Jul 13Why to Call Out the Steps to do Applied Design ResearchFew things make me more forlorn than work that goes unapplied. The person hours that went into contributing to, organizing, analyzing, synthesizing, creating, and presenting the work could have been better used in other pursuits or in rest. Sadly, design research can be particularly tricky to take from finding to…Design Thinking1 min read
Jun 23Solving problems that matter, using experience journeysA case study about solving business problems by using a journey framework, instead of a moment lens. What’s the difference between a moment and a journey? A moment happens briefly, whereas a journey is a collection of moments creating the story of an overall experience. You remember moments — yet…Customer Experience4 min read
May 26What I Learned Designing a CX Listening ProgramAs I wrap up a role in which developed a Customer Experience [CX] data listening program, I wanted to share a few of the learnings surfacing as I write a playbook on my exit. Firstly, the purpose of a CX program is to get evidence to inform meaningful enhancements to…3 min read
Apr 6Future of Work Reflections from a full-time consulting experimentToday I celebrate 3 months of full-time consulting as a principal with my firm Staircase Strategy. Because this isn’t my first [or only!] business, operational elements like becoming an s-corp and setting up contracts wasn’t the main challenge. …3 min read
Jan 3, 2021Impacting 639 people in 2020In this often disconnected and lonely year, I learned with and taught, collaborated with on projects, coached, interviewed, and facilitated 639 people. All remotely. Across two workplaces and five enterprises. Despite being laid off in February. Mostly during a pandemic. I’m most proud that I coached 218 people, taught 374…2020 Reflection2 min read
May 26, 2020The two crucial types of “how” to address in remote meetingsFor many of us, the practice of “being in remote meetings” has been turned up a few notches, and not all of us are enjoying the experience. This article explores two critical elements of meetings that often get missed, but which greatly help creating better in-meeting experiences and after-meeting outcomes: …Future Of Work6 min read
Feb 21, 2020The future of work needs facilitation: How Applied Creativity and Collaboration Techniques Transform Teams (and Why It’s Critical, Now)The future of professional jobs is in transition: focus is shifting to integrative skill sets and workplaces that are self-organizing and inclusive, and away from both machinable skills and top-down hierarchies. As technology increases automation and its reach over logistics, attention is turning to the roles of collaborative, human-centered products [Deloitte], judgement [McKinsey], and creativity [BBH labs], in innovative workplaces. …Facilitation8 min read
Feb 14, 2020Member-onlyUsing Design Thinking to Fix Your Money ProblemsEver feel like you’re just not getting anywhere with a financial goal or problem? You may be going about working on it wrong — and designing a different approach could help you get the traction you want. In order to have the financial outcomes you seek, first aim to make…Design Thinking13 min read
Sep 23, 2019Member-onlyFive Problems Teams Get Stuck On (and five ways to address them)I’m becoming fascinated by “stuckness”. I used to think that “stuck” was only for solopreneurs or underfunded arts orgs (like the ones I was part of); I thought it was a symptom. Fast forward years through projects, launched products and orgs I’ve run to today, as I coach teams to focus on human needs and…UX3 min read
Jul 12, 2019Member-onlyHow to Throw Yourself a DIY Retrospective(as an artist with a community-based live art practice and a side of polymath) — I curated a DIY retrospective of my artwork, and it was awesome. Here’s how you can do it too. June 21–23, 2019 I showed a retrospective of my creative cultural production to date. I’m newly 40 and I wanted to take stock of the output of my community-based practice, as…DIY13 min read
