Should design be part of MBA education? MBAs shape strategic leaders, but traditional programs focus heavily on finance and operations. That’s fine, but there’s a gap: business leadership often overlooks design as a go-to resource for problem-solving and innovation. The insight? Design thinking helps leaders spot opportunities others miss. When exposed to design tools, MBA graduates are more likely to integrate them into their decision-making. This leads to solutions that are more customer-focused, innovative, and differentiated. Bridging the gap between business and design gives leaders a powerful edge—allowing them to create unique market positions, make smarter decisions, and drive sustainable growth. What do you think.. should design be in the MBA toolkit? 🎓 #DesignThinking #MBA #StrategicLeadership #Innovation #BusinessGrowth
100%! I had a focus on Design & Innovation Mgt through Kendall College of Art and Design and those courses were - without a doubt - the most valuable part of my post-grad education. There are some programs out there, but not nearly as many (or as prevalent) as there should be.
Org Design has always been part of MBA, think creative skills through other design functions would make ample sense as would a range of humanities curriculum. With the rise of AI several quantitative streams may be better addressed by AI.
Design should be taught in every curriculum. From grade school to high school to university to graduate programs.
Years after my design education in university I did a mini MBA at LSE so absolutely yes!
Great perspective, Great design shows up in many places!
Well said Todd Bracher
Senior Product Development Manager
3moInteresting train of thought. I went back to business school after an industrial design degree because I felt like design school hadn't equipped me for business. I also spent a couple of frustrating years working with a man and the best way to describe our differences is that he saw business as a subset of design and I saw design as a subset of business.