Business Redesign

            In today’s economy many business are starting to redesign their businesses. It is such a dramatic change form the past. For one thing, we are now calling it “redesign” instead of “reinventing”. As a society we are trying to think of ourselves as a whole rather than a series of various parts.

            An article in Metropolis Magazine Susan Szenasy writes a Q and A section on “Redesigning Businesses”. Ilya Prokopoff of IDEO answers the questions about what it is like to help redesign a business. With a new method of problem solving companies are able to rethink every aspect of their business. Based on “daring experimentation and genuine collaboration” small scenarios where they can act out live ways of using their products or customer experiences. This completely changes the way one looks at their business. It builds layers of understanding, poses new questions and promotes new answers being made.

            She says she finds that, “leaders who mix rigorous fact finding with careful consideration of new possibilities seem to make better, faster choices about the future than those who don’t.” By this she means that companies that have good ideas, and are unafraid to try new methods and changing the structure of their system, will be successful. The key to being a success in this new society is being willing to take risks.

            However, Prokopoff, also mentions the weakness of most companies have. The common reason for hesitation is the fear of  “getting it wrong” and having it all end. Sometimes the risk is to scary to take.

            But, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. If we consider the way popular society is looking at businesses today we find a new way of looking. The consumer no longer takes a product at aesthetic value only. Today’s consumer wants a product or service that gives more. More value, more sustainability, just more. This means the providers of products and services must be more. Their risk is now, more than ever, more likely to be a success.

Here is the article http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20101101/qa-on-redesigning-businesses