Software GR presents Tom DeVries

Tom DeVries is a hybrid business and design strategist focused on guiding organizations to differentiate by serving people. His approach is shaped by his lifelong frustration of observing businesses copy their way into mediocrity.

As a principle and co-founder of Thoughtfull Design, he leads organizations to discover unmet customer needs that are hidden in plain site, which in business terms means unmet demand, then realize the profit and growth opportunities of supplying for it.

Tom is a Human-Centered Design methods expert, holding a masters degree from Chicago’s Institute of Design and has experience leading and advising organizations of all sizes throughout the world including Amway, Autodesk, Deloitte, Motorola, and Pepsico.

About the talk:

Collaboration. It is a buzz word called out as being key to success in nearly every project, yet many projects are accidentally placed on a foundation that yields the opposite - competition with people on the same team, sometimes in-house and other times between clients and consultants. This talk will focus four types of collaborative structures and the implications of each, it will propose a foundational construct for effective collaboration and incite a discussion to draw in the experience and insight of the group.