“Learn to love slow progress. Learn to forgive yourself for the inevitable backsliding. And of course, expect to be uncomfortable along the way.” – Steven Kotler via @momentumdash.bsky.social

Language matters and with a simple change, we can transform systems changes. #strategicdesign #socialinnovation cdnorman.medium.com/why-its-time...

1/4 If you’re building a team, you don’t need robots - you need real, emotional, passionate and yes, sometimes unpredictable people.

#OCADU recently celebrated the revitalization of Butterfield Park to thank its generous donors. The event showcased the park’s transformation into a vibrant, welcoming green gathering space for all. bit.ly/4ntExO6

It’s a great day for a great day!!!

Complexity is all over, but it’s also poorly understood how it manifests itself in organizations and with goal-setting. Thinking about complexity means thinking differently — here’s how: cdnorman.medium.com/the-challeng... #complexity #strategicdesign

Maybe not with the same stakes, but the impact on my mental wellbeing dealing with this stuff is similar. #passwordhell

Culture isn’t built on the values you have framed on a wall. It’s built by what you allow in the room. When people see bad behaviour go unchecked, it sets a standard. Tolerate it once, and it becomes the baseline. Call it out, and you’ll create conditions for something better.

Little surprise on this. Just follow the chemistry. It’s that simple. #health

Proportionality and historical context all merit our consideration of what is newsworthy and deserves political attention. A refreshing take on journalistic and political judgement from @andrewmueller.bsky.social on the latest edition of The Briefing podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...

The Bricolage of Innovation And A Kit of Parts censemaking.com/2023/06/05/t... #strategicdesign

“People overestimate what they can do in a single day. And underestimate what they can do in their whole lives.” – Unknown via @momentumdash.bsky.social

Consultants can be great partners in creating positive change -- which isn't the case much of the time. Reductionist approaches to complex problems that separate strategy, learning, evaluation, and people are a big part of the reason why censemaking.com/2025/08/27/s... #strategicdesign

Kudos to @guykawasaki.bsky.social for naming the many lies and half-truths that underpin the myths that are told about succeeding in business (as told in Silicon Valley). #innovation #design

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.” – William James via @momentumdash.bsky.social

It's been a while since I've published a LinkedIn article, but with the summer series wrapped up and summer still here, the metaphor for setting the table for a great summer meal seemed too tasty to resist :) www.linkedin.com/pulse/settin... #strategicdesign #evaluation

Is it AI, the trends in writing, or some combo? When did paragraphs die? I get writing in short paragraphs and making things more accessible. Great. But reading 38 lines instead of two or three paragraphs is exhausting. Anyone else experiencing this?

Designing care into your organization is not about being nice, it's about setting yourself up to be high-performing, innovative, and complexity-ready. #strategicdesign #care #design https://censemaking.com/2025/08/07/caring-by-design/

Profiles in burnout isn't an overly optimistic focus of an article, but doing this draws attention to something that is a critical factor in designing human-responsive organizations. #burnout www.strategy-business.com/article/Prof...?

AI Slop is a great term for a horrible contribution to culture. As always, @mitchjoel.bsky.social has a great discussion to get you thinking about how we might deal with it on.soundcloud.com/tcmAA21KjC9Q... #AI

Connecting systems thinking, behavioural psychology, and strategy-making through design is something I've done most of my career and just haven't fully articulated what it looks like until now. It's made me think I ought to do this with other things. #strategicdesign censemaking.com/2025/08/01/s...

In the last post of the summer series on strategic design and complexity we put it all together and set the table for what we hope will be a wonderful meal. Happy Summer! #strategicdesign #complexity #systemsthinking https://censemaking.com/2025/08/01/setting-the-table-the-making-of-strategy/

Developmental Evaluation is a way of approaching learning, innovation, and accountability that is suited to innovation, complexity, and uncertainty. The best way to use it is to prepare yourself first, not just try it "out of the box" (it's never out of the box). www.cense.ca/developmenta...

Design-driven evaluation is a way to embed learning into your organization, prime yourself for innovation, and build in a compass for navigating complexity. #strategicdesign #evaluation #innovation https://censemaking.com/2025/07/24/design-driven-evaluation-and-strategic-design/

Going beyond traditional evaluation to one that is fit-for-purpose for complex, changing times, by design. How @censemaking.bsky.social approaches building, delivering, and thinking about evaluation #evaluation #strategicdesign www.cense.ca/beyond-tradi...

“I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.” – Maya Angelou via @momentumdash.bsky.social

How is this for a great morning mantra to propel a person through their day? Thanks @momentumdash.bsky.social

Walking by the swimming pool and seeing the kids running around reminds me of the High Diving Board problem. The decisions make from the pool deck look a lot different from when we're on the diving board. cdnorman.medium.com/the-high-div...

It's the "soulless" part of this title that really resonates with me. @mitchjoel.bsky.social points to how AI-driven writing lacks so much of what made our imperfect prose of before interesting. www.sixpixels.com/articles/arc...

Process over outcome. Process over outcome. Process over outcome. 99.999 percent of life is the process. Outcomes are fleeting, the destination a mere moment in time. Focus on the path. That's where life is lived and excellence is forged.

“There’s no such things as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams via @momentumdash.bsky.social

“It’s your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.” – Rumi via @momentumdash.bsky.social

Introducing our newest issue, Wild Wild City. Launching today, and rolling out over June and July, The Local is exploring corners of the city where the human and animal worlds collide in unexpected ways. thelocal.to/summer-2025/

Strategy making is the intentional way of charting your ship across the seas of complexity and arriving safe and sound. In this latest in the Censemaking summer series, I take a closer look at the strategy… https://censemaking.com/2025/06/14/strategy-for-leadership-by-design-a-brief-introduction/

What if you could combine an executive education, tiny experiments, the design sprint, and your email? I am seeding an experiment to see what that might look like as my summer series continues. The first edition focuses on complexity censemaking.substack.com/p/embracing-...

Health leaders work with living systems (people!) all the time. Why not treat your organization with the same care? It's amazing how we neglect the way in which our health systems are human (living) systems and don't design for that in mind. #strategicdesign #healthinnovation #complexity

@mitchjoel.bsky.social is asking better questions beyond whether "AI will take our jobs". He rightly argues that we've made assumptions that we can already prove false because it's not about planning for AI, it's about dealing with it now that it's already here. www.sixpixels.com/articles/arc...

What are we talking about when we talk about complexity? In these aptly named complex times, I thought it worth discussing this for those who might be dealing with how to deal with it censemaking.com/2025/06/03/w... #complexity

“The world moves so fast now that the person who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick via @momentumdash.bsky.social

I used Cursor AI to vibe-code a fun, interactive, webcam art experiment: www.kirkclyne.art/mm/ I wrote about the experience in depth, if you're curious to learn more: medium.com/@kirkaclyne/... #vibecoding #AI #creativecoding

Fellow Canadians, access to primary care in Canada is not consistent or even present for many people in this country. If you can spare 10-15 minutes, consider making your voice heard on this national survey of primary care in Canada www.ourcare.ca/survey

The highest compliment from someone who disagrees with you is not “You were right.” It’s “You made me think.” Good arguments help us recognize complexity where we once saw simplicity. The ultimate purpose of debate is not to produce consensus. It’s to promote critical thinking.

Saying "no" is one of the key drivers of success. This podcast episode from Adam Grant discusses the evidence and illustrates the tactics you can use to say no better -- and with kindness and care. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/r... #psychology

Developmental evaluation and strategic planning can work very well together if you design the conditions for both to come together. We explore this in our latest post: www.cense.ca/developmenta... #evaluation #design #strategicdesign #DE

What is strategic design and why might you need it? Our post reflects on this concept of creating the future and organization that you want (using design, systems thinking and behavioural science) www.cense.ca/what-is-stra... #strategicdesign #systemsthinking #design

On this Earth Day, consider how we can create a healthier planet through leadership within healthcare. We are perfectly positioned to lead for health and for enviornmental innovation and impact by considering how we can integrate the mission of our work in planet-healthy ways.

If you're looking to transform your career and learn the art and science of how to design for health, the MDes program at @ocaduniversity.bsky.social in Design for Health is still accepting applications for next year's term gradadmissions.ocadu.ca/program/DHEA #designforhealth

Consistency compounds. Small steps repeated over time lead to big gains. Don't aim to be consistently great. Aim to be great at being consistent.