Design Your Thinking

-Innovating the Problem Solving- Review of 'Design Your Thinking' by Pavan Soni Quote Alert "𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭? 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 ‘𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞' 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐮𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭." Why Must You Read? -Get tips right from the master -Not just textbookish ideas but ground realities and practical info -Real life stories and experiences The primary intent of this book, writes Soni, is to enable a broad-based adoption of design thinking as a human-centric approach to problem-solving, which helps bring discipline to this otherwise chaotic process. The method is as useful for new product development as for everyday problems, including accounts receivable, customer service and employee engagement. If employees can embrace a more systematic posture towards problem-solving, they would greatly be benefited and so would the organizations. The same can be said about personal lives, where a deeper understanding of other people's motivations can greatly help improve relationships. Soni writes like an adept storyteller, bracketing off the dryness of non fiction from the book. His approach is like that of a creative artist. He shares experiences and anecdotes, bringing stories of other people to the mix. It's a delight reading a non fiction book that is as easy a read as fiction. The book includes case studies and practical lessons on creativity, innovation and design thinking from companies like 3M, Accenture, Amazon, ANAND Group,Apple, Aravind Eye Hospitals, Asian Paints, Bain & Company, Bigbasket, Biocon to name a few. These stories don't let the narrative become heavy. The book has a rich compilation of notes and lessons that will definitely make you think differently about the familiar stuff. And all this in an easy going conversational style! These notes are the insights collected and collated over years of observations, conversations and learnings. The learnings in this book have been distilled across markets, practitioners, academics, students, and teachers. Pick it up this festive season.

"Design Your Thinking" truly changed how I approach problem-solving. It doesn’t just teach design thinking—it challenges how we think entirely. I loved how the book emphasized empathy and experimentation over rigid structures. It’s written clearly and practically, so even someone unfamiliar with innovation strategies can follow along and start applying the ideas right away. What stood out most was how the book debunks the myth that creativity is only for the naturally gifted or those with lots of resources. Instead, it shows how constraints actually fuel creativity, and that discipline is essential—not a barrier—to innovation. That really resonated with me in my daily work, where we’re often forced to do more with less.

Design Your Thinking by Pavan Soni is one of the most practical, insightful, and transformative books I’ve read on creativity and innovation. It doesn’t just inspire you to think differently—it shows you how. The book breaks down the concept of design thinking into three essential dimensions: Mindsets, Toolsets, and Skill Sets, making it accessible not just to professionals or entrepreneurs but to anyone who wants to solve problems more meaningfully. With well-researched case studies and real-world examples—from IDEO to DARPA—Soni brings clarity to a topic that’s often overused and misunderstood. What I appreciated most was the author’s balanced approach. He celebrates the power of design thinking but also candidly discusses where it doesn’t apply—something rarely seen in books on this subject. The writing is clear, engaging, and layered with both academic rigor and practical wisdom. Whether you’re in business, education, healthcare, government, or simply want to bring more creativity and empathy into your work and life—this book is a must-read. It challenges you to question assumptions, stay curious, and build solutions that genuinely matter. 🔹 Thoughtful. 🔹 Actionable. 🔹 Game-changing. Highly recommended for students, professionals, leaders, and lifelong learners.

This book completely reshaped my understanding of creativity. I used to think creativity was all about sudden bursts of inspiration those rare “aha” moments that only a few lucky people experienced. But this book showed me that creativity is actually a skill that anyone can develop with the right mindset, structure, and tools. One of the most powerful takeaways was the idea that constraints don’t block creativity they often enhance it by forcing more original solutions. I also learned that design thinking isn’t limited to designers or startups. It’s a practical, problem-solving approach that can be applied in everyday life whether you're making a tough decision, improving a process, or trying to become a more empathetic leader. The book breaks down big ideas into simple, actionable frameworks and supports them with real-life examples, making everything easy to understand and apply. What I appreciated most is how grounded and encouraging the message was: you don’t need to wait for inspiration to strike. With consistent effort and the right approach, anyone can think more creatively, solve problems more effectively, and bring innovative thinking into their daily life. This book didn’t just inform me it fundamentally changed the way I approach challenges.

EXCELLENT!

A nice broad perspective with many practical examples. I particularly enjoyed him bringing in stories from a culture other than US.