Creative Confidence Podcast

Most strategic plans are built for one version of the future: the one your team thinks is most likely. That works until conditions change, and then the plan needs rewriting. Futures thinking adds a step before strategic planning: looking at several plausible futures, so the strategy you choose has room to adapt.
In this episode, host Mina Seetharaman talks with Jennifer Lo, Senior Director of Design Futures at IDEO, about what futures thinking is, how it strengthens strategy, and how any leader can build a signals practice.
Jennifer has 20 years of experience in design strategy and innovation leadership. She was a managing director for innovation and strategy at Kaiser Permanente, and she teaches strategic foresight and human-centered design at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Public Health and at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business. She is also the instructor of IDEO U’s Applied Futures Thinking course. This conversation was recorded live in front of a virtual audience, and you’ll hear their questions along the way.
If you lead a team or an organization, or you’re working toward it, this conversation will give you tangible ways to introduce futuring into your practice.
Related Resources
Jennifer Lo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-lo-28654b3/
Applied Futures Thinking online course from IDEO U: https://www.ideou.com/products/applied-futures-thinking-course
Earlier episode, How to Think Like a Futurist with Jennifer Lo: https://shows.acast.com/creative-confidence-podcast/episodes/6913728a7728b8766cfdfc2a
How to Think Like a Futurist: A Leader’s Guide to Strategic Foresight and Better Decision Making: https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/how-to-think-like-a-futurist
Building an enduring futuring system, by Jennifer Lo: https://www.ideo.com/journal/building-an-enduring-futuring-system
The “used future” trap, by Jennifer Lo: https://www.ideo.com/journal/the-used-future-trap
Why futurists start with a backward glance, by Jennifer Lo: https://www.ideo.com/journal/why-futurists-start-with-a-backward-glance
In This Episode
Timestamps are approximate due to edits and ad breaks.
(00:00) Jennifer Lo’s background in futures thinking, design strategy and innovation leadership
(03:25) What does futures thinking mean? Live listeners weigh in
(05:05) What makes IDEO’s human-centered approach to futuring different
(09:20) How IDEO’s version of futuring compares with the quantitative futures work of RAND and Shell
(12:35) Why a strategy built on one expected future needs more flexibility
(14:25) Strategy mistakes that make a plan expire fast, and the used future trap
(20:15) Scanning, storytelling, and sense-making before strategy begins
(23:00) The pull between a strategy horizon and a futures horizon
(25:45) Why every leader benefits from futures thinking, and why a team of futurists would stall
(28:30) Backcasting turns a far-off future into choices for now
(30:30) How to start a signals practice in about an hour a week
(33:35) Signals, trends, and drivers, explained
(34:20) Why you should never scan for signals alone
(36:40) What futures thinking reveals in healthcare
(40:15) Signals arrays and systems thinking
(41:40) How the pace of change, AI included, changes the way Jennifer judges signals
(43:40) What makes a future scenario credible to a skeptical leader
(45:15) How Jennifer got hooked on futures thinking
(47:50) The mindset shift from control to agency
(48:25) Lightning round: what to watch, who to read, and advice to her younger self
__________

Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Complex challenges, from traffic congestion to organizational culture change, don’t exist in a vacuum. Each one is part of a larger system. You can’t solve one piece of the puzzle without understanding how it affects the whole. Systems thinking is a holistic approach to making sense of that interconnection. Paired with a human lens on what motivates people and which needs go unmet, it leads to solutions that are more effective and more responsible.
In this replay from 2024, former IDEO U Managing Director and co-founder Coe Leta Stafford talks with Deirdre Cerminaro, a former IDEO Executive Design Director and instructor of IDEO U’s Human-Centered Systems Thinking course. They cover how your starting question shapes the solutions you find, three mindsets for reframing it, and how to use a systems map as a tool for learning.
We’re bringing this conversation back because systems thinking is a skill of rising importance as AI enters more of our workflows.
Want to learn more? IDEO U’s Human-Centered Systems Thinking course now includes guidance on where AI can help and how to keep that work pointed at human-centered outcomes.

Related Resources
Human-Centered Systems Thinking course from IDEO U: https://www.ideou.com/products/human-centered-systems-thinking
Creative Thinking for Complex Problem Solving course from IDEO U: https://www.ideou.com/products/creative-problem-solving
What Is Systems Thinking? A Beginner’s Guide to Mindsets, Tools, and Examples: https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/beginners-guide-systems-thinking-core-mindsets
12 Systems Thinking Resources We Love: Books, Articles, and More to Get Started: https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/systems-thinking-resources-books-articles-videos-to-get-started
How to Think in Systems for Greater Impact: https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/how-to-think-in-systems-for-greater-impact
Deirdre Cerminaro on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deirdrecerminaro/
Earlier episode with Deirdre, “How to Think in Systems”: https://shows.acast.com/creative-confidence-podcast/episodes/69137292543edcb560b28a0d
World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs Report 2025: https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025

In This Episode
Timestamps are approximate due to edits and ad breaks.
(00:00) What is systems thinking, and why it’s relevant now
(03:44) Deirdre Cerminaro: a decade at IDEO co-leading Systems and Strategy, now at Airbnb
(04:40) An intro to systems thinking, and why it needs a human lens
(07:04) What traffic congestion looks like when you see it as a system
(09:18) Why the starting question matters, and why it’s almost never right the first time
(11:04) A camera analogy for three systems thinking mindsets
(12:58) Mindset one: zooming in and out, and the trap of staying in one mode too long
(14:35) A food waste systems map that changes the question twice
(17:54) What a systems map is really for
(18:49) Mindset two: shifting your perspective, and what old clothing reveals about food waste
(22:53) Mindset three: checking your own lens, and why mental models are so hard to see
(24:35) Reflection questions for spotting your own biases, with a sustainability expert as the test case
(27:26) How the three mindsets help anticipate unintended consequences
(31:08) Lightning question: what’s inspiring Deirdre lately, from Dubai’s Museum of the Future
__________

Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Medical bills written in codes patients can't read. Homes that don't fit a wheelchair. A specialized bed that can run up to $15,000 and isn't covered by insurance. For the 24 million caregivers in the US, these are everyday obstacles. And each one points to a design opportunity.
This week, we’re sharing an episode from IDEO Thinking, a new IDEO podcast where authors read their own stories from IDEO's Thinking blog. So much of what IDEO does is shaped by the people here, and these stories, told in the writers’ own voices, show what human-centered design looks like across different disciplines and practice areas. If you come to Creative Confidence for ideas to bring into your own work, consider this a fresh source of inspiration.
This episode comes from Sierra Hillman, an interaction designer at IDEO focused on health. She became her father's sole full-time caregiver at 22 after he became paraplegic. Sierra shares the hardest parts of that role and the opportunities she sees for designers, healthcare providers, and businesses to lighten the load.

Subscribe to the IDEO Thinking podcast here: https://shows.acast.com/ideo-thinking
Read the story: https://www.ideo.com/journal/opportunities-in-the-hidden-costs-of-caregiving

Related Resources
IDEO U's Foundations in Design Thinking Certificate: https://www.ideou.com/products/design-thinking-certificate
5 principles for easing the burden on caregivers, by Sierra Hillman and John Won: https://www.ideo.com/journal/5-design-principles-for-easing-the-burden-on-caregivers
Sierra Hillman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sierra-hillman/

In This Episode
(Timestamps are approximate due to ad breaks.)
(00:00) Mina introduces IDEO Thinking and Sierra's story
(02:15) Sierra comes face-to-face with the hidden costs of care at 22
(04:38) Fighting insurance denials and imagining an AI patient advocate
(05:52) Turning cryptic medical bills into something patients can read
(08:07) Preventing bed sores with a smart, affordable bed for home
(10:33) Finding a wheelchair-accessible home, and the tools that could help
(12:04) Why designers have only scratched the surface
__________

Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

IDEO has built a business around solving difficult problems. But problems and situations are not the same thing, argues Seth Godin. And correctly telling them apart is critical. Get it wrong, and you'll spend months pushing on something that was never going to move.
In this conversation, Seth and Mina dig into themes from Seth’s new book The Knot: how to tell a problem from a situation, why naming a problem correctly is a much higher bar than most of us set, and how systems—inside a company, a family, or a culture—work to outlast the people trying to change them.

Related Resources
Seth’s newest book, The Knot: https://seths.blog/theknot
Seth's blog: https://seths.blog
Seth Godin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethgodin/
Human-Centered Systems Thinking, an IDEO U 5-week cohort course: https://ideou.com/products/human-centered-systems-thinking

In This Episode
Timestamps are approximate due to ad breaks.
(00:00) The story of the Gordian knot
(02:27) Seth Godin: 20+ books, the internet's most-read blog, and the book he almost didn't write
(05:05) The book that never sold, Survival Is Not Enough — and why it's still his favorite
(08:54) How a four-hour interview with Mel Robbins turned into The Knot
(11:41) Why he picked a pretzel for the cover of his new book
(16:38) A tangled necklace reveals the real problem, and it's not the necklace
(22:58) A CEO deletes every recurring meeting in the company, on purpose
(27:36) Why briefing a team on the solution instead of the problem backfires
(28:54) The one question Seth asks people to find out if they actually know their problem
(31:22) The engineering assignment that earned an F but won with actual users
(32:50) Problem or situation? The one-line test for telling them apart
(36:30) The day Google shut down Squidoo, his 300,000-person community, overnight
(41:51) Why systems act like they want to outlast you
(45:49) Two ways to move an entrenched system
(43:55) Why "yes, and" and Seth's and/but framing aren't in conflict
(45:01) How to know when you've found the right problem
(46:07) The difference between a manager and a leader
(48:05) Lightning round: books, juggling, and advice for his younger self
__________

Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Fulton Suri spent nearly four decades defining the craft of design research. She says it’s less about collecting information and more about changing how you see something.
In this episode, IDEO CEO Mike Peng talks with Jane about memorable moments from her lengthy career, what separates a good insight from a great one, and where she thinks the discipline needs to go next.
Related Resources:
Jane teaches Insights for Innovation, part of IDEO U's AI x Design Thinking Certificate.
Insights for Innovation online course — https://www.ideou.com/products/insights-for-innovation
AI x Design Thinking Certificate — https://www.ideou.com/products/ai-design-thinking-certificate
Jane Fulton Suri on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-fulton-suri-64098a57/
Thoughtless Acts, by Jane Fulton Suri — https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/580270.Thoughtless_Acts_
Previous podcast episodes with Jane:
Why Bringing Curiosity Into Your Work Takes Courage: Jane Fulton Suri — https://shows.acast.com/creative-confidence-podcast/episodes/why-bringing-curiosity-into-your-work-takes-courage-jane-ful
How to Build Empathy Skills: Q&A with Jane Fulton Suri — https://shows.acast.com/creative-confidence-podcast/episodes/how-to-build-empathy-skills-qa-with-jane-fulton-suri
In This Episode
Timestamps are approximate due to ad breaks.
(00:00) A team designs a case to carry a donor kidney and realizes the emotion of the moment matters as much as functionality
(01:30) Mike introduces Jane with five facts about her background
(04:27) Psychology, architecture, ergonomics, and the meeting with Bill Moggridge that changed everything for Jane
(09:26) The origin story of design research, how it became a sellable phase, and what got lost along with it
(12:53) A haircut, a proposal, and the nearly-free idea that became IDEO's first customer journey
(16:17) The kidney story, in full and the design feature that came out of it
(18:39) Jane's definition of a great insight: not a framework, an epiphany
(21:47) Why nothing beats being "a sensory human being in the world,” even as AI evolves
(24:36) Rock climbing, swimming, woodblock printing: how her hobbies inspire her approach to design
(26:39) Grayson Perry, a wardrobe, and why Jane doesn't love the word "research"
(30:15) Her advice to young Jane: get over the imposter syndrome faster
__________

Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.