There’s an assumption in business that number crunching is the only way to understand problems and create innovations. In reality, numbers are only part of the picture. Understanding unmet customer needs represents a powerful opportunity for organizations to innovate. But how do you understand customers on this deeper level?
Join Rotman DesignWorks with our special guest, Holly O’Driscoll from P&G to learn how to look at a problem from a customer’s perspective using simple ways to gain empathy. Discover through an experience how to find unmet needs and insights to identify the right frame for brainstorming potential solutions.
Open to all 2YR and 3YR students.
Holly O’Driscoll from P&G and Stefanie Schram from the Martin Prosperity Institute will co-lead the session.
When: Mon, Oct 26, 6-9pm (Registration starts at 5:45pm)
Where: LL1030
Cost: $15 (covers the cost of materials and food)
R-World registration opens on Mon, Oct 12, 11am.
The cancellation and refund deadline is 3 days prior to the event.
Questions? Contact Alpesh Mistry at Alpesh.Mistry@rotman.utoronto.ca.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS
Holly O’Driscoll is a champion of human centered design and innovation at Procter & Gamble. She has spent the past 5 years building capability in hundreds of P&Gers around the globe on the method and mindset of Design Thinking in her role as North America Design Thinking Leader. In this role, she has programmed and facilitated more than 80 Design Thinking sessions, often at the request of P&G’s senior leaders. Holly’s passions include wicked problem definition, connecting people and ideas, and creating organizational conditions that allow human creativity to thrive.
Throughout her 19+year tenure with P&G, Holly has built a reputation as a human centered innovation strategist & facilitator, often challenging assumptions while unleashing the potential of individuals, groups, and ideas. Having spent time in both the technical and commercial sides of the business, Holly is an effective translator between left brain analytical approaches and the more creative right brain styles and as a result has seen the value that diversity of thought, experience, and mindset can bring to solving a wide variety of business challenges.
Holly holds a MBA and Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Thomas More College. She lives in Cincinnati, OH with her husband and 4 young children.
Stefanie Schram is the Director, Intervention Design at the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. She leads the design thinking initiative within the Institute and collaborates with industry partners to advance the discipline. Prior to this role, Stefanie was the Associate Director at Rotman DesignWorks, leading the co-curricular Business Design program. She also coaches executives on design and strategy for Fortune 500 companies, start-ups and public institutions. Most recently, she has collaborated with Roger Martin and Jennifer Riel on the Playing to Win Toolkit for Harvard Business Publishing. Stefanie has spoken at TEDxKingStreetEast and has written for Globe & Mail and Rotman Magazine. Earlier in her career, she worked in brand management for market-leading brands in the Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods industries. She holds an MBA from Rotman and is a registered corporate coach.
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The Rotman DesignWorks Sandbox Series is a collection of hands-on workshops, led by experienced practioners, which develop your core innovation skills and provide you with valuable learning experiences. Participation is added to your Professional Development transcript.
Rotman DesignWorks is the Business Design Studio at the Rotman School of Management. Our mission is to teach future business leaders the discipline of innovation through the practice of Business Design, a human-centred innovation methodology. Rotman DesignWorks offers educational opportunities to Rotman students in conjunction with the Business Design Club’s career preparation offerings.