Design Thinking for Innovation. Dardeen School of business. University of Virginia.  Coursera.    Reflection – Storytelling

Challenge & Selection

Being myself a marketer involved in the  creation of a startup that it’s focused on the  development of a real estate online market-place where the differential value is on  maximizing the sustainability impact in every step of the process (from architectural  design to construction, and through all the digital innovation needed to offer  meaningful experiences and relationships to the different stakeholders), I face the  challenge of persuading the different partners and stakeholders (from investors to  designers and real-estate owners) in being part of the startup cause about why quality,  health, and sustainability over quantity, speed and cost reduction really matters, and is  a way which in we want to enroll ourselves.     I chose the Storytelling tool to convey the stakeholders about the challenges we face as  citizens in need of innovative solutions for the dire sustainability tensions increased in  the face of the expanding climate crisis.     I feel that the dynamic potential of this conversational tool to let me lean in one single  pitch, on the most powerful parts of the brand message and creating moments of  reflection so my audience can be involved in the conversation, would be the right step in  this part of spreading the word about my young and growing enterprise.    The ​short video with Li Yan talking about the storytelling tool in the Week 2 of the  course​, and the use of a ​storytelling canvas​ by Designbetterbussines.com​ shared by  fellow students in the Week 2 forum of this course, helped me design an effective  storytelling speech, that would be able to enroll my audience in a movement aimed to  face the stated challenge, and also to make the strategy of my business available to  every stakeholder, so they can have ownership of the solutions, make the storytelling  pitch their own, and spread the flame.    Application

With my storytelling speech ready, I went to a pair of networking events, the audience  was perfect, formed by investors and young entrepreneurs, who also were frequent  buyers and sellers of real estate. There I let unfold my storytelling naturally in the  conversations when I was asked about my venture and upcoming business. Inspired by  the​ talk of the Chilean designer ​Sebastian Errazuriz​ (which was also shared in the forums  of this course)​ to make the story personal and about real people and real problems, I  modified my pitch focusing it on the challenges and tensions of the climate crisis on the  architectural design sector and what we can do to innovate it. Then with an open-ended

style of conversation, I ended my dissertation by asking questions and showing genuine  interest in the particular opinions and details of the audience. This final approach led to  longer and interesting discussions, contacts and invitations to more events.    The tool worked seamlessly to my understanding, or the tool is so dynamic that it just  adapts to the talker style, an there, I was lucky.    Insight & Approach

After the networking events, I realized that the using of storytelling reaped bountiful  results, by using open-ended questions and letting the audience get involved in my  story I gathered plenty of insights about the particular problems and needs that each  individual faced, and I was shocked of how strongly a good storytelling can improve the  conversations and open a field of possibilities for letting others be involved in your  cause.    I was invited to more networking events and introduced by recommendation from the  contacts I made and the audience I known in past events. Also, I was able to make  friends and colleagues with the contacts of the audience, who naturally get interested in  my project and were eager to be participants in the next phase of my design process.    After this experience, I began to see the broad capabilities of the design thinking  approach, as a more humane set of tools to do meaningful business with people, or  stated in a different way; to solve real problems with real people.    For the next step of my process, I choose an alternate take in my approach, setting up a  mind mapping tool event as explained In the ​MeYouHealth​ story in Week 3 of this  course. I had already a solid base of pertinent stakeholders from colleagues, friends,  and contacts recruited by the storytelling on past networking events, so I invited them  and set up some tables with individual Empathy Maps for each individual to complete. ​I  used this empathy map​ (​Shared in this post from the forum of Week2 of this course​) to  identify needs and insights from each individual.     Finally, I realized that using a more collaborative tool like the Co-creation tool, as shown  in the workshop fashion that its used in the ​Good Kitchen​ story of Week 1 could have  given me a broader scope of insights about the individual issues and needs of the  objective audience and stakeholders of my brand, so I could use those insights along  the development of the whole project.


Design Thinking for Innovation . Dardeen School of business . University of Virginia . Coursera . Reflection – Storytelling Challenge & Selection Being myself a marketer involved in the creation of a startup that it ’s focused on the development of a real estate online market - place where the differential value is on maximizing the sustainability impact in every step of the process ( from architectural design to construction , and through all the digital innovation needed to offer meaningful experiences and relationships to the different stakeholders ) , I face the challenge of persuading the different partners and stakeholders ( from investors to designers and real - estate owners ) in being part of the startup cause about why quality , health , and sustainability over quantity , speed and cost reduction really matters , and is a way which in we want to enroll ourselves . I chose the Storytelling tool to convey the stakeholders about the challenges we face as citizens in need of innovative solutions for the dire sustainability tensions increased in the face of the expanding climate crisis . I feel that the dynamic potential of this conversational tool to let me lean in one single pitch , on the most powerful parts of the brand message and creating moments of reflection so my audience can be involved in the conversation , would be the right step in this part of spreading the word about my young and growing enterprise . The ​short video with Li Yan talking about the storytelling tool in the Week 2 of the course​ , and the use of a ​storytelling canvas​ by Designbetterbussines.com​ shared by fellow students in the Week 2 forum of this course , helped me design an effective storytelling speech , that would be able to enroll my audience in a movement aimed to face the stated challenge , and also to make the strategy of my business available to every stakeholder , so they can have ownership of the solutions , make the storytelling pitch their own , and spread the flame . Application With my storytelling speech ready , I went to a pair of networking events , the audience was perfect , formed by investors and young entrepreneurs , who also were frequent buyers and sellers of real estate . There I let unfold my storytelling naturally in the conversations when I was asked about my venture and upcoming business . Inspired by the​ talk of the Chilean designer ​Sebastian Errazuriz​ ( which was also shared in the forums of this course)​ to make the story personal and about real people and real problems , I modified my pitch focusing it on the challenges and tensions of the climate crisis on the architectural design sector and what we can do to innovate it . Then with an open - ended style of conversation , I ended my dissertation by asking questions and showing genuine interest in the particular opinions and details of the audience . This final approach led to longer and interesting discussions , contacts and invitations to more events . The tool worked seamlessly to my understanding , or the tool is so dynamic that it just adapts to the talker style , an there , I was lucky . Insight & Approach After the networking events , I realized that the using of storytelling reaped bountiful results , by using open - ended questions and letting the audience get involved in my story I gathered plenty of insights about the particular problems and needs that each individual faced , and I was shocked of how strongly a good storytelling can improve the conversations and open a field of possibilities for letting others be involved in your cause . I was invited to more networking events and introduced by recommendation from the contacts I made and the audience I known in past events . Also , I was able to make friends and colleagues with the contacts of the audience , who naturally get interested in my project and were eager to be participants in the next phase of my design process . After this experience , I began to see the broad capabilities of the design thinking approach , as a more humane set of tools to do meaningful business with people , or stated in a different way ; to solve real problems with real people . For the next step of my process , I choose an alternate take in my approach , setting up a mind mapping tool event as explained In the ​MeYouHealth​ story in Week 3 of this course . I had already a solid base of pertinent stakeholders from colleagues , friends , and contacts recruited by the storytelling on past networking events , so I invited them and set up some tables with individual Empathy Maps for each individual to complete . ​I used this empathy map​ ( ​Shared in this post from the forum of Week2 of this course​ ) to identify needs and insights from each individual . Finally , I realized that using a more collaborative tool like the Co - creation tool , as shown in the workshop fashion that its used in the ​Good Kitchen​ story of Week 1 could have given me a broader scope of insights about the individual issues and needs of the objective audience and stakeholders of my brand , so I could use those insights along the development of the whole project .