This is an action-oriented book for managers and entrepreneurs searching ways to tackle issues they face in terms of developing and delivering services. The book focuses on service organizations, but has a broad interpretation of what services are.

Directed to the business world and combines inspirational text that is full of examples, with the features of a useful handbook of practical methods with associated templates.

The central argument is that managers and entrepreneurs designing service offerings will benefit from using approaches and methods from design and the arts, especially at the early stages of projects. Sometimes called “design thinking” or “design innovation”, such approaches help organizations explore and create new configurations of people and things that support users, customers, staff and partners in creating value together.

In short, this book argues that design and arts-based approaches are valuable to managers and entrepreneurs designing services, when uncertainty and ambiguity are high. It shows when and how to use these approaches, introduces specific methods, reviews their strengths and limitations, and finally helps managers think through what it takes to start using them in projects and within teams and develop the culture and behaviours that access the creativity they support.