Most people think that "design" is just about decoration and how something looks. But "design" is really more fundamental than that. It's about innovation and creative problem solving. It's about using the process designers use to arrive at new ideas. It's about listening to your clients and providing for them in new ways.

Design can be your secret weapon helping you get ahead of the competition.

Businesses that focus on design - meaning that they use creative thinking to develop new products and services - are usually the leaders in their industries. Apple, compared to Microsoft, is probably the most striking example of a company that is design-led, but you can see other examples right in your own community. Perhaps there is a local market that merchandises its wares in a compelling manner and draws people in with products that are exciting and meet their needs and desires. It will outsell the shop that has lost touch with its clientele, or that sells what it can easily make without regard to what people really want.

How can you harness the power of design to improve your business?

Use 'Design Thinking'

If you want to stay ahead of the pack, you can learn to think like a designer. Designers use a collaborative five-step design-thinking process to arrive at new ideas. You can use the same process.

Step one: Frame the problem, or rather the opportunity.

What exactly do you want to improve? Collect information from every type of person who is has a stake in the end result: moms, students, your teachers, your landlord, your accountant, the owner of the café next door, whoever can provide a helpful perspective on the subject. Immerse yourself in the issue at hand. Focus on the end user. The more you understand your clients, the more likely it is that you will gain a valuable new insight that will enable you to serve them better.

And keep asking "Why?"

Here's a hypothetical example. Let's say you want to fill an hour of empty classroom time on Thursday afternoons. Why? You want to fill an empty spot in your schedule. Why? Your competitor offers a class at that time. Why? Because a mom can leave her youngest child in the class while she picks up the older ones from school and delivers them to the dance studio. Why? Because the mother's life is made easier when her children's classes are scheduled sequentially. Why else? Because she wants to maximize her younger child's learning opportunities during that time she's getting the other children.

By asking Why? the problem has been refined from "How can I fill an hour of class time" to "How can I provide convenience for my moms" to "How can I provide the most enriching learning experience that moms value?"

Step two: Brainstorm a multitude of possible solutions.

Good ideas come from anywhere. And the best ideas come from a mix of people who bring a diverse set of experiences to the table. Assemble a group of four to eight people who bring multiple perspectives to the issue at hand.

Start by writing down all the ideas that are suggested. Don't be critical of them yet. Let the ideas build on one another. Let one idea lead to another. After you have collected a broad range of solutions to the problem, then begin to evaluate and prioritize them.

Step three: Refine the best directions

Select the solutions that best address the problem as you have defined it. Think them through - if they have weaknesses, think of how to strengthen them. Or combine several ideas into one. Solicit feedback from your team and keep refining the ideas. In the situation above, perhaps the best solution isn't a new dance class. Perhaps what would provide the rich learning environment that the mom values is a series of multi-sensory experiences that will expose her young child to many types of movement, rhythm, and music.

Step four: Develop prototypes

Bring your best solutions to life - and test them. In our example above, you might fully flesh out two different programs that you could offer. Describe them for your clients. Make each scenario sound real. Then ask a representative group of moms what they think about your alternatives. Incorporate their feedback into a revised version of the best program. Stay open minded about what they have to say - it may lead to an even better idea.

Step five: Implement your new idea

Everyone involved in the new program - those who will help you implement your new plan as well as the end users - will now need to be brought on board. It's your job now to get everyone excited about the innovation you are introducing.

If you make 'design thinking' a habit, if you maintain an end-user focused, collaborative approach to generating and refining ideas, you will continue to bring creative problem solving and innovation to your studio, generating business growth and expanding your client base.