations, and talking points in seconds. But as these tools become part of our everyday work, an important question emerges: are we using AI to strengthen our communication, or are we outsourcing some of the thinking that makes leadership distinctly human?

According to Forbes, effective leadership communication goes far beyond producing the right words. It reflects our judgment, values, empathy, perspective, and ability to understand what others need from us. The key is to think and strategize first, then collaborate with AI. AI can help challenge assumptions, uncover blind spots, organize complex ideas, and refine a message, but the thinking and intention behind that message should remain human.

As AI becomes increasingly embedded in how we work, the advantage may lie in knowing what to delegate and what to keep in our own hands. Used thoughtfully, AI can strengthen our communication without replacing the reflection, discernment, and human perspective that help us grow as leaders.

Read the full article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2026/09/01/why-leadership-communication-is-the-key-to-ai-adoption/

27/09/2026

This week’s book recommendation is ‘Humans First, Machines Second’ by Vineet Nayar.

As AI continues to reshape how we work, learn and lead, this book explores what can happen when people begin to underestimate the value of being human. Through 30 thought-provoking “sparks”, it encourages readers to focus less on competing with machines and more on strengthening distinctly human qualities such as creativity, judgement, empathy and imagination.

In this book, Nayar argues that thriving in the age of AI means rediscovering what makes human contribution unique. Drawing on stories from boardrooms, classrooms and moments of crisis, the author offers a hopeful perspective on leadership, work and personal growth. A useful takeaway is to consider not only how AI can make work more efficient, but also where human thinking can create greater meaning and impact.

Happy reading!

21/09/2026

What does it take to make progress when the future feels out of control?

A recent Harvard Business Review ‘IdeaCast’ podcast explores agency: the belief that we can influence outcomes and create positive change, even in uncertain times.

According to HBR, agency is built on three things. Efficacy helps us act now. Optimism helps us keep going when things get difficult. Imagination helps us see possibilities that do not yet exist.

One practical idea from the podcast is simple. When uncertainty triggers worst case thinking, consider the worst outcome, the best outcome, and the most likely outcome. Then focus on what you can do next. That is where progress starts. Not by controlling everything, but by responding with more clarity, persistence, and possibility.

Listen to the podcast here:
https://hbr.org/podcast/2026/09/what-it-takes-to-make-progress-when-the-future-feels-out-of-control

20/09/2026

This week’s book recommendation is 'Futureshift: How Business and Brands Prepare for What Comes Next' by Andy Milligan & Louisa Clarke.

The future may be impossible to predict, but that doesn’t mean businesses have to be unprepared for it. 'Futureshift' explores how organisations and brands can navigate a world shaped by rapid technological disruption, demographic change, geopolitical shifts, evolving customer and employee expectations, and the ongoing climate crisis. Drawing on decades of experience working with businesses around the world, the book highlights the importance of stronger strategy, better customer and employee experiences, and adaptable organisational cultures when preparing for what comes next.

In this book, the authors argue that preparing for the future is less about trying to predict exactly what will happen and more about developing the readiness to respond, adapt and evolve. Change can create headwinds, tailwinds or even whirlwinds for organisations, depending on how prepared they are to meet it. The broader message is a useful reminder for design thinkers: rather than waiting for the future to arrive, organisations can actively consider the future they want to create and build the capabilities needed to move towards it.

Happy reading!

14/09/2026

How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Urgent

When everything feels important, deciding what deserves your attention can become a challenge in itself. Harvard Business Review explores how leaders can make clearer decisions in an environment of constant pressure, or what the article describes as “ambient urgency.”

Three questions can help leaders make more intentional choices: Am I uniquely positioned to make this decision? Will this choice create value that grows over time? Am I avoiding a decision because it’s the wrong move, or because I’m uncomfortable with the consequences?

These questions offer a useful way to separate genuine priorities from tasks driven by habit, short-term pressure, or fear. Prioritization isn’t always about doing more efficiently. Sometimes, it’s about being clearer about what deserves your attention and what doesn’t.

Read the full article here: https://hbr.org/2026/07/3-questions-to-pressure-test-your-priorities?ab=HP-topics-text-20

13/09/2026

This week’s book recommendation is ‘How Change Really Works: Seven Science-Based Principles for Transforming Your Organization’ by Julia Dhar, Kristy R. Ellmer, and Philip Jameson.

As organizations face rapid shifts in technology, markets, and expectations, this book explores why some transformations succeed while others stall. Drawing on behavioral science, research, and real-world experience, it presents seven human-centered principles for creating change that people can genuinely understand, support, and sustain. It also offers a practical five-phase approach for turning these principles into action.

Rather than treating change as a process people simply need to follow, the book looks at what helps people genuinely commit to it. Through seven science-based principles, it explores the importance of real agreement, meaningful agency, and earning adoption over time: offering a more human-centered way to think about transformation.
Happy reading!

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Maandag	09:00 - 17:30
Dinsdag	09:00 - 17:30
Woensdag	09:00 - 17:30
Donderdag	09:00 - 17:30
Vrijdag	09:00 - 17:30

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