Design thinking sparks cross-functional solutions for retail challenges

From the first moment, the roughly 100 people who attended the design thinking workshop at NRF PROTECT 2026 were encouraged to sit with participants from other organizations. It didn’t take long before they understood why. The whole practice aimed to move them away from the same conversations, dynamics and processes — and even the same fears and insecurities of speaking up and missing the mark. 

For retail leaders, the timing is crucial. It’s no secret that the retail environment is increasingly complex — or that solutions must be rapid and creative. But how to get there? 

“If you want to solve a problem, ask a child,” said Tom Meehan, CEO of CONTROLTEK, who facilitated the hands-on event as a certified design thinking instructor. “Kids say what they think because they’re not afraid it’s a wrong answer.” 

Kids are unfiltered, unbiased and uncensored — and that could be exactly what’s needed in business today. Meehan began with what might be considered a childlike exercise to get the juices flowing: Draw someone else nearby in three minutes. There was no time for perfection or nuance. It was simply about getting something on paper. 

Make creativity more ‘comfortable’ 

Meehan and his team — conducting their 39th such workshop with audiences of varying sizes — asked how many in the crowd considered themselves to be creative. Only a few hands went up. Instead, audience members admitted they found creativity “uncomfortable” and “stressful.” 

The CONTROLTEK method of design thinking helps analytical thinkers be creatively solution-focused rather than problem-focused. It includes four steps: 

1. Understand: Dive deep into the problem, comprehending the nuances of the end users’ needs, challenges and aspirations. 

2. Ideate: Foster an atmosphere where innovation can thrive. 

3. Rapid prototype: Create tangible versions of ideas and concepts, ready for testing and refinement. 

4. Test: Bring the prototype to real-world users.  

The session included a variety of activities, both individually and in groups. (Another NRF PROTECT session explored a real-life design thinking application.) At the workshop, one exercise had attendees draw four different items in 15 seconds each: a baby, a door, a house and “innovation.” The sketches were remarkably similar, including innovation, frequently represented by a light bulb or cloud. 

Brains tend to do “visual shorthand,” Meehan said. “One of the biggest problems when going to a solution is that we all think the same … . We all keep doing the same thing all over again.” The people in the audience likely received the same training over their careers, he said, and perhaps worked for the same companies. 

And yet, end users don’t necessarily have the same challenges. During the workshop, different teams developed solutions for specific personas of sales associates, honest customers, directors of asset protection, local law enforcement and store managers, all with the same question in mind: “How do we create a safe, enjoyable working and shopping environment for our customers and staff?” 

Empathetically solve for others 

Thomas Stein, director of asset protection and safety with Paradies Lagardère, was part of the group that empathetically solved for “Daniel,” a store manager challenged to handle labor shortages and high employee turnover while also addressing theft and operational destructions without impacting the customer experience. Within minutes, the group had developed “FSI (Flexible Scheduling Incentives),” a plan to improve employee retention, customer experience, morale and ownership through solutions like sales incentives, credit incentives, task-based incentives, customer and supervisor feedback, shorter shifts and all employees being salaried. 

“I loved the diversity of thoughts and ideas,” Stein said. He also loved how quickly things moved from conversation to putting things on paper. 

The team created a final solution pitch by exploring the specific problems to be solved, the proposed solution and the expected impact. And they generated as many ideas as possible in a short time frame to get there, writing each one on a sticky note. The goal was to set aside overthinking and self-censorship to create a broad list and then to group ideas and refine. 

“It was good to think out of the box, and to really be, as it was pitched, solution-focused,” Stein said. He could easily imagine problem solving in the same way with his team at home. 

Find insights in new places 

Paul Silva, head of loss prevention at JD Sports Canada, also envisioned bringing the techniques home. It might even mean sitting next to someone different in a meeting, and encouraging input from different functions and departments in generating solutions. 

“We’re a very young company, and we’ve been growing very, very fast,” Silva said. “We’ve been in Canada for five years, and in just the last year, departments have really started to collaborate with each other. Before, if I had an idea, I would just put it out there. I wouldn’t have to go through anybody else.”

These days, teamwork and partnership are as important as ever. 

Overall, Meehan said, the way to solve for an end user is to really “listen to people and get into their shoes.” It also means being willing to listen to each other — and to create an environment where everyone’s voices and ideas count, no matter how “out there.” 

“You have to show the bad work, or else you never get the solution,” Meehan said.