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I’m the founder of the Human Centered Design Network and the creator of This is HCD, the leading human-centered design podcast with over 1.5 million downloads. We empower organisations worldwide with expert design training and coaching for executives, designers and teams.
What actually works (from people who have done it)
https://www.thisishcd.com Hey Reader, This is part 3 of 4 in our series on getting buy-in for human-centred design. You can catch up on the five walls and the leader archetypes if you missed them. For the past two weeks, I have been asking you to share your experiences of getting buy-in for HCD. And the replies have been brilliant. Painful, funny, familiar, and full of the kind of hard-won wisdom that never makes it into conference talks. I cannot share specifics yet. I will be in touch...
Which leader are you dealing with?
https://beta.thisishcd.com Hey Reader, This is part 2 of 4 in our series on getting buy-in for human-centred design. I will be honest, this one has taken me much, much longer to write. If you missed last week's email on the five walls practitioners hit, you can catch up here. The response to last week's email was incredible. So many of you replied with your stories. I am reading every single one of them, and I will be in touch individually over the coming weeks. What struck me most was how...
Building Belief: The five walls you'll hit when selling HCD internally
https://www.thisishcd.com Hey Reader, Firstly, I am writing this from my home in Dublin, and watching the news of mass destruction in the Middle East. We have a large readership and listenership in this part of the world, and please be assured, many of us are thinking of you all, and here's hoping for a quick resolution to the end of this (and all) war(s). This is the first in a short 4-part series about one of the hardest parts of human-centred design: getting the people around you to...
In London? You're invited.
Human-Centered Design London Evening Meetup When Tuesday, 27 January 2026 Time 6pm - 7.30pm Where The Betjeman Arms St Pancras Station(under the arches)Google Maps Connect Informal, in-person conversation I’ll be in London next week delivering training with Marc Stickdorn and would love to meet in person with people interested in Human-Centered Design — especially readers and podcast listeners. This is a relaxed, agenda-free meetup. No talks, no slides — just good conversation and shared...
Before You Launch the Balloons: Seeing the Whole System First
Hello Reader, In 1986, Cleveland set out to break a charitable world record. 1.5 million balloons launched together, rising in a colourful cloud of civic pride. The city was buzzing – volunteers, sponsors, crowds cheering as the balloons lifted off. School children were drafted in to help blow up balloons and everyone was excited to revel in the feel-good factor of collectively helping Cleveland break the world record. And then… chaos. The weather turned, the balloons didn’t drift away but...
Training as Seeds, Capability as the Garden
Hello Reader, Most organisations treat training like a quick shot of espresso. More often than not it's not intentional. But it's usually in the whispers around lunchtime, where people ask for advice on how to incorporate and apply service design thinking and doing into their day to day. A burst of energy, a few new tools, and then… back to business as usual. This is the stuff we want to avoid. But here’s the truth: a single training session is only ever a seed. Seeds are important — they...
Community Update: Pricing Changes Coming 1st November 2025
Private Community Pricing increase effective 1st November 2025 Hello Reader, If you’ve been on the fence about joining our private community, now’s the perfect time to jump in. On 1 November 2025, our annual membership (Personally Funded) option will go from €199 to €299. We’ve thought long and hard about this change, and here’s the good news: everyone who’s already a member keeps their current price for life. No increases. No surprises. Just a thank-you for being part of the journey early...
Charting New Waters: Announcing My Upcoming Book, The Design Compass
Hello Reader, I’ve been holding onto this one for a while, and I’m so excited to finally share it: I’ve signed a publishing deal with BIS Publishers in the Netherlands to write my first book. It’s called The Design Compass (working title) and it will be out in 2026. This book has been quietly brewing for years. If you’ve ever joined one of my courses, listened to the podcast, or been part of a workshop, you’ll know I talk a lot about design not as a neat, linear process, but as a voyage—one...
Part 4 of 4 - Sustaining Yourself and the Team
Hello Reader, Series contentsPart 1 - The Mindset (last week)Part 2 - Tactics for EnablementPart 3 - The Emotional ChallengePart 4 - Leadership Tools Hello Reader, We’ve walked through the arc: the mindset shift (Part 1), the tactics to enable others (Part 2), and the messy reality of leadership (Part 3). Now comes the hardest part: sustaining yourself and your team over the long run. Leadership isn’t about making a single leap into management — it’s about learning how to keep going, to lead...
Part 3 of 4 | Letting Go of Control
The Emotional Challenge Hello Reader, Series contentsPart 1 - The Mindset (last week)Part 2 - Tactics for EnablementPart 3 - The Emotional ChallengePart 4 - Leadership Tools If Part 1 was about the mindset shift and Part 2 about the tactics, Part 3 is about the human cost of stepping into enablement. Because let’s be honest: this isn’t just an intellectual exercise. It’s an emotional one too. Well it is and it was for me. Most design leaders built their identity around the craft. We were the...
I’m the founder of the Human Centered Design Network and the creator of This is HCD, the leading human-centered design podcast with over 1.5 million downloads. We empower organisations worldwide with expert design training and coaching for executives, designers and teams.