Challenge	
   	
   When	
  I	
  chose	
  my	
  challenge	
  I	
  decided	
  it	
  needed	
  to	
  be	
  something	
  that	
  I	
  could	
   implement	
  soon	
  to	
  actually	
  take	
  advantage	
  of	
  the	
  practical	
  side	
  of	
  this	
  course.	
  Being	
   a	
  stay-­‐at-­‐home	
  mom	
  of	
  3	
  with	
  plans	
  to	
  go	
  back	
  to	
  the	
  professional	
  field,	
  I	
  thought	
   my	
  challenge	
  should	
  be	
  precisely	
  at	
  home.	
  If	
  I	
  could	
  impact	
  my	
  daily	
  life	
  today,	
  I	
   could	
  definitely	
  impact	
  my	
  professional	
  life	
  in	
  the	
  future	
  with	
  design	
  thinking.	
   	
   I	
  would	
  like	
  my	
  daughter,	
  who	
  is	
  almost	
  4	
  years	
  old,	
  to	
  eat	
  healthier	
  food	
  (lots	
  of	
   veggies,	
  more	
  fruits,	
  less	
  processed	
  food).	
  	
  I	
  have	
  tried	
  many	
  ways	
  for	
  her	
  to	
  do	
  it	
   but	
  all	
  of	
  my	
  ideas	
  that	
  I	
  have	
  tested	
  have	
  failed.	
  	
  She	
  has	
  a	
  severe	
  allergy	
  to	
  peanuts	
   making	
  it	
  just	
  a	
  little	
  harder.	
  	
  Anything	
  slightly	
  “contaminated”	
  causes	
  her	
  to	
  have	
  an	
   allergic	
  reaction.	
  	
  	
   	
   I	
  recognize	
  that	
  I	
  am	
  a	
  very	
  left-­‐brain	
  thinking	
  person.	
  	
  I	
  like	
  to	
  have	
  structure	
  for	
   basically	
  everything.	
  	
  My	
  older	
  and	
  younger	
  children	
  have	
  great	
  eating	
  habits	
  and	
  I	
   am	
  looking	
  forward	
  for	
  her	
  to	
  join	
  the	
  club	
  and	
  make	
  me	
  a	
  stress	
  free	
  mom	
  at	
  least	
   from	
  the	
  nutrition	
  point	
  of	
  view.	
   	
   Selection	
  	
   	
   I	
  partnered	
  with	
  another	
  mom	
  and	
  with	
  the	
  help	
  of	
  a	
  friend	
  with	
  experience	
  in	
   Design	
  Thinking	
  we	
  created	
  a	
  workshop.	
  	
  We	
  used	
  several	
  tools	
  including:	
   interviews,	
  concept	
  development,	
  brainstorming	
  and	
  even	
  rapid	
  prototyping	
  but	
  the	
   tool	
  that	
  helped	
  me	
  to	
  put	
  it	
  all	
  together	
  was	
  definitely	
  “visualization”.	
  	
  I	
  needed	
  the	
   alignment	
  that	
  provides	
  having	
  the	
  information	
  in	
  a	
  tangible	
  way.	
   	
   Application	
   	
   We	
  started	
  the	
  workshop	
  by	
  giving	
  it	
  what	
  it	
  needs,	
  a	
  prepared	
  mind	
  like	
  we	
  saw	
  in	
   week	
  2	
  of	
  the	
  course.	
  	
  	
  We	
  got	
  a	
  kit	
  of	
  tools	
  to	
  help	
  us	
  including	
  post-­‐its,	
  different	
   color	
  paper	
  and	
  even	
  my	
  own	
  daughter’s	
  crayons.	
  	
  The	
  process	
  initiated	
  by	
  working	
   on	
  the	
  concept	
  development.	
  	
  I	
  did	
  want	
  my	
  daughter	
  to	
  eat	
  better	
  but	
  what	
  does	
   that	
  really	
  mean?	
  By	
  practicing	
  a	
  face-­‐to-­‐face	
  question/answers	
  phase	
  I	
  concluded	
   that	
  what	
  I	
  really	
  wanted	
  is	
  for	
  her	
  to	
  have	
  at	
  least	
  1	
  portion	
  of	
  vegetables,	
  2	
  of	
  fruits,	
   1	
  of	
  grains	
  and	
  1	
  of	
  proteins	
  every	
  day.	
  	
  All	
  the	
  notes	
  to	
  get	
  to	
  that	
  point	
  were	
   written	
  on	
  post-­‐its	
  and	
  added	
  to	
  flip	
  chart	
  paper	
  that	
  was	
  hanging	
  on	
  my	
  dining	
   room	
  wall.	
  Having	
  the	
  visual	
  guided	
  me	
  to	
  stay	
  focused	
  without	
  thinking	
  on	
  stuff	
   that	
  was	
  not	
  part	
  of	
  the	
  problem.	
  	
  Then	
  it	
  came	
  the	
  point	
  of	
  how	
  do	
  I	
  do	
  it?	
  We	
   started	
  brainstorming	
  with	
  a	
  combination	
  of	
  sketching.	
  	
  It	
  was	
  a	
  fun	
  process	
  and	
  a	
   really	
  good	
  way	
  to	
  see	
  it	
  on	
  paper	
  and	
  then	
  picturing	
  it	
  in	
  my	
  mind.	
  	
  My	
  favorite	
   visual	
  is	
  a	
  drawing	
  I	
  made	
  where	
  my	
  daughter	
  is	
  smiling	
  with	
  a	
  plate	
  full	
  of	
  a	
  variety	
   of	
  healthy	
  food.

Insight	
   	
   Something	
  that	
  really	
  stuck	
  in	
  my	
  mind	
  is	
  that	
  most	
  of	
  the	
  time	
  we	
  are	
  trying	
  to	
   solve	
  issues	
  but	
  we	
  can’t	
  even	
  define	
  the	
  problem.	
  	
  I	
  was	
  trying	
  to	
  find	
  the	
  solution	
   for	
  something	
  very	
  general	
  and	
  having	
  the	
  visual	
  of	
  the	
  notes	
  helped	
  me	
  to	
  make	
  a	
   clear	
  statement.	
  That	
  was	
  probably	
  half	
  way	
  to	
  a	
  solution	
  already.	
   	
   Non-­‐business	
  challenges	
  could	
  sound	
  easy	
  to	
  solve	
  but	
  for	
  some	
  people	
  it	
  could	
  be	
   really	
  hard.	
  	
  I	
  am	
  not	
  a	
  happy	
  camper	
  when	
  I	
  need	
  to	
  try/do	
  something	
  that	
  is	
  out	
  of	
   my	
  knowledge	
  zone.	
  By	
  just	
  following	
  a	
  set	
  of	
  instructions	
  we	
  could	
  find	
  solutions	
   that	
  I	
  could	
  actually	
  “see”.	
  Having	
  the	
  input	
  of	
  2	
  other	
  people	
  (one	
  with	
  kids	
  and	
  one	
   without)	
  really	
  helped	
  as	
  well.	
  	
  Like	
  it	
  was	
  discussed	
  during	
  the	
  course	
  …	
  “using	
  left	
   side	
  of	
  brain	
  is	
  not	
  enough	
  anymore”	
  and	
  “No	
  one	
  size	
  fits	
  all”.	
  	
   	
   Approach	
  	
   	
   I	
  am	
  ready	
  to	
  start	
  testing	
  all	
  the	
  new	
  ideas	
  that	
  came	
  out	
  of	
  the	
  workshop	
  this	
   weekend	
  and	
  start	
  tracking	
  the	
  progress.	
  The	
  plan	
  is	
  to	
  keep	
  doing	
  it	
  very	
  visual,	
   using	
  again	
  a	
  flip-­‐chart	
  paper	
  that	
  I	
  will	
  hang	
  in	
  my	
  kitchen	
  where	
  I	
  can	
  evaluate	
  the	
   ideas,	
  add	
  notes,	
  make	
  changes,	
  etc.	
  Some	
  of	
  the	
  outcome	
  includes:	
  involve	
  her	
  in	
   the	
  grocery	
  shopping	
  process,	
  make	
  her	
  choose	
  between	
  2	
  healthy	
  options,	
  let	
  her	
   actually	
  help	
  with	
  the	
  cooking,	
  when	
  needed	
  hide	
  veggies	
  and	
  fruits	
  in	
  recipes,	
  try	
   computer/phone	
  apps,	
  progress	
  charts	
  for	
  kids,	
  etc.	
  	
  I	
  am	
  confident	
  that	
  I	
  am	
  in	
  a	
   win-­‐win	
  situation	
  here,	
  mom	
  and	
  daughter	
  in	
  a	
  better	
  and	
  healthier	
  place.

Pictures	
  of	
  the	
  process	
  *some	
  notes	
  in	
  Spanish	
  

