The DO Method
The core skills, tools and mindsets to thrive and lead in a new economy cannot be learned in theory. It’s all in the DOing. That’s why The DO School takes a rigorous “learning by DOing” approach.
The DO Method is a proven 4-stage innovation process that leads individuals and teams to create real results — while allowing for experimentation and the testing of new skills and mindsets. It’s a fresh, immediate way to learn, with lasting results.
4. DO!
Start DOing and implement your solution based on goals and milestones established in the PLAN phase. Measure impact and align your team with its own drive and purpose.
1. Dream
Develop an initial understanding of the problem and align it with your own passion and purpose while engaging in blue-sky thinking.
3. Plan
Get ready for implementation by creating an ambitious yet realistic plan with regards to resources and success metrics. Start building a support ecosystem that is ready to advance the project.
2. Focus
Deepen your understanding through research while engaging with experts & users, getting feedback and creating prototypes to continuously improve your ideas.
1. Dream
Develop an initial understanding of the problem and align it with your own passion and purpose while engaging in blue-sky thinking.
2. Focus
Deepen your understanding through research while engaging with experts & users, getting feedback and creating prototypes to continuously improve your ideas.
3. Plan
Get ready for implementation by creating an ambitious yet realistic plan with regards to resources and success metrics. Start building a support ecosystem that is ready to advance the project.
4. DO!
Start DOing and implement your solution based on goals and milestones established in the PLAN phase. Measure impact and align your team with its own drive and purpose.
The DO Timeline
The DO’s founder, Florian Hoffmann, meets with more than 50 diverse global leaders over a two-year period, focused on a single question: What skills will it take to make business part of the solution, rather than part of the problem? He teams up with co-founder Katherin Kirschenmann and their colleague Rouven Ramon Steinfeld to launch The DO School.
The DO School launches in New York, partnering with Mayor Mike Bloomberg to solve the problem of single-use coffee cups. The project wins an Innovate NYC Fellowship. Meanwhile, a European campus launches in Hamburg, partnering with H&M Group on sustainable fashion.
the world
The DO School creates programs in over 40 countries, reaching employees and entrepreneurs from over 100 countries. In Germany, it runs one of the very first MOOCs (massive open online course) on how to start a social business, attracting over 30,000 participants. The DO School wins a German “Land der Ideen” award, and the campus moves from Hamburg to Berlin.
The DO School begins working with several CEOs to support the transformation of their businesses. Rooted in the DO Method, the focus is on engaging employees to speed up the pace of change. For his work with the DO School, Florian is named one of 100 Young Global Leaders under 40 by the World Economic Forum.
Following the launch of new flagship initiatives with partners in Asia, the DO School opens a campus in Hong Kong. Together with Asia’s biggest foundation, the HKJC, the DO School embarks on a 7-year project to bring innovation to the social sector, from kindergartens to hospitals to elderly care.
The DO School supports its partners’ responses to the pandemic. It also launches a co-creation process, bringing together 1,500 leaders across the globe to explore ways to emerge stronger from the crisis. The We Emerge conference takes place, which subsequently leads to We Accelerate and the Our New World weeks in the following years.
becomes The DO
Responding to the organization’s rapid growth, The DO School becomes The DO with the purpose of enabling a new economy by empowering people to be part of the solution. The DO is now home to the lifelong learning center, DO School, as well as the change accelerator DO Group, which later becomes the DO Catalyst.
The DO partners with Mercedes-Benz to build the world’s biggest fellowship program for early-stage environmental innovators. beVisioneers is made possible with the proceeds of the auction of the world’s most valuable car, the Uhlenhaut Coupé, for €135 million. Florian’s book, “Our New World,” is published in German, followed by the English edition.
