Tim Brown is an industrial designer. He also happens to be president and CEO of IDEO , one of the leading "design and innovation" consultancy firms in the world. IDEO's approach is based on user-centered design, and it has become known as a leading innovator in large part because of its "design thinking." Tim Brown spoke at the Commonwealth Club , and he stressed that good innovators don't magically dream up ideas--they design solutions. As IDEO did for Shimano: The full program is worth your time, as Brown explains the whole design thinking process. You can watch it here .