Paths & Ways 💜 #8
🦋 Transformation comes in many shapes and forms. In this monthly brief I curate different paths and ways to transformation that are currently tickling my curiosity. July 2025.
In this issue of Paths & Ways 💜:
📚 Books: Emergent Strategy | This is Strategy
💬 Quotes: The Dilemma We’re In | Design is Always Related | No Objective Algorithm
🎥 My TEDx Talk: Design for Meaningful Change
🦋 Transforming Worlds Podcast
💜 Books
📚As we seek to understand what’s going on, books are repositories of wisdom and perspective that provide a space for reflection and resilience. Here’s what I’ve been reading:
Two books on strategy this month: one of my favourite topics and a space that is shift-shaping and morphing into something new entirely. Less linear, more organic. Less mental, more felt. I read these books with a sense of optimism. Emergent strategy I read “on paper” and This is Strategy I listened to in audio book form while commuting.
Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown (a.k.a. amb) presents a framework for understanding and engaging with change, particularly in the context of social justice movements. Drawing on the work of Octavia Butler, Grace Lee Boggs, complexity science, and patterns from nature.
The core idea is that small interactions and decisions can generate larger patterns of transformation. In a sometimes very prosaic and full of references to Butler’s work, amb encourages adaptation, responsiveness, and alignment with natural systems. She offers tools and reflections for individuals and groups aiming to work with the ongoing flux of the world around them.
The book positions transformation as something that starts at the personal and interpersonal level, emphasizing that "the small is all." I quite enjoyed how she challenges conventional notions of strategy and impact by focusing on relational dynamics, iterative learning, and decentralized change. Something I need no convincing of, but was nice to read someone else’s refreshing ideas about. All in all, a great, easy read to help one reconsider the ways they engage with complexity and emergence in both personal and collective contexts.
This is Strategy by Seth Godin is a bundle of essays. Some felt like wide open doors, others were cool reminders and then some others offered interesting new ideas. I’ve read most of Godin’s work and I admire the way he can package great ideas into digestible snippets. Here, he reframes strategy as a series of practical choices made in context, rather than a fixed plan or abstract vision. The book emphasizes clarity, relevance, and momentum over perfection, arguing that effective strategy is about making decisions that align with a meaningful purpose and create forward motion.
Godin challenges the idea that strategy is reserved for experts, positioning it instead as a daily, accessible practice rooted in understanding who you serve, what change you're trying to make, and how you'll measure progress. Something I wholeheartedly agree with. I think it’s about time we all approach strategy as an ongoing process of intention and adjustment. Pivoting, learning and designing out future as we bring our clearest intentions for a better, kinder and more prosperous world.
💜 Quotes
💬 Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. That’s true. By the same token, as an author and speaker I find that a good quote is a spark that ignites a thousand ideas!
I can’t decide which quote I love most out of these three. Hawken is simply brilliant. His book Regeneration is on my bookshelf right now and I hope to start reading his work asap. His optimism is contagious and he talks to the essence of our conundrum, while tapping into agency and possibility. Love how he does that!
George Nelson is a massive inspiration, I am going to have to write an article on him soon. What a visionary! He said this in the 70’s, and with that, he was way ahead of the curve. Design is related to everything, and respecting that unity is not only an act of good design but the best possible choice we can make in every design we make.
The third quote for this month belongs to the author of Weapons of Math Destruction, Cathy O’Neil. With the ongoing discussion about the role of AI and how it may or may not transform our world: let’s keep both feet on the ground. It didn't emerge out of ‘nowhere’… we get what we design.
💜 My TEDx talk: “Design for Meaningful Change”
🎤 Being asked to give a TEDx talk is a wonderful thing, and getting my heart-felt message to the world has been epic.
You can tune into my TEDx talk on the official TEDx channel. If you find the talk engaging, I would love to read your comments there and truly appreciate likes on that platform: these things really help carry the message forward and help it be seen and heard by others.
There are a daunting 43 million followers on that channel: so help me spread the enthusiasm for design and transformation by liking or commenting. Please 🙏
Click on the video below to watch.
💜 Transforming Worlds Podcast
🦋 Transformation is happening everywhere around us. On the Transforming Worlds 🐛💫🦋Podcast I speak with trailblazers and pioneers of all walks of life. Together, we explore the art of transformation, fueled by inspiration, creativity, and a shared vision for a brighter future.
My guests this month have been my long-time friend and collaborator Andy Sontag and the wonderful
. If you haven’t had a chance to tune in yet, these episodes were each fabulous in their own way. Both Andy and Karen are pioneers in their fields, as are all my guests on Transforming Worlds.
Did you enjoy this month’s issue of Paths & Ways? If you did, please give it a ‘💜’ or share it with your network. Thank you!