News:

In this case, IQ refers to your imagination quotient. According to an article in the latest edition of Fast Company, companies that out-imagine and out-create their competition will have a decided advantage in the marketplace.

Furthermore, companies will only prosper if they constantly innovate while creating “elegant, refined products and services.”  This – according to the article – is the emergence of the design economy.

To meet the demands of this new economy, companies will have to change how they handle workflow. There’ll be fewer fixed permanent assignments, instead work will flow from project to project.

The design economy will also impact strategic thinking. Instead of using just the two types of logic: inductive (proving something operates) and deductive (proving something must be) – a third type combining these two – abductive will play an important role. Abductive thinking suggests something may be and reaches out to explore it.  In other words, designers act on what’s probable, instead of what’s certain; they learn by doing, identifying weaknesses and making corrections along the way.

The design economy is sure to have far reaching effects that are just beginning to be felt – from business school curriculum to how successful companies interface with their customers.

You can read the entire article at http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/93/design.html?page=0%2C1