Frameworks have undoubtedly played a crucial role in sizing up situations, providing models, and aiding our understanding of complex problems. However, we must be cautious of their limitations in constraining our ability to think freely and innovatively. While frameworks offer valuable insights based on explicit knowledge, they often fail to capture the tacit knowledge, including moods, contexts, and interpretations, which underlies their creation. Relying solely on existing frameworks can hinder our capacity to delve into the root of a problem and develop our unique approaches to solving it.

Consider the case of design thinking, originally conceived by brilliant minds and celebrated for its impact on innovation. Today, it has been reduced to colorful post-it notes, whiteboards, and pens, losing sight of its deeper essence. The process has become an academic exercise, where practitioners mechanically follow a predefined set of steps without questioning their underlying rationale or purpose. Anyone who took a design thinking training can create ‘A day in the life of …’, use words such as empathy, iteration etc. but to get to the insights, we need to ask the WHY question ‘Why are we capturing the day in the life of a person ….’, which is the core premise of design thinking.

It is unreasonable to assume that conducting a few surveys or brief conversations will instantly generate profound insights and identify unmet needs. True understanding and uncovering of truths require us to chart our own course and challenge the existing paths. As the renowned spiritual teacher J. Krishnamurti eloquently stated, “Truth is a pathless land.” Following in someone else’s footsteps will only lead us astray. This principle holds true for individuals as well as organizations seeking solutions to their problems.

Similarly, the Business Model Canvas, with its nine-box framework, can serve as a checklist to ensure critical aspects are considered, but it risks confining our thinking within predefined boundaries and that too in a very static way. The Business Model Canvas oversimplifies a complex and dynamic business model into a static set of boxes. It is good for illustration purposes to showcase how a business works but to use it as a tool for designing a business is quite a stretch. Most importantly, it breaks down a business problem into steps in a static mode just like a consultant whereas any entrepreneur connect the dots in real time in a dynamic fashion.

Imagine a startup company that aims to disrupt the transportation industry by introducing a new form of electric vehicle. While the Business Model Canvas helps outline key aspects like customer segments, value proposition, and revenue streams, it may not adequately capture the complex technological advancements, regulatory challenges, and infrastructure requirements associated with electric vehicles. By oversimplifying these elements, the canvas might not provide a comprehensive understanding of the startup’s unique challenges and opportunities.

Jeff Bezos, in his famous Annual Letter to Shareholders, astutely noted that in most companies ‘the process becomes a proxy for the outcomes we want’. I worked for a leading international organization for a few years. The design and editorial team had laid out a process that made it complex even for a small change. This is why creative professionals in animation where I started my career or in ads or in film industry, keep improving till the last minute to capture the dynamic nature of things. Business design needs to be dynamic and not static.

While doing a study on cigarette litter in Geneva, I chose to just do observations without asking anyone anything. I didn’t rely on ‘jobs to be done’ or ‘design thinking’ or any framework. What it revealed were more powerful than what a traditional ‘discovery’ process would have offered for me. Observation is one of the highest forms of intelligence. To really observe, we need to free ourselves from the lenses that we use to see the world. This observation helped me to segment smokers in a very compelling way based on their litter disposal behaviours. You can read more about it here.

Bruce Lee, the legendary martial artist, provides a powerful example of rejecting the confines of traditional styles and techniques. Despite suffering a severe back injury during his pursuit of creating the perfect martial art form, Jeet Kune Do, Lee emerged stronger than ever. Influenced by J. Krishnamurti’s teachings, he realized that truth cannot be organized or confined. The ultimate truth transcends specific styles and techniques, as they impose constraints on self-expression. Lee famously advocated for “no way as the way,” emphasizing the importance of forging our own paths.

In a recent reflection on my own MBA experience, I encountered a similar challenge. The platform on which I wrote suggested concise and crisp blog posts to maintain reader interest. However, I questioned this assumption. How could they determine that brevity always equates to engagement? I contemplated the impact of duration on storytelling, drawing inspiration from the 3 hours and 45 minutes-long Hindi film “Lagaan.” The audience remained captivated, standing, clapping, and celebrating during the climactic scene. Time became irrelevant when the narrative effectively engaged their emotions.

I chose to express myself fully and authentically, even if it meant crafting one of the longest posts I had ever written. Surprisingly, it received an overwhelmingly positive response, with countless messages, likes, and expressions of appreciation. Only a few individuals expressed concern about its length. While acknowledging their perspective, I am grateful for staying true to my natural writing style and not succumbing to imposed conventions. Suppressing my true self-expression in favor of conforming to prescribed norms would have diluted the impact of my message.

The framework is a supporting structure. It can help to some extent. But it cannot be the main path. Every path has an end and if we want to go further, we need to create our own road. Also, the road changes from context to context. It is important to travel on some roads but for pursuing truth about something, it is better to pave our own road since truth is a pathless land.

“No way as the way!” — Bruce Lee