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Design Thinking Leaders discover innovative ideas by working through challenging, and often chaotic, situations where disruptive opportunities are typically hidden. These creativity-minded professionals embrace the consumer’s perspective and balance that with the brand’s needs and aspirations. The result? Simple, yet radical solutions that seem so obvious in hindsight.

These radical solutions come from companies who rely on Design Thinking like IBM, Intuit, Nike, Stanley Black & Decker, Starbucks, Steelcase, Target and Walt Disney.

These companies are among the 17 companies in the DMI (Design Value Index) Study that showed a 10 year return that was 219% higher than the S&P 500. In fact, IBM hired 1000 more Design Thinkers and invested $100 million to expand their design business to build on their success.

So how can we tap into the mindset of the people at companies like these who are best equipped to help to take a step back and empathize with consumers?

To answer that question, Altitude partnered with Leadtail to get a closer look into the mindset of the Design Thinkers responsible for keeping our favorite brands innovative and their users happy. That’s what this unique study is about: using social media insights to help you better understand what Design Thinking leaders talk about, what they read and share, and who most influences them.

Key Takeaways

  1. What does it take to be a Design Thinking + Innovation leader? Our panelists highlight a variety of skills and attributes in their social profiles, including strategy, leadership, digital, social, and analytics.
  2. Wondering where Design Thinkers + Innovators are looking for the next big thing? Top hashtags point to emerging, industry-spanning tech and trends like: #bigdata, #IoT, #machinelearning, #AI, and #wearables.
  3. When it comes to breakthrough ideas it really can help to show versus tell. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why YouTube and Instagram are among the most popular sources of social content shared by Design Thinkers + Innovators!
  4. Which digital publications do Design Thinkers + Innovators rely on to stay ahead of the curve? Our data reveals that Forbes and the New York Times lead the pack, followed by Medium, TechCrunch, and Harvard Business Review.