The Overlap Between Human Design and Lean Problem-Solving

I’ve been reading Creative Confidence by David M. Kelley and Tom Kelley, and it’s been inspiring me to think more deeply about the connection between creativity, problem-solving, and the people-centered approaches I use in my work. 📚💡

It struck me how much the principles in this book align with what I’ve observed in both human design and Lean problem-solving. Both frameworks focus on empathy, experimentation, and viewing challenges from multiple perspectives to create impactful solutions. As I reflected on these ideas, I realized how much my experience with Lean thinking overlaps with the themes of creativity and human-centered design. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned from combining these approaches.

People-First Thinking: The Core of Both Frameworks 👥❤️

Lean, when done right, is fundamentally a people-first system. It’s about empowering teams to solve problems, fostering collaboration, and improving processes to create value. Similarly, human design emphasizes empathy and understanding the unique needs, motivations, and experiences of people.

When leading Lean initiatives, putting people at the center ensures solutions are not only efficient but also sustainable. Empathy becomes the bridge that connects the technical side of process improvement to the human element of implementation. 🛠️🤝 It’s about listening to the people closest to the problem and designing solutions that make their work easier, more meaningful, and more effective.

The Power of a Growth Mindset 🌱🧠

Both human design and Lean require a mindset shift. They challenge us to approach problems with curiosity rather than judgment and to view setbacks as opportunities to learn.

In Lean, this growth mindset is embedded in practices like Kaizen (continuous improvement) and kata thinking, where small, incremental experiments lead to big results. 📈 Similarly, human design encourages us to iterate, test, and refine, always keeping the end user’s experience in mind.

The key takeaway? You can’t solve a problem effectively without first understanding it deeply from multiple angles. 🔍 This is why I love using brainstorming tools like the 7-Ways exercise, where teams generate diverse solutions to a problem. This practice forces us to challenge assumptions and consider creative approaches we might otherwise overlook. 💭💡

Experimentation: Trystorming in Action 🚀🔄

One of the most exciting overlaps between Lean and human design is their shared emphasis on experimentation. In Lean, we move from brainstorming to trystorming—a rapid cycle of testing ideas to gather feedback and iterate on solutions.

This quick, iterative approach mirrors the prototyping cycles in human design, where ideas are transformed into tangible experiments to see how they work in the real world. The goal isn’t to create a perfect solution right away but to learn from the process and refine as you go. 🛠️📊

The Creativity of Constraints 🧩🎨

A coach of mine once gave me advice that has stuck with me: “Design a solution as if you have no time, no money, and no talent.” ⏳💸 It might sound counterintuitive, but constraints are a powerful catalyst for creativity.

In both Lean and human design, constraints force us to focus on what truly matters. They push us to think outside the box, strip away unnecessary complexity, and find the simplest, most effective path forward. 🧠✨

Why This Matters 🌟

The overlap between human design and Lean problem-solving is a reminder that at the heart of every challenge is a human element. 💖 Whether you’re redesigning a process, solving a production issue, or developing a new product, success depends on your ability to empathize, experiment, and iterate quickly.

By combining the structured, iterative mindset of Lean with the empathetic, user-focused approach of human design, you can create solutions that are not only efficient but also meaningful and impactful for the people they serve. 🙌

So the next time you face a problem, ask yourself:

• Have I deeply understood the people impacted by this? 🤔

• Am I approaching this with curiosity and a willingness to learn? 🌱

• How can I experiment quickly and gather feedback to improve? 🔄

The answers might surprise you—and lead you to solutions you hadn’t imagined. 💡✨

Lean isn’t just a system for process improvement; it’s a mindset for continuous growth. And when combined with human design, it becomes an even more powerful tool for solving problems and creating lasting impact. 🚀🌟