Was Design Thinking Designed Not to Work?

I really liked this article as it paralleled a lot my own thinking in some other areas like AI. In the same way AI is at times heralded as the solution to all problems, design thinking being the catch all solution is not the case in most instances and can be actively detrimental in many situations. The example around Gainesville is especially problematic and representative of the larger concerns around blindly following a trend. The lack of understanding around the people who were in the community is in my opinion the core of the problem. IDEO’s solution was unlikely to work even in a vacuum, but given the circumstances in Gainesville there was no possible way the plan would have succeeded, and it brings into question the diversity and backgrounds of IDEO and whether they even visited or listened to the community and its leaders before attempting to “fix” the city. Those steps could have led to better direction around the process and by extension more positive results. Design thinking can be extremely effective when applied to the right areas, but when treated as a blanket solution can cause more harm than good. When design thinking is used should be done very intentionally and when the resulting increase in productivity will be worth the cost of time, money, and energy.