Why are you creating products that nobody wants to buy? It is a harsh question to ask a founder. It is even harsher to ask a CEO of a legacy corporation. Yet 2/3 of all eyewear manufactured globally never even reaches a customer. They sit in warehouses and eventually end up in landfills or the ocean. This is the massive blind spot of modern business. We have become obsessed with technology and data. We have forgotten the heartbeat at the centre of the transaction. If you want to survive the next decade, you must realise that technology in itself is not the real disruptor. The real disruptor is the human sitting at the centre.
At our firm, we help leaders move from mere insights to measurable outcomes. We assist corporates and funded startups in 5x-ing their topline and bottom line through cultural innovation. We do this by applying a humane design-thinking approach to sustainable innovation. This is not a soft skill. It is a strategic competitive advantage. It is the difference between a product that exists and a product that is loved.
The Struggle: Why Traditional Innovation is Failing
Many organisations operate with an inside-out perspective. They look at their functional features and their functional capabilities. They ask how they can make the process 10% cheaper. They dismantle the machine to optimise the screws. This is the path to mediocrity. In a design thinking workshop we recently held for a group of corporate leaders, the struggle was evident. We asked them to design eyewear for their peers. Almost everyone immediately started sketching. They did not ask their partner what they needed. They did not seek to understand the relevance of eyewear in that person’s life.
This is the “sketching before listening” trap. It leads to 14 pairs worth of material being thrown out for every single pair of eyewear sold today. It leads to 85% of high-end acetate being wasted during the milling process. When we ignore the human experience, we create waste. We create products that are “technically sound” yet “emotionally bankrupt.” A humane design-thinking approach to sustainable innovation requires us to stop. It requires us to step out of the office. We must live the life of our customers.
Consider the challenge of premature infant deaths in India. Over 4 million babies die every year because they cannot maintain their body temperature. Traditional engineers tried to build cheaper versions of $20,000 incubators. They focused on the machine. A group of Stanford students took a different route. They went to the villages. They realised the problem was not just cost. The problem was reach and accessibility. They found that babies were dying in transit to hospitals. Their solution was not a cheaper machine. It was a $25 warming bag that worked without electricity. That is the power of empathy.
The Insight: Layers of Transformation
Innovation is not a single event. It is a layering of three distinct levels. First, there is the intellect and the mindset. This is about how you perceive a problem. Second, there is the execution and the experimentation. This is about moving fast and failing safely. Third, there is inspiration and the culture. This is the most difficult layer to master. You must inspire your people to see themselves as designers of human experiences.
A humane design-thinking approach to sustainable innovation suggests using the “Value Proposition Canvas” to bridge the gap. On one side, you map the customer’s pains and gains. On the other side, you define how your product relieves those pains. You are not selling a cup of coffee. You are selling the “me time” and the preferred taste that the customer gains. Value is not what you deliver. Value is what the customer gains.
Implementing the Humane Design Thinking Approach for Sustainable Innovation
To make this practical, you must look at the “Altitude of Customers”. Most businesses only see the user. Yet the user is often not the person who makes the commercial decision. In a complex ecosystem, you have four levels:
- The User: They care about usability and experience.
- The Customer: They look for an end-to-end journey.
- The Community: They care about social norms and shared values.
- The Ecosystem: This includes suppliers and regulators who need a win-win.
If you only design for the user, you might fail to commercialise. You must define a value unit for every stakeholder. For a COVID-19 fumigation service, the user is the resident. The customer might be the building committee. The commercial model must reflect this. Sometimes I think we overcomplicate things when the answer is just to have a better conversation with a stranger.
The Breakthrough: A Moment of Empathy
The most powerful moment in our corporate workshops happens during the “Empathy Session”. We see hardened executives stop talking about their “product features.” We see them start feeling what the other person is feeling. One participant recently shared a story about visiting Dubai and noticing people struggling with their spectacles at waterparks. They could not see the slides. They could not enjoy the experience. He designed a waterproof, anti-static eyewear solution specifically for that human moment. He did not start with “optical technology.” He started with “human frustration.”
This shift is infectious. When a team starts designing for humans, the energy in the room changes. It becomes a movement. They stop worrying about the financial investment required for the programme. They start worrying about the impact they are failing to make. We believe that a design on a shelf is no design at all. It must reach a human and solve a problem to be real.
Making the Human Experience Profitable
Empathy does not mean ignoring the numbers. Sustainable innovation requires commerciality. You must unlock the monetary value of your designs so they can be sustained in the long term. You need to ask: What can be charged for the value unit? What is the pricing compared to the competitor benchmarking?
We encourage leaders to calculate the Net Present Value (NPV) of their human-centred projects. Investors do not just invest in products. They invest in the purpose and the people behind that purpose. Your investor story should have three parts:
- The Purpose: Who is the hero whose life is changing?
- The Ask: What do you need to scale?
- The Return: What is the expected ROI in a three to five-year time frame?
When you combine a humane design thinking approach for sustainable innovation with rigorous commercial thinking, you create unicorns. You create businesses that people love.
The Sustainable Future: Zero Waste and Local Growth
The future of business is decentralised and ethical. Look at the eyewear industry again. A new model uses 3D scanning to create custom frames for every face. This is a zero-waste platform. They only make what is needed. They do not have to predict trends 18 months in advance. They do not ship millions of unsold units across the globe. They build without waste.
This is the ultimate goal of a humane design-thinking approach to sustainable innovation. It reduces 97% of global waste that is currently hidden in supply chains. It allows for local production closer to the consumer. It cuts down carbon emissions. It is better for the world. It is better for the bottom line.
User-Asked FAQs
What is the first step in adopting a humane design thinking approach for sustainable innovation?
The first step is empathy. You must stop being a faculty-style manager and start becoming a coach. Move your team out of the office and into the real world to observe actual human challenges.
Can design thinking work for B2B companies in India?
Absolutely. In B2B, the “Altitude of Customers” is even more critical. You must identify the users (employees), the payers (HR or procurement), and the influencers. You design value propositions for each stakeholder in the ecosystem.
How do we measure the success of these innovation programmes?
We look at measurable business impact. This includes topline growth, cost savings through efficiency, and culture shift scores. We also use financial metrics like NPV to ensure the investment is sound.
Is design thinking only for product design?
No. It is for products, services, and processes. It is even for designing the culture of an organisation. It is a way to handle complexity and uncertainty in any functional area.
What if our “humane” design is more expensive than traditional products?
Humane design often leads to cost savings by eliminating waste. Even if the initial unit cost is higher, the value delivered to the customer often allows for a premium commercial model.