Institute for Organization Management - A Program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

  • About
    • General Information
      • Institute Policies and Procedures
      • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
    • Recruitment Toolkit
    • Prospective Student Toolkit
    • Media
    • Answers to Your Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact Us
  • Curriculum
    • Core Curriculum
    • Elective Curriculum
    • Webinars & Resource Center
  • Sites & Dates
    • Winter Institute
    • Midwest Institute
    • Southeast Institute
    • Northeast Institute
    • 2023 Institute Schedule
  • Registration
    • Registration
    • Deadlines and Fees
    • Scholarships
      • Enrollment Incentives
      • State Partner Scholarship
    • How To Institute
  • Who’s Who
    • Staff
    • Volunteers
    • Faculty
    • Sponsors
    • Alumni
      • IOM Alumni Database
  • Blog
A PROGRAM OF THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION
 

IOM Blog

March 11, 2015

How “Design Thinking” Can Help You Meet the Needs of Your Members

Don’t feel left out if you don’t know what “design thinking” is. It is a discipline that uses designer’s methods to match people’s needs and really give a group of people what they need before they know that they need it.

Associations and chambers can generally be classified as human-centered businesses. This requires you to focus on human-centered thinking and strategy. Your organization should already have a strategy concerning how to continually move forward and what your main purpose is as an organization. If you don’t, stop reading right here and go create one. In an information-saturated world, you need to think a step ahead and be more creative than everyone else vying for your audience’s attention.

  1. Define the Challenge.
    The most important step of design thinking is defining the right problem to solve. It will outline your path and help you craft your message and actions. What does this look like? Well, in a membership-based organization, this may look like creating a fresh fundraising idea, advocating better for your members, or increasing activity and conversation on your social media websites.
  2. Create Options and Determine What Success Looks Like.
    Don’t try and solve a problem the same way every time. Design thinking is about thinking “outside the box” and creating many possible solutions. Looking at a problem from more than one perspective always yields richer results. Design thinking suggests that better answers arise when more people work on a problem. Five people brainstorming and working on a problem during a one-hour dedicated session will yield better results than one person accruing ideas over five days. Within your team, create an idea incubator that allows ideas to grow without criticism. Have clearly defined goals. What drives your organization? Earning more revenue? Building your brand and reputation? Whatever you decide it is, take actions that reinforce that and can result with a concrete and measurable goal. Set long-term goals as well as short-term goals. Determine the way you will measure goal completion. Be realistic. Lastly, commit to an action plan and stick to it.
  3. Refine Your Selected Ideas and Take Action.
    Once your team has a defined direction and goal, the next natural step is to take action. How do you start? Well, begin by breaking down your plan into manageable steps and assign tasks. List out the short-term action items you can take to implement your plan and create realistic items. Next, schedule progress meetings to keep your team accountable for their responsibilities and reconnect with the group.
  4. Evaluate Your Success.
    Implementing your plan and solution may look different and result in a variety of action items. This may mean something as simple as pressing send on an email or something more complicated and intricate like launching a new website or finally setting up a social media page. Use defined success metrics to evaluate your plan and develop a way to move forward. Whether this is evaluating click-through rates on an email or membership retention numbers, stick to your key performance metrics.

You don’t have to be a designer to succeed with “design thinking.” Empathy, collaboration, imagination, risk-taking, and optimism are all very valuable traits. This repeatable process will yield guaranteed results when complete. That’s why design thinking is an attractive and dynamic methodology for organizations today.

Avatar photo
Andrew Weller
Associate Manager, Marketing and Communications, Institute for Organization Management
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Andrew Weller is associate manager of marketing and communications for Institute for Organization Management, a four-year educational program on nonprofit management of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Weller oversees communication efforts with Institute prospective students, attendees, and graduates through targeted marketing deliverables and other promotional items. Weller received his Bachelor of Arts degree in strategic communications and a minor in leadership studies from Elon University in 2013.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
DONATE NOW!
UPDATE CONTACT INFO
Sign-up for Emails
Consultations
Approved Provider
Approved Provider

About

  • General Information
  • Contact Us
  • Curriculum
  • Prospective Student Toolkit

Sites & Dates

  • Winter Institute
  • Midwest Institute
  • Southeast Institute
  • Northeast Institute

Resources

  • Scholarships
  • Faculty
  • Sponsors
  • Update Contact Info
  • Volunteers

Follow IOM

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
IOM Blog

Institute for Organization Management - A program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce © 2023 | Privacy Policy