Stanford d.school

It was such a cool experience to join Kursat Ozenc's and Martin Gonzalez's Designing Organizational Culture class at Stanford d.school last week. I shared a culture change case study from my work with a client, but the best part was joining groups of students as they brainstormed culture design ideas for their corporate partners. They're tackling the real-world culture challenges of remote work, AI adoption, and scaling while staying mission-focused. I also loved learning from fellow practitioners Alan Ratliff and Ruma S.. A few things I learned: - Humans are clever and pragmatic. Even if a small team is designing culture interventions, as soon as people interact with changes they essentially become part of the design team. Might as well plan for it! - The design thinking approach for culture change starts with curiosity about people (a.k.a. users), who express the culture every day through their words and actions - The d.school-style ideation was energizing! #culturedesign #culturechange #designthinking

Unlocking Innovation with Justin Ferrell at The ROI Forum Few people have had the impact of Justin Ferrell at the intersection of design, business, and culture change. A master of organizational innovation, Justin has spent his career helping leaders, teams, and entire industries rethink how they work, collaborate, and solve problems. His experience spans Global 500 giants and some of the world’s most influential organizations, including Google, Facebook, Walmart, The New York Times, SAP, HSBC, the United Nations, and the U.S. Department of State. Before stepping into his role at Stanford’s d.school, where he leads strategic partnerships and founded the groundbreaking professional fellowship program, Justin pioneered digital transformation at The Washington Post. As the founding director of digital, mobile & new product design, he reshaped the newsroom, bringing in the first mobile designers and programmers and leading the creation of work that earned Pulitzer Prize-winning recognition. Today, Justin teaches executives at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford Center for Professional Development, where he equips leaders with design-driven thinking to solve complex challenges. At The ROI Forum by SponsorshipX, Justin will bring his expertise to the stage, guiding attendees through Decoding the Challenge: How to Identify the Problem to Solve—a design thinking session that will shift how you approach problem-solving and innovation. If you want to think differently, lead boldly, and transform your approach to challenges, this is a session you can’t afford to miss. ?? Join us: https://lnkd.in/gQkHnXxd Justin Ferrell Stanford d.school Mark Harrison MH3 Collective #SponsorshipX #ROIForum #Innovation #DesignThinking #Leadership #WhereMetricsMatter

I recently spent time with my friend Lisa Kay Solomon, resident futurist at Stanford d.school, co-author of?"Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change," and fellow member of a super cool secret club of authors who help each other help the world. She gave me the VIP tour of the campus, introduced me to some of the leadership shaping the minds of future designers and leaders, and, we spoke deeply about the importance of Foresight and futures practices guiding C-Suites. I am so inspired! ? Here's a link to her book: https://lnkd.in/gcCn2gcs ????

[How to Shoot for the Moon W25 || Week 7] This week, we were treated to hear from Kirinina Sascha von Slomski, Space Architect from Blue Origin and Joshua Neubert of Institute of Competition Sciences. How might we build a home on the Moon? We started off building our homebase on the Moon with good-old LEGO! I love how they turned out. We need a house with big windows, some greenery, an ISRU machine, R2D2 to help us out, a ring-shaped portal, Emmet DJ-ing some good music, etc. and Moana’s boat made it to the Moon… ?? Building a home (anywhere) is beyond mechanical/technical and the design is crucial in activating and evoking experiences and emotions. Kirinina shared, “My aha-moment was that astronauts started sharing their preferences about their living and working conditions and preferences (paraphrased by me).” And I share the excitement in leaning into addressing the importance of human experience and emotions when designing for (future) space infrastructures and systems in our class with Blue Origin. From sports to politics to natural selection, competition and collaboration are everywhere in our daily lives. Yet we often get caught up in a mindset of one or the other. “Collaboration and competitin both fuel us in achieving our shared mission” was a profound word of wisdom from Joshua Neubert. To his point, historically, it was “Space Race” between the Soviet and the U.S. that kicked aerospace industry started and made us reach the Moon in 60s; and 5 space agencies representing 15 countries also collaborated on the ISS. Harnessing the power of both competition and collaboration is the core of what Institute of Competition Sciences does. “Competition is a celebration of excellence” is another mindset I took with me from his talk. What is one moonshot you are interested in helping solve? Josh asked. Students answers were intriguing: ? Either a capability to wash clothes in space OR textiles that don’t require traditional washing to keep clean ? In situ resource utilization ? A bloomstick for quidditch I think solutions to these can be impactful both in space and on Earth. Seamus Yu Harte Debbie G. Senesky Maggie Namaganda Sara Olson Stanford d.school #HowToShootForTheMoone

Super stoked to kickoff 2025 Advance Design class at the Impact Studio (Stanford d.school) in collaboration with the National Park Service. Together, we will explore creating more opportunities for visitors with mobility challenges to independently access and experience both front-country and backcountry areas of National Parks. Our capstone project aims to address both physical and informational barriers while respecting the National Park Service's dual mandate of preservation and access, potentially serving as a model for parks nationwide. #designeducation #designforplanet #designforsocialimpact #designforhealth with Kelly Schmutte, Charlotte McCurdy, Brett Newman, Elijah Woolery

A few high notes from Friday's Satellite Session (AKA party with a purpose) at Stanford d.school :?Kitties as portals to higher powers, imaginary friends, wellness excursions, extraterrestrial intelligence, comedic ethical dilemmas and Nutella! It's a WHOLE VIBE. I had sweet conversations with students, sparked new connections for collaborations and was just in awe of the complete overwhelm of student creativity oozing from improv performances, art installations, TWO bands and so much more. Bravo Seamus Yu Harte for the vision, magic and grit to bring this all to life.

Something pretty special happened at the Stanford d.school this month, and I can't stop smiling about it. For years, we’ve wanted to help our students build deeper connections with each other, with their industries, and with leaders who would open their doors to meaningful challenges and experiences. We’ve made small moves in that direction. But the big next step was to create a forum where great leaders and companies could spend real time on campus connecting with our students. Traditional, transactional job fairs weren’t the answer. We needed something more human, more intentional, more connective. So last fall, I pulled together a small team from around the d.school to design something different. Thanks to the incredible support of leadership, the team and I were given full trust to experiment. We started with a clear purpose and shared values for how we wanted this to work. Every invitation, every communication with companies and teams was personal. Throughout the comms, we referred to ourselves as Concierges to reflect our role in making meaningful connections. We worked with each team to prepare for the event and clarify the challenges they were facing, so they could share real stories and compelling project opportunities with our students. And the students *showed up* — we had more than double the number of registrations we expected. We hosted prep workshops to ensure they weren’t just attending to receive something, but to listen, learn, and look for ways to add value. Yes, we wanted to make career connections; but it was also the start of conversations that could go in many directions. The day itself was electric. We kicked things off with an intimate lunch for the remarkable visiting teams, giving them space to connect with one another and our Stanford d.school staff. They toured our spaces, took part in a private printmaking workshop, and got to experience the d.school in a special way. Then, the main event. Instead of crowds and chaos, we divided students into smaller groups, creating space for real conversations, deeper discussions, and a more thoughtful experience for everyone. And it worked. I’m so grateful to the teams who joined us, the students who showed up ready to engage, and the brilliant minds who helped bring this event to life—Danielle Katz, Katrina Kuo, Laura Segura Gonzalez, Kelly Schmutte, Charlotte Burgess Auburn, Laurie Moore, Renée Chao, David Kelley, and so many others. This was the first event of its kind, but it won’t be the last. Even after nearly a decade of building this program, it still feels like we’re just getting started. If you don’t know the story behind Design Formation, you can read more about it here https://lnkd.in/gZ4Js9pU. And wherever you are, keep building things that bring people together, challenge them to grow, and make the world a little brighter. It’s always worth it. (Photos by the incredible Patrick Beaudouin)