There is no doubt our times are full of complexity, rapid change, and all kinds of disruption. There are, however, methods that can help both individuals and organizations properly process the chaos and transition from a position of sweating to getting comfortable with uncertainty – and even inviting it.

As consumers, we all have a general sense of the value we place on different products and services. Value, however, is a vague concept for many business people. So this begs a central yet often unasked question: What is value and how do we create it?

To build the kind of agile, resilient company needed in today's dynamic, open markets, leaders must think in terms of an evolving portfolio of businesses that can be categorized into three primary groups, each reflecting the stage of a market life cycle: emerging, growth and maturity.

In this week's edition, The Economist highlights the unusually long-lived success of GKN, a leading British industrial manufacturer that has managed to grow successfully for 253 years.

After more than half a century serving the 50-and-over population, AARP began a journey into design thinking and proved that even a cautious organization long rooted in tradition could unleash innovation. The process resulted in the evolution of LifeTurner, an innovative new business model targeting 25- to 34-year-olds.

Curious about the brave new world of business design and innovation? Invest three minutes for the trailer or 40 for the full movie (highly recommended), for a quick immersion: Design the New Business unveils how design is changing mindsets in many different markets.

Setting optimal pricing is a continuing challenge for businesses. Set the price too high or too low, and you either give away too much value or you lose out on serving more customers. There are three approaches you can take: analyze historic data, conduct customer research, and run experiments.

What does it take to innovate? According to IDEO, one of the most influential design firms in the world, it takes an eclectic group of people, the ability to build on other people’s ideas rather than judging them, and the willingness to fail often in order to succeed sooner.

In an interview by IdeaConnection, Roger Martin—strategy advisor, author, and Dean of the Rotman School of Management—says “Innovation is taking out of a mystery some form of understanding that enables you to focus on some things rather than others...

When you take design thinking to heart, it unleashes the ability to break through assumed constraints, solve existing problems—and even change the world.