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Professor Sheila Danko discusses how design thinking influences businesses May 10 in San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO - What do an organic ice cream manufacturer, a solar power company and a startup creating an alternative to cigarette smoking have in common, other than they are led by Cornell alumni? Each uses design as a tool for leadership to create competitive advantage and to enrich lives, noted Sheila Danko, professor and chair of design and environmental analysis in the College of Human Ecology.

Danko told some 120 Cornell alumni and friends how design thinking is shaping new business futures at a panel discussion at the American Institute of Architects May 10.

"The alums behind these companies are living the message about designing change with their businesses and their passion for making the world a better place," Danko said. She added that design is critical to innovation in business, human development, education, community and global sustainability.

"Design is everything we do - we are constantly solving design challenges for our clients," said panelist Rob Erlichman '87, founder and CEO of Sunlight Electric, a Bay Area company that designs and sells solar power systems to California businesses, especially in the food, beverage and agriculture industries.

Panelist Neal Gottlieb '99, owner of Three Twins Organic Ice Cream, admitted that there is nothing groundbreaking about making ice cream. But his company tries to add a twist on things, such as a splash of balsamic vinegar to strawberry ice cream, sourcing milk and cream within 17 miles of their factory and using organic ingredients.

Another "thing we did differently is our bar code, it is shaped like an ice cream cone. While it's a simple concept, it was one of smartest marketing decisions I've ever made. Every person that works at a check-out counter knows the distinctive Three Twins brand now, which has helped drive purchasing," Gottlieb said. Three Twins has four scoop shops and sells in 1,000 locations in 35 states.

Alex Ko '99, M.S. '06, fellow at d.school: Institute of Design at Stanford University and the creative director at Ploom, helps design and market a device that allows smokers to exhale water vapor, which quickly disperses, rather than secondhand smoke.

"Our competitive advantage is not being smoke, so we could be at your bar or coffee shop; that was a huge insight for us and win for us," Ko said. "We had to create a whole new approach and system for this."

Each company exemplifies how design serves as a tool for growth of people and profits, and creates new paradigms and challenges our thinking, according to Danko. She provided highlights from her latest research on her Designing Change project, which profiles 13 innovative companies and how they use design as a strategy for leadership.

"I try to get both designers and non-designers alike to embrace a different concept about design and designing," she said. "It is this notion from Peter Senge's book 'The Fifth Discipline' that the leader's new work is to embrace the concept of leaders as designers."

The event was sponsored by the College of Human Ecology and Cornell on the Road.

Nancy Tomkins is principal at Words By Design in Menlo Park, Calif.