Designing Irresistible Change (Part 2)
Wed Nov 12 2025
In this second half of their conversation, host Jerry Cuomo and Phil Gilbert pick up where they left off—moving from the craft of design to the culture that makes design thrive.
Phil shares how his work at IBM revealed that the real challenge wasn’t design talent, but organizational mindset. He explains how he and his team turned culture change into a product—earning buy-in across 300,000 employees and proving that true transformation happens when people choose to adopt new ways of working.
They also discuss the creation of the IBM Garage, the power of design thinking at scale, and how these lessons inspired Phil’s new book, Irresistible Change: A Blueprint for Earning Buy-In and Breakout Success.
Key Takeaways from Part 2 (on Culture & Change):
From Design to Culture — Great design can’t flourish without a culture that values empathy, collaboration, and curiosity.Culture as a Product — Phil treated culture change like a product launch: define the audience, prove value, and earn adoption.Outcomes Over Inputs — Change succeeds when it’s tied to measurable outcomes, not training programs or slogans.The IBM Garage — A model for co-creation that brings design thinking to life with real clients and teams.Earning Buy-In — Sustainable transformation is built on trust, participation, and shared purpose—not mandates.
In essence, Part 2 shows how Phil applied design principles to reshape an entire organization, culminating in the lessons captured in Irresistible Change.
#WildDucksPodcast #PhilGilbert #DesignThinking #CorporateCulture #IrresistibleChange #JerryCuomo #Leadership #Innovation
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In this second half of their conversation, host Jerry Cuomo and Phil Gilbert pick up where they left off—moving from the craft of design to the culture that makes design thrive. Phil shares how his work at IBM revealed that the real challenge wasn’t design talent, but organizational mindset. He explains how he and his team turned culture change into a product—earning buy-in across 300,000 employees and proving that true transformation happens when people choose to adopt new ways of working. They also discuss the creation of the IBM Garage, the power of design thinking at scale, and how these lessons inspired Phil’s new book, Irresistible Change: A Blueprint for Earning Buy-In and Breakout Success. Key Takeaways from Part 2 (on Culture & Change): From Design to Culture — Great design can’t flourish without a culture that values empathy, collaboration, and curiosity.Culture as a Product — Phil treated culture change like a product launch: define the audience, prove value, and earn adoption.Outcomes Over Inputs — Change succeeds when it’s tied to measurable outcomes, not training programs or slogans.The IBM Garage — A model for co-creation that brings design thinking to life with real clients and teams.Earning Buy-In — Sustainable transformation is built on trust, participation, and shared purpose—not mandates. In essence, Part 2 shows how Phil applied design principles to reshape an entire organization, culminating in the lessons captured in Irresistible Change. #WildDucksPodcast #PhilGilbert #DesignThinking #CorporateCulture #IrresistibleChange #JerryCuomo #Leadership #Innovation