Meaningfully tackling big, gnarly problems starts with prioritizing connection even over short-term financial performance and growth metrics.
At Suchee, we use design thinking* to build our capacity for connection — with ourselves, our teams, and those we intend to serve.
Easier said than done? Yes, we know!
“Our employees matter”… “ we are client-obsessed”… “customer comes first”… “We are building a world where we all thrive”. More and more companies are trying to be more human-centered.
And the same time, we see the people — everyday humans, employees — consistently being left out of decisions that affected them most. Somehow, other priorities or actions get in the way of acting with the intention of connecting with and putting people first.
How do we overcome what get’s in the way of connecting and being people first?
✸ Move away from users. Relate with and design for humans with personal and communal dreams, living in complex systems.
✸ Center the experience of the people most impacted by the problems even over other stakeholders, priorities, & outcomes!
✸ Understand your connection to the problems you are tackling. Those impacted include us! We, the decision-makers, the doers, the designers, the dreamers. That’s why we start with self.
Our Four Step Process
We center people and communities in all we do.
Our methods create conditions for restorative (rather than extractive) research and co-design processes, while accounting for historical and contemporary systems.
one
Seeing A Shared, Collective Reality
We start with those in the room. We practice self-awareness and the awareness of context about the systems we’re designing in.
& then we turn to those we intend to serve, deeply understanding their needs, dreams, and context.
two
Framing the Problems
We center the people we intend to serve and hone the problem statement continuously, ensuring that we are solving the right problems.
& when the problem seems too big to solve, we creatively break it down to tackle each piece intentionally.
three
Running Multiple Experiments
This is about generating lots of ideas and turning them into concepts.
However, instead of searching for the one right idea or concept, we run many, mini-experiments. This allows us to quickly find what will make solutions stick.
four
Telling The Story
We don’t stop at building ideas and concepts.
We incorporate storytelling as a way to root in authentic purpose, galvanize change and motivate others. In this way, storytelling becomes a change management tool to ensure alignment and enthusiasm.