Makati City, Philippines - Carlos Espedido, received his Certification as Service Innovator (CSI) last June, on the last day of Design Sprint's 2-day Certification Workshop (Wave 6). 

Carlos is a Business Development Officer in a prime real estate developer in the Philippines, but his project was conducted at Ace Galleries. After receiving his certification, Carlos left a short testimonial to the graduating class to inspire them to finish their own projects and earn their certification; We were also able to ask him a few questions so that we can share more to our readers:

Q. What prompted you to take the Innovation Workshop? 
A. To learn new management techniques that can help micro businesses.

Q. What prompted you to do this project? 
A. Design Sprint spoke to me about how innovative, fun and creative it can be. It pushed me to test on other projects to see if there is any merit in the engagement process.

Q. What was your project about?
A. It was about how  a small art showroom transitions to be a mid-tier art gallery in two-years’ time.

Q. What were the results of your project?
A. We found out that Digital Marketing was needed to be injected in the process of growth. At first our decider was hesitant as it might cheapen the product, but the green light was lit eventually.

Q. How was it like for you, starting up and executing your own project?
A. It was nerve racking as I have never executed a sprint prior to this, but after running three more sprints, it gets really fun and exciting learning new things in different businesses.

Q. Among/Aside the Action Items that were done, what were the key elements that led to the success of your project?
A. The decider and the Customer Expert are present, which is why our customer testing was done properly.

Q. What was the impact of your project to your company?
A. No radical impact as of the moment, but hopefully in a year or after two years, its digital presence will help communicate  our message to both our buyers and sellers local and international.

Q. What was the impact of attending the Innovation workshop to you as an individual / professional?
A. Learning new things is always fun, whether it might or might not be applicable to you. So all in all, always a positive thing to learn something new.

Q. What would be your message to those who are currently taking / planning to take the Innovation Program or those who are currently conducting their own projects?
A. Just go for it, at worst you just spent time realizing that these techniques are not feasible in your field, however, it's always worth a try to expose yourself with innovation.
 
That’s it! Want to be the next CSI?
 
Next Classes: Aug 8 – 9
Contact us to secure your slot:
​632-357-6830 / ask@schoolofdesignsprint.com
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Manila City, Philippines -  "The Sprint King's" book, "How to Guarantee Success with Design Sprint" is launching soon. Since we released the first teasers, we have been receiving messages from people asking about the book's content, and if it is recommended for them. Many were also curious about the title of the book, will I be really able to guarantee success with Design Sprint?

First of all, we are very happy that people are excited about an innovation guide fitted for the Filipino culture finally being released to the public - and we are excited, too! That is why we had a quick SprinTalk with Arthur so that we can share further details to our future readers.

What made you decide to write a book? 
The Sprint King: "When I was designing the program, I had to research and study various resources to come up with the correct mix. This includes not only the Design Thinking, Google Sprint, and other innovation methodologies, but I also had to research about the behavior, and to some extent, the culture of us Filipinos, so that the content of the program isn't only right, but fits right.

"After the extensive research I went through, I came up with a carefully designed program that I could run on workshops, and they all went well - but It felt like the reach wasn't enough. Of course, many professionals could still not attend our workshops: they could be physically far from our venues, they could be having very tight schedules, or maybe they could not afford the resources required to attend because of their current financial status. 

"Considering the upcoming ASEAN integration, I really want to share this knowledge to the Philippines. I wrote the book so that it can be within reach to anyone who wants to learn the methodology; so that we stand a better chance in the big change that is the integration of the ten countries' economy and market.

Can you tell us more about the title of your book?
Arthur: "Some might say that it’s too much of a claim to “guarantee” success, but in fact we can! You see, the output of all Sprint Sessions can only lead to two results, which are both good - and this is very appealing to me because I am also an entrepreneur.
 
"It’s either you will have an Efficient Failure or a Flawed Success. Either way, you will know what to do next or what not to do with your idea, and that’s a huge guarantee for an entrepreneur like me. It gives me insights about where to invest my time and resources."

What kept you motivated while writing the book to its completion?
Arthur:  "My dream of seeing the Philippines coming up with breakthrough products of our own. I really hope that our country will be the one to release the next Airbnb or Grab. I believe in the principle of Ikigai, and this is my Ikigai. Let me aim for the stars, if I miss, at least I would get the moon."

What were the biggest challenges that you faced while writing the book?
Arthur:  "Compressing it. I am writing about a technical topic with a wide range of scope. That’s why there is a lot of approach and methodologies available when you try to touch the topic of innovation. Considering that many Filipinos are not very fond of reading technical stuffs, I had to make it short, straight to the point, but still very meaningful."

Who do you recommend this for? 
Arthur: "I find us, Filipinos very creative. That’s why we have the term "diskarte". What’s really holding us back is our lack of structured approach in solving things.

"I am very eager to write and publish the book so we will have a structured and guided way of innovating. This is for the Filipinos who kept their idea to themselves for so long because they were doubting themselves and were stuck in pondering if it will work or not.

"Every Filipino is now just one book away from putting it out there.
"You are now just one book away from helping our country become the next Innovation Hub of South-East Asia."

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For inquiries:
PM us at:

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Email us at:  ask@schoolofdesignsprint.com
Call us at: ​+632-357-6830

MAKATI CITY, Philippines- 60+ Sprinters joined "The Sprint King's" 2-day Design Sprint Innovation Workshop last March 28 & 29 held at the De La Salle University (Makati - RCBC Campus).

Every participant was assigned to a group, and each group was able to come up with their own design of an innovated wallet - and they were all very cool wallets! 

The workshop was filled with creative and exceptional students. With some even coming from renowned companies here in the Philippines such as Wells Fargo, Mount Grace Hospitals, David Mendoza Consunji, Inc (DMCI), and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) to name a few.

Don't let yourself miss the fun and learning that you can get from this workshop! 


​Next Class: June 7 & 8, 2019 | Contact us now to reserve your seat for the next class.

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Phone: +632-357-6830
Email: ask@schoolofdesignsprint.com

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Jen is part of the Creative Thinking team in an Insurance & Pre-need company here in the Philippines. After receiving her certification, Jen left a short testimonial to the graduating class to motivate them to finish their own projects; We were also able to ask her a few questions which can inspire our readers; you just can't help but admire her answers below:

1. What prompted you to take the Innovation Workshop? 

We’re looking for ways how to better improve our team, design thinking
How our team can better provide services in changing the game
 
I am part of the Creative Thinking team, we are tasked to look for ways to drive innovation within the organization. We make sure that every project we take on will challenge the norm and create a positive impact to both the organization as a whole and individual employees. We always aim to better provide game-changing services. We created a creative thinking framework and we were on the lookout for a good benchmark to test its validity and currency and more importantly, to build on it. We looked for resources and trainings online and came across the Design Sprint Workshop offered by the School of Design Sprint which offered a more extensive coverage, reasonable priced, and certification.

2. What prompted you to do this project? 

After the Design Sprint training, I was so eager to put my learnings into practice. I wanted to revisit all processes and spark innovative business process improvements through the Design Sprint methodology. Until our Human Resources department sought our help in coming up with ideas on how we can repackage the onboarding/new hire training process. Their primary aim was to incorporate our values and personality into the onboarding process and ultimately equate the project into reduced attrition rate. In my aspiration to come up with quality ideas, I suggested that we do the Design Sprint methodology to give us a structured and effective approach.

3. What were the results of your project? 

A completely revamped, interactive, and innovative onboarding experience for new hires. Since the project has just been deployed recently, there is no data available to show trends in reduced attrition and increased employee engagement. However, there was overwhelming positive feedback.
 
 4. How was it like for you, starting up and executing your own project? 

Although the idea to adopt the Design Sprint methodology and its facilitation came from me, the project was highly collaborative. We worked with a core group of multi-disciplinary members for task allocation and idea variation. Although the project had a lot of components, it was more exciting than challenging to see it materialize from end-to-end. To see ideas develop through collaboration and iteration was inspiring and had me motivated to apply the methodology to every area possible.
 
5. Among/Aside the Action Items that were done, what were the key elements that led to the success of your project? 

The open mindset, the highly collaborative environment, the structured iteration, and the customer focus which the Design Sprint framework provided. I would also like to highlight the support of our management end-to-end.
 
 
6. What was the impact of your project to your company?

The objective of the project is to reduce attrition rate during the first 90 days to 10%.  Since the project is just 30 days from implementation, no data has been captured yet.  However, there’s been an increase in the satisfaction rating from 3.3 in July to 3.8 in August and September.
 
7. What was the impact of attending the Innovation workshop to you as an individual / professional?

It opened my mind to the possibilities of solving problems; that there is a structured way of overcoming challenges.  Most of the time, I’m bogged down with finding methodologies that can help in looking at things from a different angle that I end up choosing one which has the least effect.  With Design Thinking, it puts into perspective how the problem should be attacked to arrive at a sound solution.
 
8. What would be your message to those who are currently taking / planning to take the Innovation Program or those who are currently conducting their own projects? 

I want to encourage everyone to not have self-limiting thoughts, the only limits that we have are the ones we set for ourselves and in the same manner, let us not limit others. Be an encourager of ideas, do not take negative feedback as opposition, but rather, constructive conflict which helps develop your ideas. If your project fails, fail fast so you can succeed sooner.
 
Being part of the project end-to-end made me appreciate the importance of having a methodology like Design Sprint to facilitate, encourage, and continuously improve on any idea. Design Sprint creates a guided yet free-flowing environment which provides a safe haven to just let any idea flow out, get critiqued, and enhanced because everyone has the common goal of creating something impactful. It is highly collaborative and provides an avenue for one’s idea to evolve. It made me realize that you do not necessarily have to be an expert in a certain field to be tapped for ideas, you just have to know how to effectively come up with one and how to help others improve on theirs.

Want to be the next CSI? Contact us:
​632-357-6830 / ask@schoolofdesignsprint.com

Quezon City, Philippines - The Sprint King Arthur talks at the first Rotaract Friendship Conference and inspires 60+ participants with Design Sprint last Saturday, 23rd of June.  Giving an overview of the methodology, and of course, the 5-day process of Sprint!

​Most of the participants are youngsters but majority of them are already taking on big roles in their organizations. Another reason why you should never underestimate these awesome people is because The Sprint King himself gave them a problem to solve in the workshop using the innovation tools that were also taught that day.

The problem: "How do you make the experience of using the stairs in a mall much more enjoyable?" 

The premise of the problem was simple, a shopping mall is trying to conserve power consumption by reducing the usage of elevators and escalators. At first, this seems very unlikely to be solved, but our participants came up with very interesting solutions in the end.

The solutions were legit practical and with proper integration with the mall systems, and of course, funding, this may well be a solution to an actual problem about power-consumption, fitness, and many more.

Here in School of Design Sprint, it is the instant application of the learned ideas that makes a person significantly more confident about his skills; Being able to experience an environment where innovation is truly conducive is what makes a person a #LegitInnovator. 

For in-house engagements or invitations for special talks, you may email us at ask@schoolofdesignsprint or call us at ​632-357-6830

Makati City, Philippines -  Paul John "PJ" Domingo received his Certification as Product Development Innovator (CPDI) last Friday, 18th of May, on the last day of Design Sprint's 2-day Certification Workshop (Wave 4). 

​PJ is a Software Engineer at Yondu Inc. as well as a Scrum Master. With a lot of stuff on his plate, it was such a pleasure to have him visit us at class and give a short testimonial for the graduating wave. We were also able to conduct a one-on-one interview with him to get further details about his journey toward the Certification, and we're sharing everything we know!

**Interview with PJ** 

Q. How did you become acquainted with the Innovation Workshop?
A. Our group has always been looking for new ways and processes that can help our software engineering and product development. One of our Solutions Architect saw the Innovation Workshop post, and it made us interested in learning and applying it in our group.

Q. What Prompted you to start your project?
A. The organization is committed in business improvements and new offerings for the clients, and running the Design Sprint for one of our product ideas will really help the team in building the right features.

Q. What was your project about? 
A. Basically we are to re-design the visitor experience / receiving experience in our office.

Q. What were the results of your project? 
A. The Design Sprint conducted for the office visitor experience paved way to new insights that were used for building the initial product version. The quick validation of the features was helpful in coming up with the right solution for the design problem.

Q. How was it like for you, starting up and executing your own project?
A. It was challenging at first, esp. on establishing the awareness among the team members. But when you successfully established the importance and the process of the framework, the rest of the stages of the Design Sprint will run smoothly.

Q. Among/Aside the Action Items that were done, what were the key elements that led to the success of your project?
A. As also mentioned, establishing the knowledge about the framework. Before conducting the Design Sprint proper, we had some brown bag sessions on Design Sprint: what it is, how it is done, and the importance of it.

And major factor of the success also lies in the good team cooperation that were built. Ice breakers and Getting-To-Know activities made the team at ease with each other.

Q. What was the impact of your project to your company? 
A. The findings of the Design Sprint impacted the initial product features understanding of the team. This made the team build a product with "validated" features that will surely answer the target customer's pain points and needs.

Q. What was the impact of attending the Innovation workshop to you as an individual / professional?
A. It helped me in many ways! I was able to explore opportunities that I didn't know I was capable of doing. Maybe the greatest part is, I was able to drive and initiate something new for our group.

Q. What would be your message to those who are currently taking / planning to take the Innovation Program or those who are currently conducting their own projects? 
A. Knowledge will be the foundation. Focus on the first days on establishing Design Sprint to your teammates, and to your bosses. This might be difficult esp. when you don't have the opportunity of running the Design Sprint in the first place. But I'm telling you, if people started to see the essence and difference of it, everything will be run smoothly.

For the facilitator, stay neutral. Treat the ideas fairly. If the team will be failing to achieve a fair judgment, the essence of the Design Sprint will be compromised.

And of course, have fun. :) Buy sticky notes with different colors, pens with glitters and different colors. The kiddie factor of the Sprint adds to the light-mood that fosters creativity. :) Play productively!

Q. Is there anything else that you'd like to share about your experience?
A. The Testing Phase was the most challenging and the funniest part. We get to see many real-time user reactions, the way they get frustrated, the way they were pissed off, the expression of delight on their faces. It may sound like we were just playing, but unconsciously, we are solving critical business questions, that will be critical in developing the product.

Interested in getting your own certification? Contact us:
ask@schoolofdesignsprint.com 

1. If you are an Executive because…

You will discover the proven secret of leading foreign companies to succeed in their initiatives.
Design-driven companies’ result’s last 2015 has exceeded the S&P 500 (a list of top companies in U.S) by over 200% (Design Management Institute). The same reason why 13 of “2014 Fortune 125” companies have executive-level positions or CEO support for design (Harmer).

• Mark Parker, Nike’s CEO is a designer.
• Jonathan Ive is Apple's Chief Design Officer and a member of Apple's executive leadership team.
• Phil Gilbert is the GM and at the same time, the head of design at IBM.

You are the leader of your company. Do not let your company get left behind. Learn what matters now.
 
2.  If you are a Start-Up Owner because…

You will learn the same proven methodology Airbnb used to turn their business around. From the verge of bankruptcy to a million-dollar company.
Do what Airbnb, Uber, and Google does.

• Launch new products that sell
• Increase customer satisfaction
• Improve what you currently sell
• Offer new services they will look for
• Create memorable customer experience

 
Do all of these with very minimal cost, minimal time, minimal risk. Be free to Explore, Innovate, Create because you know it will sell.
 
3. If you are in Sales and Marketing because…

You will discover how to come up with Ideas that works! Applying Design Thinking v2.0 helps you create relevant content. Contents that your target market would take time to see.

You sit in front of your desk and sometimes you ask yourself these questions:

• Will my idea have impact to my target audience?
• Will our campaign concept generate enough lead?
• Is my content good enough?

Applying Design Thinking solves these problems head on. Using Design Thinking can:

• Help you understand what matters to your target audience by doing a Customer Journey Map.
• Make your team become Idea Generator Machines by using the brainstorming technique – Divergent Thinking and create High Impact Content.
• Remove the uncertainty if your campaign will work or not because you will use a structured customer interview process.

All of these are done using a simple 5-meeting technique. You will be doing it fast. You will be doing it right.
 
4. If you are part of Product/Business Development because…

There is no reason not to! You will help yourself and your organization by learning Design Thinking v2.0. It is the answer to most of your professional problems!

• How to deliver a high value project but with minimal budget?
• How can I get a clearer vision of my target customer?
• How can I deliver my Development/Innovation projects on time?
• How would I know which idea will be successful?
• How will I repeat our successful product/service launch?

Design Thinking v2.0 is your structured approach to Innovation.  Never second guess. Never be afraid to Explore, Innovate, Create because you know it will work.
 
5. If you are preparing for Industry 4.0 because…

The digital age will be for those who provides better customer experience. Who will be providing more value-add to the customers
.
This is why more and more businesses are moving to a Design Thinking approach. It not only fuels innovation, but also saves money and the pain of developing a failing product.

Successful businesses who employed Design Thinking used it to respond to the need for successful application of technology with human-centered design.

This is why learning Design Principles is a must because the number of businesses who uses Design Principles increases.

So don't get left behind!

Know how to stay relevant. Learn what is relevant.
Learn the unique mixture of the classic Design Thinking and Google’s Design Sprint. We made this effort because we dream of having the next disruption coming from the Philippines.

Learn Design Thinking v2.0 and introduce breakthrough Innovation that works!

PM us at ask@schoolofdesignsprint.com
Enroll now! Take control of your career or your business.

Go to https://www.schoolofdesignsprint.com/enroll-now.html

Talking to students in our workshops gave me insights that our country is now being aware that we are in another Industry Revolution.
 
The revolution called Industry 4.0 brings disruption to many companies just like any Industry Revolution. Our country is of course not exempted from the disruption it brings.
 
We all know how AirBnB disrupted the Hotel Industry.
 
But Entrepreneur.com.ph recently wrote an article posting a question “Is Airbnb About to Disrupt PH Motels?”. The article did not arrive at any solid conclusion but the question is not far from reality.
 
On the other hand, the Philippines felt one of the biggest disruption in the form of TNVS or more known as Grab/Uber.
 
The common theme between these companies is they both employ the principles of Design Thinking.
 
Industry 4.0 is more than buying technologies and using it in your company. We are not in a technological revolution but rather in a digital revolution.
 
Industry 4.0 is not simply about owning the latest technology but rather getting the right one.
 
AirBnB or Uber would never exist if it is just about the technology because other companies have more when they started.
 
The digital age is for those who provide better customer experience. Who can provide more value-add to the customers.
 
AirBnB and Uber embedded this in their product using Design Thinking.
 
The reason why 13 of “2014 Fortune 125” companies have executive-level positions or CEO support for design.
-              Mark Parker, Nike’s CEO is a designer.
-              Jonathan Ive is Apple's Chief Design Officer and a member of Apple's executive leadership team.
-              Phil Gilbert is the GM and at the same time, the head of design at IBM.
 
Design-Powered Innovation made headlines because of breakthrough successes they had. Design Thinking became the answer of most companies in their quest for innovation.
 
The same way we explained to our students.
•             Innovation is an idea translated into a product/service for you to sell
•             But a product doesn’t sell unless the “Design” specification matches the customer’s needs
•             Design then becomes your bridge for your new idea to sell

This is the secret why Design-driven companies exceed the market by over 200% for few years in a row.
 
What’s more exciting is we even had it upgraded!
 
You can discover a unique mixture of the classic Design Thinking and Google’s Design Sprint. All in a practical and interactive way of learning. 
 
We made this effort because we dream of having the next disruption coming from the Philippines.
 
Don't get left behind. Know how to stay relevant. Learn what is relevant.
 
Learn Design Thinking v2.0 and introduce breakthrough Innovation that works!
 
PM us at ask@schoolofdesignsprint.com. 

MAKATI CITY, Philippines- To kick-start the year, School of Design Sprint launched its half-day Innovation Design Thinking v2.0 Fundamentals program. Last February 2, The Sprint King trained 20+ Filipino professionals to generate industry-disrupting ideas in a way that is fast, practical, and appealing to customers via #InnovationThatWorks.

Also on that day, The Philippines gets its very first, Certified Product Development Innovator in the form of Ms. Josephine Ortiz. She was able to discuss her project to the class and inspired the current wave to be an advocate of innovation.

Of course, we wanted to share what we learned from Ms. Ortiz! We asked her a few questions about her journey to becoming the very first to receive an innovation certification and here's what we found out:

Q. How did you become acquainted with the Innovation Workshop?
A. It was part of my Black Belt Six Sigma Program.

Q. What Prompted you to start your project?
A. Our project “Careerhub.Ph” was actually developed a year before I took the Innovation Workshop. The registration of the applicant is high in number but they never proceed to application stage. We were wondering why? What was the cause the problem? Where did we go wrong?

Q. What was your project about?
A. The project is an on-line recruitment website where applicants and employers converge. Employers can post their job vacancies, and applicants can apply online.

Q. What were the results of your project?
A. We realized that our job portal was very strict and that we had so many required fields. Not only that, you needed plenty of clicks before you can begin your job application. What we did was just limited the required fields and lessened the clicks needed.

Q. How was it like for you, starting up and executing your own project?
A. Happy, the months and years of research was cut down to only 5 days.

Q. Among/Aside the Action Items that were done, what were the key elements that led to the success of your project?
A. Our keys to success are our ability to listen, understand and identify the realistic solution to the problem of our customer.
Before, we tried to predict what they wanted, but the truth is we have to ask their needs and hear their voice for the project to be successful.

Q. What was the impact of your project to your company?
A. The project is not meant to create financial impact or profits directly. We developed it to give hope to those we are not able to hire that somewhere out there, there is a bunch of employers waiting for you. At the same time, it serves as a value-added service for our existing customers as part of our customer service.

Q. What was the impact of attending the Innovation workshop to you as an individual / professional?
A. I realized that experts are rightful to their expertise and ignore the customer needs. The voice of the customer should be the backbone of any innovation project.

Q. What would be your message to those who are currently taking / planning to take the Innovation Program or those who are currently conducting their own projects?
A. Put your customer at the center of your project. Because if there’s no customer to serve we have no business to make.
The purpose of this Innovation Program certificate is not to add value to your resume, but to add value to the people who you wish to serve

Q. Is there anything else that you'd like to share about your experience?
A. Never underestimate your customer. They are best solutions to your problem.

There you have it! We hope this story inspired you to be an advocate of innovation.
If you are interested to join our next programs, you may email us at ask@schoolofdesignsprint.com

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For similar stories, you may click the stories section of our website or click here.

​Try it this February to have one extraordinary Febibig! Apply it to your work or your love life. You’ll save time. You’ll save cost. Most importantly, you'll do #InnovationThatWorks.

​Create a seamless customer experience. Create products your customers would crave for. Boost your career.

Oops!

I think I should say create a seamless dating experience. Create unique gifts she would crave for. Boost your love life. :)

Did it help me? DEFINITELY!