Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Lateral Thinking, Systems Thinking, Human-Centred Design, Agile, Innovation, Design Sprints - I've worked with them all and my biggest learning has been that, unlike The Highlander, there can be more than one. There is no silver bullet that will magically transform a whole company or even a team. It’s about staying true to the principles and outcomes, and using what works.

I work with cross-functional teams - meeting them where they are - to design a customised approach, blending the appropriate tools and methodologies, to solve their challenges/s and then guide them through the rocky and iterative terrain to deliver customer-centred outcomes. It’s really a bit of culture-changing too. Breaking through the dogmatic, box-checking mindset to encourage teams to take ownership for what they do and, more importantly, how they do it.

To further my knowledge and understanding of Design Thinking and its adjacent spaces, I run the Johannesburg Design Thinking meetup.

I don’t believe in being stuck in one career path, and have previously worked in retail, supply chain management and biometrics consulting (and even some COBOL programming *way* back in the mists of time) – both at home in South Africa, and abroad in the USA and the UK.

You should know that I have a GSD attitude and am:
• Not afraid to challenge the status quo.
• Up for any challenge or opportunity
• Willing to constantly unlearn and learn, and challenge my way of thinking. I try to cultivate a variety of interests, and bring alternative views to the team (Medici Effect)
• Open and supremely optimistic
• Deeply interested in technology and the Art of the Possible

Work is a serious business but having fun at work and outside of work is important. It energises me and keeps me psyched. I started rock climbing at 45 and am on target to reach my first major climbing milestone. I can recite Pi to 22 decimal places (sad but true).

Connect with Jen on LinkedIn.