The Long Game

As Tim Brown sees it, the great problem for organizations today is they struggle to think far enough into the future.

That’s because they don’t have the ecosystem or the people in place to anticipate where the world is heading. But the CEO and President of IDEO is bringing together leaders from different backgrounds, industries and life experiences to tackle our greatest challenges. 

Whether it’s the circular economy, urban mobility or healthcare – or enabling technologies like Artificial Intelligence or blockchain – we need global thinkers to come to the table with actionable solutions.

CoLab, IDEO’s platform for collaborative impact, does just that. It connects organizations to shape technology’s influence, providing a learning laboratory to design a world more responsive to citizens – wherever they reside. 

In part two of this conversation on design thinking (you can listen to part one here), Tim talks about CoLab, as well as the building blocks for effective collaboration. He shares insights on how best to release the power of imagination. He explains why words alone are never enough.

And lastly, he answers the burning question: What is the one problem he most wants to solve? 

Editor’s note: David Lee, Vice President of Innovation and UPS Ventures, joins the podcast to help interview Tim. David is also a design thinking “disciple.”