5 minutes with... John Body from ThinkPlace

Thinking outside the box is somewhat of a trademark for University of Canberra alumnus John Body. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematical Studies in 1982, John found work in a statistical survey design role with the Australian Bureau of Statistics. After 10 years with the organisation, he made the move to the Australian Taxation Office where he completed another 15 years of service in project management, financial management and corporate strategy.

Drawing on his own industry and personal experience, John founded ThinkPlace, a strategic design consultancy, in 2005. The business applies design thinking and innovation to the areas that matter most; social cohesion, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.  

Today ThinkPlace has grown to a team approaching 100 people across 7 locations and 4 countries. The business applies design and innovation to projects as diverse as healthcare in Kenya, transport in Singapore, renewable energy in Australia and Indigenous conditions in the US.

With the business continuously expanding, we took the chance to speak to John about his work at ThinkPlace and how we can apply design thinking into our everyday lives.

You started ThinkPlace in 2005, a consulting company that uses design thinking to solve organisational challenges and complex problems. What is design thinking, and what are some of the major principles that you use in your work?

Design thinking is a complement to making decisions via a strict linear methodology. It actually flips that model. It is heavily user-centred and makes sense of things by understanding all those affected in every scenario. It is iterative instead of linear, doesn’t follow a strict a detailed methodology and prompts you to prototype and test early. Rather than solely talking to experts, we gain a broad set of perspectives in a highly collaborative environment and instead of designing a single product or service, we design in context of the entire system.

How do you go about bringing a design thinking methodology to your clients?

At ThinkPlace we do run a lot of formal training, especially in Singapore where we are the main provider of design thinking to the civil service. We also run quite a few “just in time” type training courses for our clients wherever they are immersed in the methodology, they learn by being a part of the user centric process.

Does it really work in all situations for all problems, or is it particularly well suited to certain types of problems and workplaces?

I don’t like to position design thinking as a panacea or fad, it’s not the answer to every single problem. There are four types of challenges; simple, complicated, chaotic and complex. Simple problems can be solved with little effort.  Complicated problems are those that have one right answer e.g. a Swiss watch, or the stresses and strains in a bridge.  Complicated challenges require a formal methodology because there is a single right answer to work towards. Chaotic challenges such as a flood, bushfire or some other crisis require immediate action. They are highly unpredictable.  You don’t run a workshop.  You act first and then assess.  

Design thinking is not generally used for simple, complicated or chaotic challenges. it is however very well suited to complex challenges.  These have many different independent actors making it hard to predict the actual outcome but, nonetheless, resulting in patterns that can be observed.  This is where design thinking is very well suited.

What kind of people does ThinkPlace employ, and what kind of expertise is needed to adopt this approach to problem solving?

At ThinkPlace we hire on diversity and in terms of academic backgrounds we cover most.  At ThinkPlace our people have qualifications in Civil Engineering, Graphic Design, Law and Fine Arts to Psychology, Finance, Chemistry and Architecture to name a few. Personal background is just as varied with many of our Australian team members alone having lived in Japan, Egypt, Holland, France, Germany and more. We’re looking for the broadest possible range of disciplines and experiences, though we are heavier on industrial and graphic design as a core skillset.

You come from a mathematics background with a Master of Arts in Chaos and Complexity – how does an affinity with numbers and systems help in solving what are essentially people-focused problems?

Mathematics is arguably as much an art as a science. It trains you in a way of seeing the world and in thinking. Because I’m quite strong in quantitative analysis it actually allows me to see more clearly the power of complementing that analytical skill with a very different qualitative thinking approach such as design thinking. Interestingly as part of my maths degree I studied numerical methods which are actually iterative to arrive at a solution, which in some ways is analogous to design thinking.

Is a knack for problem solving learnt, or just something people have naturally? Have you noticed any similar traits in the people who work for you, even if they cut across a variety of backgrounds?

Everybody solves problems whoever they are because problem solving is really getting from where you are now to where you want to be. Everyone does that in every discipline and walk of life, we learn that from a very young age. When you’re trying to work with complex systems, different types of thinking must be taken into account as there is more than one right answer, you’re really assessing options. So in terms of a particular approach, I would say every field operates in a vastly different capacity when it comes to problem solving, but each approach has its own value depending on the context and the question being asked.

If someone was looking to be better at day-to-day problem solving in their own life, what advice would you give them? How can people employ design thinking principles in their daily routines?

Design thinking can help overcome procrastination which could be caused in part by seeking the perfect answer. It allows you to try something and evaluate it and then try something else. It can be quite liberating and allows you to act fairly early on in any process and frees you up to arrive at a superior option over time.

Do you have a career highlight of your journey so far?

My career highlight is today. Every day brings new challenges, opportunities and new excitement. Even though I could not anticipate any of my career going forward, in hindsight it makes sense.  Each part has built on the previous parts.  The role I am in today would not have existed when my career started.

Do you have any advice for students hoping to work for an agency like yours one day, or those who want to apply non-traditional thinking to complex problems?

The business I am running today, the type that ThinkPlace is, did not exist when I started in my career. So what’s important to note is that students need to be constantly looking at trends, emerging fields, emerging occupations and developing their skills accordingly. Increasingly, highly developed collaboration skills are required in just about very role.

Technology is eliminating jobs that require just one mind to work. The value that human beings can bring over computers is bringing diverse perspectives together and dealing with greater complexity than previously. It’s essential to learn how to work with, respect and build on other perspectives and understand the behaviour of how complex systems work. Remain optimistic that you can actually create the future.