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Shape what’s next.

Today, we’re living in the most turbulent times we’ve ever seen. As a business leader, the question isn’t what will happen, it’s what could happen, and how prepared are you?

Futures Thinking refers to the mindsets and cognitive processes that enable creativity and exploration to seek many possible answers and acknowledge uncertainty in relation to possible futures. In practice, it means moving beyond linear planning. Instead of asking “What will happen?” we ask “What could happen, and how do we prepare?”
Why this matters: organizations that actively work with multiple futures consistently outperform their peers. Research highlighted by McKinsey & Company shows higher growth and profitability among companies with structured foresight practices. And Forbes points to future intelligence as a key capability for spotting risks earlier and adapting faster.

In our Futures Thinking course, we turn this mindset into practical action, combining foresight tools, scenario work, and real-world application, so teams can move from reacting to change to shaping it.

Register here: https://www.designthinkersacademy.com/course/futures-thinking/?catalogue=true

3 Steps For Bringing Systems Thinking To Your Organization

A leader’s responsibility for an entire organization requires the capacity to see the institution as a whole. In today’s environment of constant change, this perspective is no longer optional, it’s necessary. The article explores how Systems Thinking enables leaders to understand how structures, decisions and behaviors connect, interact and reinforce one another across the enterprise.

According to Forbes, effective leadership begins with seeing the system: looking beyond silos to uncover root causes rather than reacting to surface-level symptoms. It continues with leveraging the links by strengthening cross-functional collaboration, modeling scenarios and making connections visible to avoid unintended consequences. Finally, leaders are encouraged to accelerate agility by embedding adaptability, shared accountability and continuous learning into the culture, ensuring the organization can respond confidently to rapid change.
When leaders embrace systems thinking, they foster coherence, resilience and shared purpose. By understanding the full ecosystem, they can align efforts, anticipate ripple effects and design organizations that work as one, advancing the mission with clarity and intention.

Read the full article here: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2026/02/12/all-systems-go-three-steps-for-bringing-systems-thinking-to-your-organization/

This week’s book recommendation is “The Creative Wellbeing Handbook” by Emmi Salonen
Creativity thrives when we do. In this handbook, Emmi Salonen explores the powerful connection between creative performance and personal wellbeing, offering a practical guide for staying inspired without burning out.

She addresses a challenge many professionals face today: how to sustain creativity in fast-paced, high-demand environments. Drawing on research, real-life examples, and reflective exercises, Salonen highlights how rest, emotional awareness, boundaries, and self-compassion are not luxuries, but essential ingredients for long-term creative success. Rather than promoting constant productivity, this book reframes creativity as something that flourishes through balance and intentional care.

“The Creative Wellbeing Handbook” is a great read to remind us that our best ideas emerge not from pressure alone, but from environments (internal and external) that allow creativity to breathe.
Happy reading!

Better Futures Start with Broader Perspectives

Strategic foresight is meant to help organizations navigate uncertainty and shape resilient futures. Yet, as the World Economic Forum highlights, most major firms are planning only a few years ahead, and often through a narrow lens. When long-term thinking is confined to a limited group of decision-makers, critical perspectives are left out. In a world defined by rapid change, complexity and interdependence, broadening who participates in shaping the future is essential.

According to the World Economic Forum, 64% of major firms plan no further than five years ahead, while only 1.2% extend their strategic view beyond a decade. This short-term bias creates structural blind spots, particularly when younger generations, Majority World communities and Indigenous knowledge systems are excluded from decision-making. Integrating intergenerational and globally diverse perspectives strengthens organizations’ ability to detect weak signals earlier, correct for short-term incentives and respond to evolving market and societal realities. When authority is shared with those who will live with the consequences of today’s decisions, foresight becomes more grounded, legitimate and resilient.

The future is shaped by the choices we make now. By expanding whose voices inform long-term strategy, leaders can move beyond reactive planning and build organizations that are adaptive, responsible and prepared for what lies ahead.

Read more: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/02/avoid-blindspots-strategic-foresight-leaders/

This week’s book recommendation is “The New Geography of Innovation” by Mehran Gul.

Innovation is no longer confined to Silicon Valley or a handful of global hubs. In this book, Mehran Gul explores how the landscape of innovation is rapidly shifting across regions, industries, and emerging markets.

The book examines how digital transformation, global connectivity, and evolving economic ecosystems are decentralizing creativity and technological advancement. Rather than focusing solely on traditional power centers, it highlights how new cities, regions, and networks are becoming vibrant engines of growth. Through research-driven insights and real-world examples, the author demonstrates how innovation flourishes where talent, infrastructure, policy, and purpose intersect.

“The New Geography of Innovation” offers a timely reminder: innovation is not just about breakthrough ideas: it is about creating the right conditions for those ideas to emerge and scale. A thoughtful and inspiring read for anyone interested in shaping the future of work, cities, and creative ecosystems.

Happy reading!

Ever solved a problem, only to see it return a few months later?

Missed deadlines. Low engagement. Repeated friction between teams. Another reorganisation. Another strategy reset. Often, we respond to what’s visible. The event. The symptom. The surface. But most organisational challenges are systemic. What you see is just the tip of the iceberg.

With Systems Thinking, you'll begin to understand complex challenges by looking beneath the surface, beyond immediate events to reveal patterns, structures, and underlying beliefs that shape outcomes. It helps you see the bigger picture instead of reacting to symptoms. When you look deeper, you start to notice:
🔎 Patterns that repeat over time
🔎 Structures and incentives shaping behaviour
🔎 Feedback loops reinforcing unwanted outcomes
🔎 Mental models influencing decisions behind the scenes

In our 2-Day Systems Thinking for Positive Transformation Course, we translate these insights into practical capability. You will map real challenges from your own context, identify leverage points for meaningful intervention, and learn how to move from reactive problem-solving to strategic system design. Sign up to our edition on April 20th here: https://lnkd.in/dEiKsAuh

Why does group work get messy? Not because people lack motivation, but because collaboration introduces uncertainty; unclear goals, open questions, and different levels of confidence, experience, and authority in the room.

When uncertainty rises, predictable patterns appear. Someone dominates, someone withdraws, someone needs structure before moving forward. These are not personality flaws; they are disturbance types. And once you recognize them, you can work with them.

Disturbance types help you understand what the group actually needs; more structure, clearer roles, sharper framing, or stronger psychological safety. This is exactly what we train in our facilitation and Design Thinking programs; practical diagnosis and intervention tools that you can apply in real time to guide teams back to productive collaboration.

Strong outcomes start with strong group dynamics.

🆕 We have now added Disturbance Types to our L&D Library, exclusively for alumni, so you can revisit and apply the framework anytime in your practice. And this is only the beginning. We are expanding our L&D Library with new toolkits, intervention guides, group-diagnosis checklists, AI-supported reflection tools, and advanced playbooks for leading collaboration in complex environments.

Is Your Organization Built to Evolve or Just to Survive?

For years, organizations have treated transformation as a large, disruptive event. But as emerging technologies accelerate change, episodic transformation is no longer enough. This Harvard Business Review article explores how intelligent systems are helping companies move toward continuous evolution by reducing the coordination and experimentation costs that once made change slow and risky.

According to Harvard Business Review, three capabilities are enabling this shift: real-time visibility into how work actually happens, digital twins that allow safe experimentation, and agentic AI systems that execute and adapt workflows. Together, these capabilities make processes transparent, testable, and adaptable, turning reinvention into an ongoing capability rather than a one-time initiative.

Importantly, humans remain central. As AI handles coordination and ex*****on, people focus on creativity, ethical oversight, and strategic direction. The organizations that thrive will be those designed not just to survive disruption, but to evolve with it.

Read more about it here: https://hbr.org/2026/01/design-processes-to-evolve-with-emerging-technology

This week’s book recommendation is “The Seven Rules of Trust” by Jimmy Wales.

Trust is the foundation of every thriving community, but today it’s under threat, from misinformation, polarization, and uncertainty. In this timely book, the creator of Wikipedia reflects on how trust can be built, sustained, and repaired, even in a ‘post-truth’ era. Through the story of Wikipedia’s unlikely rise to global credibility, the book explores why trust matters more than ever, and how we can reclaim it.

In this book, the author argues that trust is not just an ideal but a set of learned behaviors. Drawing on decades of conversations with global leaders, the author offers seven practical rules that turn trust from a vague value into a concrete advantage. Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or seeking to make a difference, this book offers a clear path forward.

Happy reading!

System change starts with human behavior.

You can’t change systems without changing behavior. Across sustainability, HR, government, innovation, or marketing, behavior is the leverage point. Research from McKinsey shows that behavioral factors account for up to 70% of the success of organizational change.
In other words: strategies only work when mindsets shift.

That’s exactly where Behavioral Design comes in. It builds on Design Thinking, combining insights from psychology, behavioral economics, and design to create solutions that truly change behavior. (Medium, 2022; Interaction Design Foundation, 2024)

In our 2-Day Behavioral Design Training, you’ll learn how to:
✅ Understand what truly drives (and blocks) behavior
✅ Apply practical tools like framing, nudging, and human-centered design
✅ Reduce resistance to change and increase adoption
✅ Turn good ideas into actions that stick

It’s hands-on, creative, and immediately applicable to your real challenges.
Because lasting change doesn’t start with systems. It starts with people.

👉 Join our next 2-Day Behavioral Design Training on the 5th of March and start designing for real behavior change: https://www.designthinkersacademy.com/course/2-day-behavioral-design/?catalogue=true

Why Leadership Defines What Happens Next

In today’s tech-enabled workplace, every leader has access to similar tools, including powerful AI. But when things go wrong, it's not the tools that make the difference, it's the behavior of those in charge. A recent Forbes article reminds us that in moments of uncertainty, true leadership is revealed by how we respond, not what we automate.

According to Forbes, tools and systems are no longer the competitive edge, leadership mindset is. In crisis moments, it’s not data models but human actions that shape outcomes. Whether it’s encouraging people to speak up, acting decisively with incomplete information, or putting people before procedure, these behaviors, not algorithms, build lasting trust. Culture and values, established before the crisis, are what carry organizations through it.

No AI system can replace the impact of courageous, values-driven leadership when it matters most. The decisions leaders make in uncertainty determine whether trust and credibility survive the storm.

Read more about it here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianehamilton/2026/02/05/why-ai-tools-are-not-enough-when-leadership-decisions-matter-most/

This week’s book recommendation is ‘Think Like The Minimalist’ by Chirag Gander and Sahil Vaidya.

In a world overwhelmed by noise, this book offers a refreshing approach to creativity through the power of simplicity. With a clear four-step process and practical tools, it helps designers, marketers, and leaders turn minimalist thinking into a competitive edge.

In this book, the author argues that minimalist thinking isn’t just a design principle, it’s a strategic mindset. By using a toolkit of techniques grounded in simplicity and focus, marketers, brand managers, and design thinkers can unlock more original and effective solutions. The authors illustrate how constraint fuels creativity, offering clear methods for translating minimalism into meaningful work.

Happy reading!