From Challenge to Innovation: Building a Future-Proof TenneT Through Design Thinking

Creatively and effectively responding to rapid changes and complex challenges—what organization wouldn’t want that? Design Thinking, a methodology originating around sixty years ago, offers the tools for a fresh, human-centered approach to accelerate innovation. TenneT decided to explore what Design Thinking could mean for their challenges and partnered with nlmtd, where creativity, speed, and multidisciplinary collaboration were key. In this retrospective on the collaboration, we explain what Design Thinking entails, how it can help your organization, and what challenges you may encounter!

TL;DR

• Accelerating Innovation with Design Thinking: TenneT used Design Thinking to address the challenges posed by the energy transition.
• Three Key Advantages: Iterative sprints, multidisciplinary collaboration, and a pragmatic approach enabled the rapid generation of tangible solutions.
• Three Challenges to Anticipate: Preconceived assumptions, superficiality, and participants prone to convergent thinking. Proper preparation and the right exercises can mitigate these issues.
• Positive Results: The collaboration with nlmtd resulted in concrete solution pathways in the form of an Opportunity Heat Map.

TenneT: The Backbone of Our Electricity Grid

TenneT is responsible for managing and maintaining approximately 25,000 kilometers of high-voltage power lines. Their mission is to ensure a reliable and secure electricity supply, both now and in the future. Amidst the current energy transition, the demand for new connections has increased exponentially, and the energy market has become more unpredictable due to wind and solar power. These challenges require TenneT to work faster and more efficiently—and to be more innovative.

This is precisely where nlmtd can help. By applying Design Thinking, they aimed to realize innovative solutions more quickly.

Design Thinking: A Method for Rapid, Pragmatic Innovation

Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that focuses on creativity and problem-solving. This presented an initial challenge: how do you approach the high-voltage grid from a human perspective? By stepping into the shoes of users—whether grid strategists, partners, or technicians—the team was able to map out needs in a straightforward manner.

The process includes familiar components: defining problems, brainstorming ideas, prototyping, and testing—all in iterative cycles. This approach provided TenneT with three key benefits:

1. Speed and Iteration (Lean): In just three quick Design Thinking sprints, the team was pushed to achieve results without first mapping everything out in detail.
2. Multidisciplinary Collaboration: A mix of stakeholders and disciplines was involved, which is crucial within a project group to foster collaboration and creative problem-solving.
3. Pragmatic and Concrete Approach: A hands-on, pragmatic approach allowed the team to move quickly from problems to tangible solutions. The workshops ensured TenneT could immediately make their solutions concrete.

What Was TenneT’s Goal? The primary outcome TenneT wanted from these workshops was the creation of an Opportunity Heat Map to quickly identify opportunities and priorities. This tool enables TenneT to work more efficiently and effectively in realizing new connections.

Challenges and Lessons from Practice

Applying Design Thinking presents various challenges, as TenneT experienced when implementing the method in the complex world of high-voltage networks. Planning to try it yourself? Watch out for these pitfalls:

1. Assumptions: Participants often enter sessions with preconceived ideas and assumptions. Good warm-up exercises, like the “Five Why’s” method—where time pressure and focus force participants to dig deeper into core problems—can help overcome this.
2. Superficiality: Workshops often cover many topics, involve many people, and have limited time. This can dilute the outcomes. By scoping workshops early and aligning expectations with clients, you can maintain focus and avoid superficiality. Additionally, dividing participants into smaller groups ensures that quality outweighs quantity. The value often lies in the details, not the abstractions.
3. Encouraging Creative Thinking: Depending on their background, participants may be inclined to think analytically and convergently, which doesn’t foster generating multiple directions and solutions. Brainstorming exercises, such as the “Crazy Eight” technique where participants sketch numerous ideas in a short time, can stimulate divergent thinking.