Design thinking encompasses many different aspects, but to me, it is most important to note that design thinking is human-centered, iterative, and creative. Design thinking is a process that is used to solve problems in a new way using new resources, or a new way using old resources. This process must revolve around adding value to target consumers. If a solution does not add value to consumers or make their lives easier, you most likely have not used design thinking. It is also important to know that design thinking is very iterative and requires a lot of failure. As entrepreneurs, we need to learn to be okay with failure, because each failure brings us closer to success. Every innovative idea came from design thinking, however, not every design thinking session leads to an innovative idea.
In order to come up with an innovative solution during a design thinking session, you must also practice empathy. Through empathy, entrepreneurs can come up with solutions they may have not previously thought of. Empathy is an important aspect of the design thinking process because it allows thinkers to experience the problems that they are trying to solve. I would argue that without empathy, a successful design thinking session cannot occur, and innovation cannot exist. These three ideas are tightly interwoven, and one should not exist without the other.