Reliable Magic: How business can benefit from architects' design thinking + doing

How business can beneﬁt from 
architects’ design thinking + doing

For architects, design thinking involves collabora3ng with clients and 
colleagues to develop inspired visions and be6er planning solu3ons.

We must deliver projects within a deadline and a budget. 
This requires a rigorous and reliable design process.

We call this rigorous crea3ve process “reliable magic.” 
Our process aims to work with human nature, rather than 
a?empt to overcome it.

Here are 10 
reliable magic 
prac3ces that can 
be applied to 
business outside 
the world of 
architecture.

1. 

Design with–not for–your cons3tuents. 
Engage in dialogue aimed at building 
deep‐seated understanding so that people  
“believe in” rather than “buy in.”

2. 
*
Iden3fy shared interests. 
It’s not necessary for people to agree on 
all aspects of the project. Instead, jointly 
deﬁne points of common interest for 
moving forward.

3. 

Re‐frame the ques3on. 
Most iniKal project deﬁniKons aim too 
low and present falsely limiKng either/or 
choices.

4. 

Don’t jump to the end of the story. 
Jumping to conclusions and short‐ 
circuiKng a shared learning curve leads 
to weak answers and shaky support.

5. 

Invite divergent thinking. 
Avoid self‐limiKng choices between exisKng 
opKons by exploring fast, cheap iteraKons 
in a ﬂuid learn/adjust/repeat process.

6. 

Learn to appreciate uncertainty. 
Allow ideas to emerge in a natural 
process of dialogue and inquiry, rather 
than defend pre‐conceived soluKons.

7. 
Ask: what else can we see here? 
Rather than re‐arrange exisKng pieces of 
a puzzle, look beyond obvious, linear 
soluKons to see pa?erns, variaKons, 
combinaKons and deviaKons.

8. 
Don’t get too a6ached, too soon. 
Avoid emoKonal a?achments to early  
ideas–especially ones that are developed 
while working alone. Instead, set these 
ideas free to evolve through a process of 
dialogue and inquiry.

9. 
Expect some resistance. 
It is a given that new ideas will be adopted 
a diﬀerent rates by diﬀerent people. Aim to 
work through natural resistance with 
dialogue and inquiry rather than a?empt to 
overcome it.

10. 
Adop3ng ideas is a process, not an event. 
The digesKon process for new ideas can be 
seen as similar to digesKng food: it’s be?er to 
create an appeKte for bite‐sized pieces than 
force‐feed in quanKty.

A BUSINESS PROCESS FOR   

Farrow Partnership Architects 
Toronto, Canada  
www.farrowpartnership.com

Reliable Magic: How business can benefit from architects' design thinking + doing

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