Topology

Topology turns two years old today. Still a toddler in terms of business longevity, but a toddler that can stand on its own and confidently choose the direction it walks. No hierarchies – just enough structure to provide enabling constraints that support our work. No roadmaps – just a sense of direction and the tools to recognize changing weather patterns.? ? Is Topology a?start up? Feels more like an?end up. It’s never been hurried or frantic. Qualitative growth over quantitative. Sustainable, regenerative. We’d been working towards this place our entire lives without knowing it. And based on a handful of variables, we started this company on December 9, 2022.? ? Our goals were straightforward. Find opportunities to work on interesting and challenging projects geared at making things better, partner with good-hearted and like-minded people, earn enough revenue to pay the bills, and preserve the independence to do things on our own terms. Thanks to all the collaborators and client partners that have supported Topology over the past two years. We are grateful. ? We’ll continue to work in the service of these goals. Finding ways to connect ideas and connect people. ? It’ll be fun to see where we end up.

Easing your way back into work this week? Need an interesting soundtrack to accompany that overdue inbox clean up? Check out the latest episode of the #BraveUX podcast featuring our very own Jen Briselli. She and host Brendan Jarvis ???? cover topics ranging from the parallels between creative practice and death metal, systems thinking & complexity science, to cultivating curiosity and learning as a meta-super-power. Youtube: https://lnkd.in/emy4BiK8 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3Y99GMO Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3TTT2yi #ExperienceDesign #DesignLeadership #DesignStrategy #Complexity #SystemsThinking #Learning #Leadership

Late to the Service Design Global Conference gratitude party here, but that's because I enjoyed an extra week exploring Finland after the conference, then I caught a little cold upon return. (How quaint to be merely 'under the weather,' as in olden pre-COVID days). But gratitude remains; Service Design Network always runs a great conference, and Service Design Network Finland's event was no exception, welcoming a global audience, in person and virtually, to a quite artfully crafted experience and a thoughtfully curated program. Many thanks to everyone involved, from planning to volunteering to fire-fighting, and to all my fellow speakers and audience members who filled in the spaces between each box on the schedule with warm and generative conversation. For those who missed it, I encourage you to grab a replay ticket when they are made available. There were many provocative talks and, I think, a critical mass of insight on systems-oriented practice in particular - valuable content I know many service designers in my network will appreciate. In closing, please enjoy this photo of me pretending that integrating #ComplexityScience into your #ServiceDesign practice is some kind of secret, and looking absurd doing it. #SDGC24

Check out this opportunity to chat with Jen about complexity informed design:

“To hell with the future. It's a man-eating idol." — Ivan Illich For all of my futures friends and complexity comrades, you might appreciate Dave Snowden's chapter in the new Handbook of Futures Studies, which is now free online: #futures #complexity #complexsystems #futuresthinking

"You turn back and see your former coworkers, huddled and frenetic at the top of the craggy mountaintop. You wave to them, hoping to catch their attention so you can share this cosmic secret you’ve discovered. 'Come on over, it’s a beautiful day,' you shout to them. They look at you with a quizzical, condescending look on their face. '…Are you?high?' they shout back. And so it continues." Even if you're not into LOTR, this piece is a worthy read that many of you will appreciate... Thanks Tom Kerwin for sharing this one!

Really looking forward to chatting about complexity with my service design peers this fall, (and to exploring Helsinki for the first time - any recs?). If you're on the fence about joining, whether in-person or virtual, I've always found the Service Design Global Conference to be well run, full of thought provoking talks and interesting people. Maybe I'll see you there?

Expert facilitation can help teams get unstuck, make confident decisions, and start moving in the right direction. We have found there are four key elements to effective facilitation: 1. An Expert Facilitator: A facilitator with deep experience planning for, and executing, engaging, collaborative, and productive working sessions. Someone that understands the parallels between facilitation for innovation and learning. 2. Rigorous Methods: Sessions grounded in rigorous methods, not just feel-good activities; for Topology that’s a blend of complexity science, experience design, and learning strategy. 3. The Right People in the Room: The right voices. The right level of perspective, power, and influence. And the right level of bravery to carry the work forward so the collaboration doesn’t die on the vine. 4. Authentic Engagement: Participants who are empowered to engage authentically, with candor and psychological safety.

Topology hosted another Kh?ra gathering of design leaders in Boston last week. In a room full of skulls. We posed this question to the living skulls in the room: "Everyone is talking about AI, certainly an important conversation, and one that’s here to stay. But rather than talking more about the promise and peril of generative AI, we’re curious to hear about the opportunity costs it creates for design leadership. What should we be talking about, that AI is potentially obscuring?" A thoughtful discussion ensued that highlighted how nuanced and intersecting so many aspects of AI and emerging tech really are. The wider world tends to highlight either end of the spectrum, from the overly optimistic potential for positive impact to the dystopian visions of harm it perpetuates. This conversation, however, opened up a big space to see the finer grain details in the gray areas and illuminate a few new facets for the role of AI itself - and the humans on either end of these use cases. Grateful to the group that joined us to share their perspective.

A common thread that’s emerged in recent Topology engagements is the value of expert facilitation. We love this type of partnership, and are grateful to our clients who put their faith in the less visible, yet foundational work that enables true innovation and sustainable forward progress.