Innovation is about seeing the world not as it is, but as it could be. It's about exploring really "wicked problems" whose solutions can't be found in past experience or proven by data. Contrast this with most companies' obsessive reliance on efficiency and predictability-and it's no wonder breakthrough innovations are so rare. But innovation and efficiency don't have to be at odds. In "The Design of Business," Roger Martin unveils a new way of thinking that balances the exploration of new knowledge (innovation) with the exploitation of current knowledge (efficiency) to regularly generate breakthroughs and create value for companies. "Design thinking" focuses on accelerating the pace at which knowledge advances from mystery (an unexplainable problem) to heuristic (a rule of thumb that guides us toward a solution) to algorithm (a replicable success formula). As knowledge moves through this "knowledge funnel," productivity grows and costs drop. But design-thinking organizations don't stop there. They use the efficiencies they generate to constantly tackle new mysteries and explore potential breakthroughs. Based on hands-on consulting work and case studies of companies including Procter & Gamble, Steelcase, Research in Motion, Cirque du Soleil, and others, "The Design of Business" maps the route followed by successful design thinkers in business, science, and the arts. Colorful stories and practical guidelines illustrate how to: combine proof-based analytical thinking with possibility-based "abductive thinking"; revamp financial planning and reward systems to encourage bold ideas; change structures and processes to move knowledge from one stage to the next; defend design thinking to employees, boards, and investors; develop the key tools of design thinkers: observation, imagination, and configuration. Provocative and convincing, "The Design of Business" shows how your organization can gain an unbeatable competitive advantage by wondering "what could be"-and making it happen.

The knowledge funnel: how discovery takes shape -- The reliability bias: why advancing knowledge is so hard -- Design thinking: how thinking like a designer can create sustainable advantage -- Transforming the corporation: the design of Procter & Gamble -- The balancing act: how design-thinking organizations embrace reliability and validity -- World-class explorers: leading the design-thinking organization -- Getting personal: developing yourself as a design thinker.