IDEO

Only 21% of business leaders strongly agree that they test early versions of products or services with real users. We surveyed leaders from 100 global companies and found that Experimentation—the practice of testing and bringing solutions to market quickly—is the cultural behavior that organizations struggle with most. Organizations often assume that an idea must be perfect right out of the gate. But early prototypes help build traction and ensure real value. It is far better to iterate early than to launch the wrong product and pay for the mistake for years to come. Explore how Experimentation and the full POWER framework drive business performance. Read the IDEO IQ report: ideo.com/iq

Success often creates its own echo chamber. When established brands hit a category ceiling—especially in a market as intense and fast-paced as China—the default reflex can be to simply add more of what consumers love. In our latest story, IDEO Shanghai’s Chuli Duan explores how a human-centered approach helped a leading fast-moving consumer goods company break through by challenging its own research assumptions, unlocking entirely new growth. Explore the story → https://lnkd.in/eXT5dps7

A huge congratulations to our very own Natasha Sakina Alani on being named a First Mover Fellow by the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program! 👏 This year-long fellowship supports business innovators driving positive social change from within their organizations. We're proud to have Natasha represent IDEO in this year's #AIFirstMovers cohort, focusing on designing a more equitable and sustainable future. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQSAKpxJ

Not long ago, Master Kong, China’s largest instant noodle company, was at a crossroads. Their core demographic was shifting and consumer demand was moving toward higher-quality, healthier options. Incremental innovation wouldn't be enough. They needed a total category reinvention. Together, we conducted in-home research with consumers across a range of life stages and levels of attachment to noodle culture and convenience foods. The research showed instant noodles still had a place in middle-class kitchens, inspiring the creation of a new category, which the team called “fresh-brewed noodles.” The first batch of “Te Bie Te” launched in August 2025 and within just three days, sales exceeded 100,000 bowls. Within a week, “Te Bie Te” topped the instant noodle category sales ranking on Douyin. You can revitalize even the most mature product categories when you stop focusing on what it was and start designing for what consumers need now. Read the full case study: https://lnkd.in/eqWi4-Dr

As organizations rely increasingly on technology for fast answers and greater efficiency, there is a risk that deep human collaboration can slip away. As IDEO CEO Michael Peng puts it: "When efficiency is the play, collaboration is often the piece that gets dropped." We call this behavior Wavelength—where teams work cross-functionally and leaders place a high value on embracing atypical backgrounds and points of view. Our IDEO IQ report found that only 40% of the large companies we surveyed excel at it. Wavelength is one of five key cultural behaviors driving real business outcomes. How does your organization stack up? Take the survey to find out where your organization sits within the IDEO POWER framework: https://lnkd.in/egXXNe_M

Five years ago, at-home Covid tests felt novel. Now, you can collect your own cervical cancer screening sample from your bathroom. As the feasibility and desire for at-home health monitoring grows, it’s crucial that we design intuitive testing and tracking experiences that leave patients and their caregivers confident in their care. IDEO’s Brandy Parker shares six principles for creating home-use diagnostics and monitoring tools that help people take action on their own health. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/eaFirubc

We’re bringing our healthcare monsters to HLTH Europe in Amsterdam from June 15-18 to help organizations tame the obstacles that feel too big to face. You can catch IDEO speakers Matthew Higham, Jennifer Lo, and Betsy Fields Smith on stage, and grab a coffee with our team in the AI Zone all week. We'll be there sharing real-world stories of how human-centered design can defeat systemic barriers and build healthier futures. 

Our IDEO IQ report found that a mere 29% of leaders say their people have the genuine freedom to try new things. That freedom relies on what we call Ownership, the trust in a team's autonomy to change processes and act on customer feedback without going through layers of hierarchy for signoff. The data shows this autonomy maps directly to higher performance. In fact, top-scoring companies see up to three times the profit of bottom performers. When companies remove the fear of making a mistake, the people closest to the customer can make real-time decisions. The real test is whether that trust shows up on a Tuesday afternoon: in the meeting where a team either embraces a new idea or tables it. Explore the five key cultural behaviors that lead to the most innovative business outcomes in our IDEO IQ report: ideo.com/iq

When technology is designed to keep us glued to our screens, it’s up to us to design a future that brings people together. At IDEO London’s Build-to-Think AI Hackathon, we spent two days focused on ways to use AI to strengthen human connection. Seven teams of designers, researchers, students, and educators joined forces for a rapid sprint with Lovable to turn concepts into functional product demos. From anti-loneliness platforms to device-free teen wristbands, it’s inspiring to see how much a cross-disciplinary team of experts can create in just 24 hours. Thank you to rich cahill and the Lovable team for sharing your platform, and to Lindsay Brielle Strouse for your mentorship. Builders featured: James Scott (Team Elder) Nia Oloyede (Team Childhood) IDEO London team: Sergio Fregoni, Dan Sayer, Sarica Robyn Balsari, PhD, Nina Lampert, Will D., Nirav Beni, Ruby Ferté, Toria Tahir (Mama T), Kathiravan Subramaniam, Adrian Fleet, Jessica Hall, and Ruby Hardy Bullen.