Beyond Sticky Notes: Why Capabilities Matter More Than Process

Organizations worldwide are investing heavily in Design Thinking training, tools, and processes. Teams learn the process, they buy the sticky notes and whiteboards, and they run the workshops. Yet many struggle to achieve the breakthrough results that research promises.

The reason isn't a lack of commitment or resources. It's a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes Design Thinking truly effective.

The Process-Only Problem

Research by McKinsey & Company, Design Council, and Design Management Institute shows that organizations adopting design-led approaches

• outperform financial markets by over 200%,

• achieve ROIs of up to 107%,

• and capture 1.5 times more market share.

  
  

However, not all organizations that implement Design Thinking achieve these results, despite following established processes and using appropriate tools.

When I started my research into understanding how organizations can leverage design thinking to tackle seemingly impossible challenges, I discovered a gap in the research and in the practice of design thinking. In research and in practice, the dominating thinking focused on Design Thinking as a process and a set of tools. What was missing was an understanding of design thinking as a human capability. What were the human capabilities that enabled Design Thinking?

The Three-Component Reality

To successfully navigate complex challenges, organizations need three distinct components working together:

Processes that provide the know-how on the steps and actions needed.

Tools equip teams with necessary resources, from physical materials like sticky notes and whiteboards to digital platforms and frameworks.

Capabilities enable individuals and teams to effectively engage in processes and utilize tools to achieve meaningful outcomes.

Most organizations focus exclusively on the first two components while overlooking the third. This approach limits their ability to fully harness Design Thinking's potential for solving complex challenges.

The Research Behind the Problem

What I Discovered

My research revealed a pattern that should alarm every leader investing in Design Thinking: organizations are underutilizing their Design Thinking capabilities because they are unaware of them.

Within your organization right now, there are people with incredible problem-solving capabilities—natural Design Thinkers—but because no one recognizes or develops these capabilities, they remain dormant.

It's like having a team full of athletes who don't know they can run fast, jump high, or think strategically, so they just walk around the field wondering why they're not winning games.

The Muscle Analogy

Through my research, I discovered that Design Thinking capabilities function exactly like physical muscles:

Everyone Has These Muscles Just as every human has abdominal muscles, every person possesses Design Thinking capabilities. They are innate human abilities, not special talents reserved for a chosen few.

Strength Depends on Exercise Like physical muscles, the strength of these capabilities depends on how often they're used. Underutilized capabilities weaken over time, while those exercised regularly become stronger and more refined.

Environment Influences Performance Critical factors affecting capability development include:

• Environmental conditions: Organizational culture, leadership support, structural elements

• Social dynamics: Team composition, collaboration patterns, communication norms

• Work characteristics: Project types, challenge complexity, performance expectations

Why Process-Only Approaches Fail

The Basketball Analogy

Imagine trying to create a professional basketball team by:

• Teaching players the rulebook

• Buying expensive equipment

• Ignoring whether players can actually dribble, shoot, or think strategically

This is exactly what organizations do with Design Thinking. They focus on processes (the rules) and tools (the equipment) while ignoring capabilities (the actual skills needed to play).

The Real-World Impact

I've worked with organizations that:

• Completed multiple Design Thinking training programs

• Equipped teams with the latest tools and templates

• Followed processes religiously

• Still struggled to solve their most important challenges

The missing element was always capabilities development.

What We Got Wrong About Design Thinking

The introduction of Design Thinking to the business world came by way of a process, and this was an effective way to increase awareness and get people unfamiliar with design work to try it out. However, it also created several issues:

Devotion to the Process The hyper focus on process has led to a deep devotion to a process without considering what steps and tools are needed for the problem at hand. This has led to Design Thinking becoming a tick box exercise and demoted it's potential to delivering real outcomes.

Capability Blindness Focus on process delivery rather than capability development means organizations never build sustainable problem-solving capability. Without a shift in capability, organizations continue to fall back on old ways of doing things.

Surface-Level Change Teams learn to follow steps without developing the underlying thinking patterns that make Design Thinking effective. This is why many organizations still view Design Thinking as a nice-to-have or a fun activity, not as a process that can deliver real organizational outcomes.

The Six Core Capabilities Revisited

As we explored in the Who are Design Thinkers blog post, my research identified six core capabilities that distinguish effective Design Thinkers. Understanding these capabilities and how they develop is crucial for moving beyond process-only approaches:

1. Situation Optimizers©

The Capability: View problems as indicators that better solutions are possible, focusing on transformation within constraints.

Process vs. Capability:

• Process thinking: "We need to follow the problem definition step"

• Capability thinking: "This challenge means we can create something better"

2. Empathetic Explorers©

The Capability: Develop genuine understanding of others' experiences through observation and meaningful engagement.

Process vs. Capability:

• Process thinking: "We need to do user interviews"

• Capability thinking: "I need to understand how this feels for the people experiencing it"

3. Idea Generators©

The Capability: Move beyond known solutions to imagine new possibilities while suspending judgment.

Process vs. Capability:

• Process thinking: "We need to brainstorm X number of ideas"

• Capability thinking: "What if we considered possibilities we haven't thought of yet?"

4. Visual Communicators©

The Capability: Make abstract ideas tangible through visualization to enable both reflection and collaboration.

Process vs. Capability:

• Process thinking: "We need to create a prototype"

• Capability thinking: "How can I make this idea visible so we can work with it together?"

5. Curious Experimenters©

The Capability: Test ideas through hands-on experimentation to learn about unknowns.

Process vs. Capability:

• Process thinking: "We need to test our solution"

• Capability thinking: "What's the smallest experiment that could teach us something valuable?"

6. Collective Collaborators©

The Capability: Recognize individual limitations and actively engage others in co-creating solutions.

Process vs. Capability:

• Process thinking: "We need to involve stakeholders"

• Capability thinking: "Whose perspective could help us see this differently?"

Collectively these capabilities are called the Design Thinker Profile©.

The Competitive Advantage of Capability-Focused Development

Organizations that understand and develop their teams' Design Thinking capabilities gain significant competitive advantages:

Enhanced Problem-Solving Effectiveness

Teams with developed capabilities can tackle complex challenges that traditionally end up in the "too hard" category. They don't just follow processes they adapt approaches based on situation requirements.

Improved Innovation Outcomes

Higher-quality solutions emerge from teams with developed capabilities compared to those relying solely on process knowledge. Capabilities enable creative application of tools rather than rigid adherence to steps.

Sustainable Transformation

Capability-based approaches create lasting change rather than temporary improvements from one-time training. People internalize new ways of thinking rather than just learning new procedures.

Resource Optimization

Understanding existing capabilities allows organizations to leverage natural strengths while strategically developing areas of opportunity, rather than treating everyone identically.

Building Capability-Focused Organizations

Organizations serious about maximizing Design Thinking effectiveness should:

• Assess Current Capability Profiles Understand existing strengths and development opportunities across teams and individuals using validated assessment tools.

  
  

• Create Capability Development Plans Target specific capabilities based on organizational needs and individual profiles rather than generic training programs.

  
  

• Design Supportive Environments Enable capabilities to flourish rather than creating barriers to their expression through culture, processes, and leadership behavior.

  
  

• Integrate Capability Development Into ongoing learning and development programs rather than treating it as separate from process training.

  
  

• Measure Capability Impact On problem-solving effectiveness and business outcomes to ensure investment generates returns.

The Cultural Shift

Moving from process-only to capability-focused approaches requires organizational culture change:

• From Compliance to Creativity Shifting from "follow the process correctly" to "apply capabilities effectively to achieve outcomes."

  
  

• From Standardization to Adaptation Moving from "use the same approach everywhere" to "adapt methods based on context and capabilities."

  
  

• From Training to Development Evolving from "teach people procedures" to "develop underlying thinking capabilities."

  
  

• From Individual to Environmental Expanding from "fix the person" to "create conditions where capabilities can flourish."

Common Implementation Challenges

The Patience Problem

Capability development takes longer than process training. Organizations wanting quick results may revert to process-only approaches.

The Measurement Challenge

Capabilities are harder to measure than process compliance, requiring new metrics and evaluation methods.

The Leadership Gap

Leaders who only understand process-based approaches may struggle to support capability development.

The Culture Clash

Existing organizational cultures may inadvertently discourage the behaviors that demonstrate Design Thinking capabilities.

The Path Forward

For Individual Development

• Take the Design Thinker Profile assessment to understand your capability strengths

• Identify environmental factors that support or hinder your capabilities

• Practice specific capabilities rather than just following processes

• Seek feedback on capability application, not just process adherence

For Team Development

• Map team capability profiles to understand collective strengths and gaps

• Create psychological safety for capability expression and experimentation

• Balance teams with complementary capability strengths

• Coach capability application in real project contexts

For Organizational Development

• Embed capability thinking into talent management and development

• Design environments that enable rather than hinder capability expression

• Measure both process and capability outcomes

• Integrate capabilities with other organizational development initiatives

Key Takeaways

1. Process and tools are foundation elements but capabilities determine whether Design Thinking generates breakthrough results or remains an expensive workshop exercise

2. Everyone has Design Thinking capabilities but organizations often fail to recognize, develop, or support them

3. Environmental factors matter as much as individual abilities in determining capability expression

4. Assessment enables development by revealing current strengths and opportunities

5. Sustainable transformation requires shifting from process-only to capability-focused approaches

6. Competitive advantage comes from developing the human capabilities that enable innovative problem-solving

The Bottom Line

Organizations achieving exceptional results with Design Thinking aren't just following processes better than everyone else. They're building human capabilities that enable breakthrough thinking and problem-solving.

The processes and tools are table stakes. The real competitive advantage lies in developing the capabilities that turn ordinary teams into Design Thinkers who can solve impossible problems.

Within every organization, there is untapped potential for innovation, transformation, and breakthrough results. The question isn't whether your people have Design Thinker capabilities—they do. The question is whether you're aware of them, developing them, and creating environments where they can thrive.