Employ “Design Thinking with Chinese Characteristics

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Employ “Design Thinking with

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4. China Rules the World?5. Manifesto of China’s Reformers: DavidShambaugh’s China’s Future?6. Assignment China: An Interview with MikeChinoy

Introduction

Western executives are accustomed to long, deliberateplanning cycles to research, develop, and launchproducts in their mature home markets. Many of them#nd it hard to manage the size, complexity, and speedwith which business in China moves. Mostmultinationals have passed their “market entry” phaseand have been forced out of their comfort zones togrow. Business conversations today focus on threetopics: 1) scaling the business via geographic, customersegment, product line, or business model expansion(moving beyond established higher-end productpositions in Tier I cities) , 2) turning around a failingChinese business, or 3) defending against aggressiveChinese competitors.

The holy grail solution in the West is “innovation:”create a killer product that #ts the market to createlong-term sustainable advantage. Yet McKinsey’s 2015China CEO survey revealed executives believe the keyto success is credibility with headquarters and the localteam, followed by people management (#nding andretaining talent). Innovation was ranked lowest.

Why the disconnect?

In this article, I argue that innovation (at least thesimpli#ed “new product” de#nition) is overrated inChina. Given the pace of the market, innovationshould not be viewed as an end-goal, but as a process

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that unlocks pro#table business opportunities.Western executives should create an organization,operating mindset, and executional capabilities thatenable them to quickly detect customer trends, createvaluable solutions, and learn from local competitors.To achieve this aim, I propose companies embracedesign thinking (“DT”) – a not-so-new methodology tobring innovative products to market. Channeling DengXiaoping and the spirit of China’s political andeconomic transformation, I propose Western #rmsemploy “Design Thinking with ChineseCharacteristics,” to make the approach more suitableand successful in the Middle Kingdom.

Speci#cally, I recommend companies follow #veprinciples in adapting their DT approach in China: 1)think like an anthropologist – and maintain that mindset;2) embrace and (gasp) copy Chinese competitors; 3)view innovation more broadly, focusing on improvingservice to the customer; 4) do less market research, domore market; and 5) look beyond the China-U.S. orChina-EU framework, deriving ideas from othermarkets that may be more appropriate to China’scontext.

To illustrate key points, I draw heavily from my focus inthe dental/medical sector, which I believe is broadlyapplicable because of the diverse range of customertypes and challenges present. I also reference thecollective experience of InterChina Consulting, aleading M&A and Strategy Advisory in China, where Iserve as senior advisor. In the conclusion, I presentlimitations to the DT approach and suggest areas forfurther inquiry, acknowledging that there is no “one-size-#ts-all” solution in China.

BackgroundFrom Guanxi to World Class

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To win in China, Western #rms need to run world-classoperations. Gone are the days when companies couldo$er second-generation products and rely solely on“guanxi” (relationships) to move business. In China,consumers are hard to pin down, competition can ariseovernight, the playing #eld is not always level, and newtechnology and globalization accelerates the speed ofchange. In response, companies are demanding more“compressed” consulting engagements, ones that seekrapid understanding of customer segments – an areawhere design thinking works extremely well.

Design Thinking 101: Put the Customer First

Design thinking has gained a widespread following thepast two decades in the design community, withconsumer product companies, and in the #eld ofinnovation. DT involves #ve steps, putting thecustomer and rapid product iteration and developmentat the core: 1) empathize with your customer, o!enthrough observing them in situ; 2) de#ne (or reframe)the problem/real issue(s); 3) ideate and brainstorm togenerate solutions; 4) rapidly prototype concepts; and5) quickly test those concepts, gain feedback, anditerate.

The most common consulting request I receive is toevaluate potential distributors. Lured by a promise of“contacts” and “guanxi,” many executives forget basicbusiness sense and make poor distribution choices.Without a serious understanding of the customer –who they are, how they buy, contexts in which they useor engage the company’s products – it’s impossible todetermine whether a speci#c distributor makes sense.In fact, the majority of turnarounds InterChina hasworked on are the result of poor distributor or partnerselections. Many Chinese distributors don’t share acompany’s brand vision, prefer to sell on relationship

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and price discount, and do not maintain sophisticatedrecords. One European client had no visibility into end-purchases and price and was lucky to receive periodicExcel spread sheet updates. Clearer understanding ofwhat is happening with customers – even if it meansdoing one’s own research or implanting one’s ownemployee in the distributor or with a key customer –has become more important than ever and bene#tsfrom thinking like an anthropologist.

Principle #1: Think like an Anthropologist – andMaintain that Mindset

Anthropology distinguishes itself from other socialsciences by its emphasis on the examination of context,the importance of participant-observation,experiential observation in research, and makingcross-comparisons.

Observation is critical because people don’t always dowhat they say they do. They may not be aware of theiractions or may not be able to articulate their needs ordesires, particularly in rapidly changing markets likeChina. To get a true picture of customers, companiesneed not only to talk to them, but also to observe themin situ, seeing through a customer’s eyes how theyengage the product, category, or company. By doing so,companies gain a richer sense of their customers’ dailylives, speci#c language they use, and their moments ofjoy and pain.

Industry reports are a good point of departure but lackthe richness of observation. Traditional surveys rely onthe fact that customers understand – and can clearlyarticulate – their own behaviors, attitudes, and needs.Interviewing and focus groups are slightly better, asadept facilitators can read or probe attendees, but theytoo rely on people accurately reporting what they



actually do. Social media has become cost-e$ective andinsightful, but online and o%ine behavior can varywidely.

Firms like IDEO, Frog Design, and Continuumspecialize in DT, but strategy consulting #rms such asInterChina le! our desks long ago, integrating #eldwork into the approach to see the whole picture. As theChinese say – ጯӧইӞᥠ ҁbai wen4 bu ru yi jian –asking one hundred times falls short of seeing it once.)Companies with limited budgets can conduct “secretshopper” visits, ask to observe customers (suchrequests are o!en honored, and a!er 15 minutes theyo!en forget they’re being observed), or visit customerswith sales representatives. In any case, a best practice isto have company employees participate and learnobservation techniques so they can later champion andspread the mindset internally, as many companiesmistakenly view observation as a one-o$ conducted atthe start of a process, rather than an ongoing process.

One medical company performed observations (withpermission) in public and private clinics. They wantedto understand doctor-patient dynamics and di$erencesbetween the segments. In the public hospitals, industryreports and interviews claimed doctors favoredprescribing “the top imported product,” butobservations revealed doctors prescribed domesticknock-o$s more than three-to-one over imports.Digging deeper, they discovered doctors were notconscious of their actual prescription habits, and foundthat doctors simply excluded imports fromconsideration because of perceptions (“This one I knowwon’t be able to a$ord it…” “This one will ask me lots ofquestions and I can’t interrupt my work&ow…” “Thisone I might have to explain to the chair…”). Theseinsights led to a better understanding that publicdoctors were busy and wanted minimal work&ow



interruptions, which in turn led the company to focuson correcting doctor and department misconceptions,as well as pre-educating patients.

The Western executive who participated also le! with adeeper respect for how the segment worked: “I was toldpublic doctors have massive workloads and don’t haveany chair-side rapport with patients, but until I saw it, Ididn’t believe it.” He was also shocked to see theamount of data moving around by USB and localcompetitor reps assisting doctors, a direct response torestricted internet access in the hospital and the needsof doctors to get through patients quickly. Thecompany, which relied on doctors downloading anddisplaying digital treatments, made it a top priority to#gure how to adjust their o$ering to make it #t into aChinese public doctor’s reality.

Observations in private clinics revealed an oppositeproblem, one the executive had never experienced inWestern markets: lack of patients. Through secretshopper feedback, the company learned private doctorslacked con#dence and patients did not trust them. Thisled to a critical customer insight that drove action:“Private doctors need help building their reputationand patient trust.” Attitudes among patients variedheavily by city, complicating but clarifying their e$orts.Patients in Beijing believed Beijing University (a publichospital) was the gold standard, so references toBeijing helped build credibility. In Shenzhen, a city ofdomestic immigrants with fewer State hospitals,patients were swayed by advertising and trends inHong Kong. In response, the company launched“business education” classes for private clinics andcreated online forums that elevated the status ofdoctors in the eyes of consumers in a regionallyrelevant way. Importantly, none of these initiativesrequired recon#guring the company’s product.



Two years later, having established a base in ۹Ӥଠҁbei shang guang — Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou),the same company considered geographic expansion.Knowing dynamics in Tier II and III cities weredi$erent, they maintained the anthropologist mindset.By listening to patients chatting on their cell phones inwaiting areas, they discovered that the majority ofpatients in Shanghai were not from Shanghai, buthailed from a%uent cities in the Zhejiang and Jiangsuarea. This changed their expansion strategydramatically. Investigation revealed that patients fromWenzhou came to Shanghai to see the top doctor in theregion and to shop – something that would be di'cultto replicate in Wenzhou. So instead of enteringWenzhou, they doubled-down to help existingShanghai customers grow, and reallocated their searchengine marketing spend to keywords and geographicpockets outside Shanghai to drive awareness ofmedical options in Shanghai. Similarly, they foundcompetition among clinics intense, which worked intheir favor to focus on Shanghai and open additionalaccounts there.

For many Western executives, insights like these werecounterintuitive. The logic in many Western countrieswould be “go to new geographies where additionaldemand lies,” but in East China they found they hadmuch more room to grow without expanding. Bythinking like an anthropologist and maintaining thatmindset, the company dramatically outpaced itscompetitors. And by deeply studying Chinesecompetitors and looking for analogies beyond the U.S.and EU, they can tap into even more insights.

Principle #2: Embrace and (Gasp) Copy ChineseCompetitorsGone are the days of laughing at Chinese companiesand products. The debate can rage over how



“innovative” Chinese companies are, but in a growingeconomy with hyper competition and occasionalgovernment support, the law of large numbers is in fullforce. It’s hard not to #nd examples of companies thathave become wildly successful, even if serving thedomestic market alone.

The government’s approach the past 30 years has beento build “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”Western #rms need to wake up and consider what“management with Chinese characteristics” looks like,and how it may help them succeed.

Aside from having “home #eld advantage” – beingmore in tune with the culture, rules, and local businessenvironment – Chinese companies exhibit severalareas that Western managers can learn from.

First, Chinese companies are keenly aware of thegovernment’s role and the shi!ing regulatoryenvironment, making them attuned to the importanceof nonmarket strategies. A common belief amongexperienced expatriates is that anything is possible, butyou need to understand where the government’sinterests lie. Inside counsel for a large U.S. machinerymaker learned tracking features on their equipmentcould run afoul of local regulators, so their governmentrelations team took a humble approach and soughtways to shape unclear policy in more favorable ways.

More importantly, Chinese #rms – primarily the small,entrepreneurial ones – #nd ways to strip downproducts and get them to market quickly, o!en settlingfor razor-thin margins. One U.S. dental maker ofsophisticated devices was shocked to #nd multiplecompetitors in China when they #rst entered themarket.

Rather than dismiss them as copycats, they took a step

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back and deeply studied how they had been successful.They uncovered many service-related areas where theChinese #rms excelled. To serve public hospitaldoctors, the Chinese competitor hand-deliveredinformation, taking advantage of cheap and e'cientlocal delivery services (such as one of China’s leaders,SF Express) , and o!en accompanied the informationwith in-person sales rep support. On the consumerside, by studying their Chinese competitors’ digitalpatient education e$orts, they were quickly exposed tonew areas like using online bulletin boards to reachuniversity students and “instant call” customer supportto serve demanding Chinese professionals who wantedimmediate answers. One executive, China head of aworldwide healthcare leader, received a constantbarrage of requests on what to do with Chinesecompanies that copied or repurposed his company’slogo and brand imagery. His response: “We’re nevergoing to shut all these down, so I encourage my team tostudy what was done. Many times, savvy competitorsrecon#gure our website so it becomes more appealing.If their format actually is better, I am open to adoptingthat web format ourselves. It’s very easy to run an A/Btest!”

Studying what Chinese try can be a shortcut to gaininglocal knowledge. As one marketing head of a U.S.consumer product giant shared, “I could do a lot ofresearch, but sometimes I need to take o$ my Westernhat and try things in a much more Chinese/local way.”

To put this in practice, companies should place moreemphasis on competitive analysis and intelligence,making it a dedicated part of an employee’s role. Onecompany extends competitive insight across thecompany by placing their own and their competitors’social media sites on monitors near the tea station soemployees can see how customers interact with the

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local and foreign brand. Additionally, a commonpractice among top Western #rms is to regularly reviewcompetition in management meetings. One U.S. techcompany’s Beijing o'ce huddles 15 minutes daily todiscuss what their main Chinese competitor (who owns75 percent market share to their eight percent) is up to.The marketing head, who is Chinese, says the reviewsessions prepare them mentally for anything thatmight happen. Most competitive moves they ignore,but she reported they fold multiple ideas into their owno$erings.

Principle #3: Think about Innovation MoreBroadly, Focusing on Service to the Customer“Chinese service” is no longer an oxymoron. Chinese#rms are using technology, manpower, and talent to#nd creative new ways to capture and retaindemanding – and less loyal – Chinese customers.

A focus on service addresses a major problemmultinational executives face: recon#guring a physicalproduct takes time, energy, and political will. Mostforeign multinationals develop product centrally(outside China), using elaborate stage-gate methods.Getting central corporate resources and approval todevelop a product speci#c to China, to say nothing oflocal regulatory approval or launch preparation, takestime. And unless the CEO or executive team is fullycommitted to China, a Chinese business thatcontributes less than #ve percent to worldwidecorporate revenue rarely will get special consideration.Instead corporate favors focusing on product changesthat will increase sales in their larger, existingdeveloped markets (usually the U.S. and Europe). Sadly,by the time changes make it to market, the executivehas already rotated into a new position.

So for today’s executives – particularly those working



for U.S. public companies where pressure to meetquarterly sales targets runs high – “quick wins” thatcome with service innovations or improvements arehighly valued. Speed is everything in China.Repositioning a product, localizing packaging,recon#guring price or bundling, rethinkingsales/marketing/service, working with local partners,can all make a di$erence, and be done quickly.

The most striking example of translating this principleinto a winning go-to-market strategy is how onecompany up-ended its customer service model. Thecompany, which provided customer service andtreatment advice to doctors, started with a veryWestern approach to customer support: a toll-freephone number. By observing one segment ofcustomers – clinicians in aesthetic plastic surgerycenters who had low clinical skills but were strong atmarketing and selling to patients – the companyrealized no one picked up a phone for help. Thedoctors, they discovered, wanted instant support butfound it di'cult to describe a patient’s condition overthe phone, and they were too busy to download andemail photos and #ll out forms, the company’s serviceapproach in the West. Around the same time, thecompany observed sales reps communicating todoctors with a new app called Wechat. In a semi-annualuser insight roundtable, key customers bragged howthe company’s Chinese competitor was using Wechatto update doctors on their order status in real time.

Seeing the power of Wechat, the company set up aregional pilot that allowed doctors to use the mobileapp to submit photos and leave voice messages withtheir questions. Doctors got rapid responses from thecompany’s support team in written form (doctors didnot want their patients to overhear the advice), withlinks to similar treatment types they could show to



patients. Doctors and sales reps loved the immediacyand intimacy. The team went on to win a regionalinnovation award, and the company began exploringways to scale the service in China (Wechat has made apush in the B2B/customer service space) as well as takethe service innovation to other emerging marketswhere Wechat is used widely.

Because Chinese traditionally don’t expect a lot fromChina-made products, Chinese #rms have had to workharder to di$erentiate, particularly through service.While Chinese #rms don’t always nail service, they dotry things. Western #rms would be wise to do the same.

Principle #4: Do Less Market Research, Do MoreMarketThe top comment I heard last year came from aEuropean gourmet foods CEO, lamenting hiscompany’s uneven success in China. He argued that alltheir deep research had not taken them very far over#ve years. Perhaps emboldened by the fact a Chinesecompany had purchased a stake in his #rm, he argued:“Do less market research, do more market.” By that, hemeant actively testing and trying ideas: essentially thecore DT idea of rapidly testing, collecting feedback, anditerating.

Marketers know that the best market research is livetesting. One China GM told me that he takes a venturecapital approach: every year he allocates at least 20percent of his budget to #ve-to-10 new, riskierinitiatives. “Every one of my competitors is trying tosecure top talent, optimize their sales force, cut costs.We all grow 20-30 percent annually. The question is,‘What are you doing that’s di$erent to grow 50 percentand reach a size that makes corporate take notice?”

He sets a few “design guidelines:” ideas cannot violate



corporate ethical standards, marketing initiativesshould integrate the sales force, and data to measuresuccess must be generated. He gives his team someopen rein, and then largely steps out of the way.

A French consumer products marketer echoed thatsentiment: “I encourage us to try new things andchallenge my assumptions. More o!en than not, mygut is wrong, but if it drives sales, I am happy to bewrong.” She added: “Like the Chinese government, I ampragmatic and I encourage my team to be the same: If itfails, we learn, brush it under the rug, and move on.”

None of the western executives admit it, but theyactively pursue local initiatives that fall “under thecorporate radar,” embodying the Chinese saying thatthe mountains are high and the emperor is far away (ઊṛጳଂᬱ –shan gao huangdi yuan). The key to successwith this strategy is having a good relationship withone’s regional or corporate boss, and the ability todramatically execute if the idea is a winner. Fastexecution is critical because the window of time onsuccessful ideas is brutally short in China.

An example of this practice at work came from aprovider of aesthetic medical solutions. They realizeddoctors wanted to grow their businesses andconsumers were skeptical of private doctor clinicalskills (the trust issue alluded to earlier). In response,they created an online forum where doctors, backed bythe brand, could provide live “expert” Q&A toconsumers nationwide. The forum became a win-win-win for the company, doctors, and consumers, withdoctors lining up to use the service.

Principle #5: Look beyond the China-U.S. or China-EU Framework, Deriving and Feeding Ideas fromand to Other Emerging Markets



Most of the companies and executives I work with areof U.S. or Western European origin. The vast majority,however, are global citizens – they speak multiplelanguages and have taken on postings around theworld. The most interesting sea change is that mostlook beyond the U.S. and EU for inspiration. Likeanthropologists, they realize China is at a di$erentstage of development and has a di$erent historical andpolitical-economic underpinning, one that doesn’t #tthe Western model.

“I #nd myself trying to tap into our ex-Soviet Bloccountry team to understand how to navigate politicaluncertainty. Americans and Northern Europeans haveno appreciation for that,” said one GM. Others talk toLatin America GM heads, who must manage a complexregion and multiple distributors. Said another, “Inmany ways I start with the assumption that China ismany di$erent markets. This helps me break it downinto manageable chunks.”

One dental company found China more similar toSpain than any other Western country: customers thatoperated on lower margins, regional di$erences andlanguages, heavier reliance on relationships,considerable grey market activity, and a burgeoningsegment of university students seeking treatment thatdid not show up in the U.S. or Northern Europe. Thetwo general managers opened a direct line andbene#ted immensely from the conversations, takingstrategic advice from one another. Indeed, topmanagers actively develop the ability to look atanalogous areas and build relationships with thosewho can bring them insight.

There is still plenty to learn from the West, and nocountry or company has a monopoly on ideas. SiliconValley’s tech environment closely resembles the



complex, rapid change in China, and approaches therecan work in China. But the tide is shi!ing, and thehubris and slow corporate decision-making in the Westis running its course.

Conclusions

In this article, I’ve put forward the notion of “DesignThinking with Chinese Characteristics” and providedexamples for how this approach can help Western#rms succeed in the complex, rapidly changingmainland marketplace.

No approach #ts all. Sectors that are heavily regulatedby the Chinese government (banking, energy, telecom,insurance) still exist, where foreign players are morerestricted to the fringes. Even in these sectors, athorough understanding of customers andintermediaries is fundamental to playing the game,and in fact may point to heavy and creative use ofnonmarket strategies. Even seasoned “China hands”(expats who speak Mandarin or who worked in Chinaearlier in their careers) need to #nd ways to let go ofoutdated models they have about China. More researchis needed on Chinese management techniques, howChinese innovation expresses itself, and di$erencesbetween sectors.

Anyone who touches Chinese consumers knows howrapidly they are changing. Technology, globalizationand the rise of China and its homegrown companieswill shape the new business landscape of the future.Executives and companies with experience in theChina market gain valuable skills and experiencenecessary to survive in the new global economy. May adesign thinking approach with Chinese characteristicsbetter prepare us all.



The Idea in Brief

THE PROBLEM THECHALLENGE

THESOLUTION:

Western #rms #ndit di'cult tonavigate the Chinamarket due to itssize, complexity,rapid pace ofchange, localcompetition,shi!ing regulatoryenvironment, andcultural di$erences.The issue is moreacute than eversince most holdhigh-end marketpositions in Tier Icities – but nowneed to leave this“comfort zone” togrow. Traditionalstrategic andproduct planningcycles, conventionalmarket researchapproaches andlong approval loopswith distantcorporate decision-makers result in go-to-marketstrategies that areo!en obsoletebefore they reach

How torapidly,accurately,ande'cientlyunderstandChinesecustomersand keybusinessdrivers, keepone’s #ngeron the pulseof marketchanges, andrapidlyconvertinsights intopro#tableandsustainablego-to-marketstrategies.

To besuccessful,#rms shouldadopt a designthinkingapproach withChinesecharacteristicsto unlockcriticalcustomer andbusinessinsights. Theywould bene#tfrom applyingthe following#ve principles:

1) Think likeananthropologistand maintainthat mindset –Being close tocustomers andobservingthem is criticalto picking upmarketinsights – notonly at theinitialdiscovery



the marketplace –or miss the markentirely.

stage, but onan ongoingbasis, too.

2) Embraceand (gasp)copy Chinesecompetitors –Rather thancompetinghead-on orignoringentirely localcompetition,following,analyzing, andcopying savvyChinesecompanies canbe a shortcutto gaininglocalknowledge.

3) Thinkaboutinnovationmore broadly,focusing onservice to thecustomer –Takingadvantage oflocal insightsand conditionsto deliverserviceinnovations



makes a bigimpactquickly.

4) “Do lessmarketresearch, Domore market”– Staying inclose touchwithcustomers,testing and co-creatingconcepts asthey head tomarket is thebest way tosucceed in arapidlychangingmarket likeChina.

5) Lookbeyond theChina-U.S. orChina-EUframework –deriving ideasfrom, andfeeding ideasto, otheremergingmarkets areo!en moreappropriateand bene#cial



than lookingback to theU.S. andWesternEurope.

1. For de#nitions of Tier I, II, III cities, see forexample:http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/reaching-chinas-next-600-cities/ ↩

2. McKinsey China CEO Survey 2015. Highlights fromthe report: http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/how-china-country-heads-are-coping ↩

3. Lessons from the dental sector are broadlyapplicable because of the diverse range ofcustomer types and challenges presented. On theB2B side, dental customers range from large State-run companies (hospitals) to privately run owner-operated businesses (clinics) to private chains; onthe B2C side, patients range from teens touniversity students to young professionals andseniors. Geographic diversity prevails and themarket spans luxury products that are aspirationalto functional products that cover core needs. To sellto hospitals and clinics, western companies usedealer networks or sometimes sell direct; on theconsumer side they partner or directly engage inpatient education and demand generation. ↩

4. http://www.interchinaconsulting.com/en/index.php↩

5. http://www.amazon.com/Operation-China-Execution-Jimmy-Hexter/dp/1422116964 ↩

6. http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/asia-paci#c/meet-the-chinese-consumer-of-2020 ↩

7. https://hbr.org/2008/06/design-thinking. For acrash course on design thinking, visit:

http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/reaching-chinas-next-600-cities/

http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/how-china-country-heads-are-coping

http://www.interchinaconsulting.com/en/index.php

http://www.amazon.com/Operation-China-Execution-Jimmy-Hexter/dp/1422116964

http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/asia-pacific/meet-the-chinese-consumer-of-2020

https://hbr.org/2008/06/design-thinking



∠ Xi Jinping’s So! Power Martial Arts Cultural Trope Editor’s Note ∠

http://dschool.stanford.edu or www.ideo.com ↩8. See for example: https://hbr.org/2014/03/why-

china-cant-innovate;https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/how-innovative-is-china/;http://venturebeat.com/2012/03/26/why-china-doesnt-innovate/ ↩

9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Express ↩

business design thinking health

innovation R&D science & technology

services

https://www.chinacenter.net/2016/china_currents/15-2/xi-jinpings-soft-power-martial-arts-cultural-trope/

https://www.chinacenter.net/2016/china_currents/15-2/intro-15-2/editors-note-6/

https://www.chinacenter.net/tag/business/

https://www.chinacenter.net/tag/design-thinking/

https://www.chinacenter.net/tag/health/

https://www.chinacenter.net/tag/innovation/

https://www.chinacenter.net/tag/rd/

https://www.chinacenter.net/tag/science-technology/

https://www.chinacenter.net/tag/services/

http://dschool.stanford.edu/

http://www.ideo.com/

https://hbr.org/2014/03/why-china-cant-innovate

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/how-innovative-is-china/

http://venturebeat.com/2012/03/26/why-china-doesnt-innovate/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Express

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Employ “Design Thinking with Chinese Characteristics