July 15 - Really good designers somehow think differently from the rest of us about new products, and have the ability to transform insight into inspiration, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

"Good designers see the world differently. Their unique views enable them to come up with new products and innovations that leave the rest of us envious.

Here are three ways you can approach innovation like a designer:

1. Think about people, not customers. No one asked for the iPod or texting in a customer survey. Move beyond asking what customers want to thinking about what they need, or don't know they need.

2. Observe. Get out in the world and watch what people do. Don't rely on what they say about their behavior - see it first hand.

3. Look at what might change. You can't be too focused on today. Think instead about what the future might bring."

Today's management tip was adapted from "How Good Designers Think" by Simon Rucker.