Ed Watson
Modern Elder,
Designerly Activist &
Associate Lecturer
I design and facilitate workshops to unleash untapped creativity and the power to solve difficult challenges with teams using collaborative, multi-skilled and human/life-centric techniques. I also teach and coach these techniques.
I host a monthly Design Thinking Meetup and I run short introductory Design Thinking Experience sessions which demonstrate the power of these techniques.
I have taught optional Design Thinking for Social Impact modules at the University of Warwick at both Undergraduate and Masters level.
I usually combine Design Thinking, Lean Startup and Agile techniques along with other tried and tested tools.
I have designed and facilitated workshops for executive & senior teams to address significant business challenges. I also delivered the Accenture 3 day Design Thinking course in the UK and across Europe.
I enjoy refreshing my approach to reflect new ways of working, new organisational structures and changing workforce expectations. As a Modern Elder, I continuously support and encourage others to learn and use new skills & techniques.
I run monthly Listening Exchange sessions in my local community to foster better listening skills.
At Accenture I led a global rollout of Lean Experimentation methods and a number of seed teams. Throughout my career I have delivered many successful business and organisational change transformation projects. Continuous improvement, mentoring and training have always been a priority for me.
Key Skills
- Design Thinking facilitation
- Design Thinking workshop design
- Design Thinking mentoring and coaching
- Lean Startup transformation leadership
- Design and Implementation of transformational business & organisation change
- Quality Reviews of change programmes
- Facilitation Training
- Design Thinking Experiences / Talks
- Organisation Operating Model Design & Implementation
Notable Previous Experience
Accenture
2002-2019
Modern Elder, Design Thinking Facilitator & Lean Startup Transformation Lead
Mobility Risk and Delivery Management process and reporting
CMT UKI Sales & Operations Manager, CSG QA Lead, CRM Program Lead
Accenture EMC Consulting Unit Senior Manager, Information Transformation Manager
EMC
2000-2002
Information Management Professional Services Consultant
QA Training
1995-2000
Client/Server Principal Consultant
Course Manager and Instructor
IBM UK LTD
1974-1995
Senior Software Developer
Storage Specialist
Storage Systems Programmer