In 2012, Phil was asked to rejuvenate the legendary IBM design program, spearheading a broader transformation of how the company’s teams understand and solve complex problems. Achieving the company's goal of creating a sustainable culture of design and agility, the program has established a modern standard for the role of the arts in business — adding formally-trained designers into IBM at an unprecedented scale, and reskilling its global workforce in design thinking and agile practices. This transformation has been documented in the New York Times, Fortune and in the documentary film "The Loop.” During this time, Phil also served as co-chair of the global Women’s Executive Council, and established the Racial Equity in Design team. Both roles reflect Phil’s advocacy for greater diversity in order to better inform systemic decision making and empathy, resulting in greater innovation and results.
For this work, in 2018 Phil was inducted into the New York Foundation for the Arts' Hall of Fame. In 2019, Governor Kevin Stitt named Phil an Oklahoma Creativity Ambassador for his achievements in the world of creative thinking and innovation.
Phil retired from full-time operational responsibilities at IBM in 2021, and now focuses on helping the next generation of business and military leaders shift their organizations' cultures to a more modern posture — human-centered, agile and adaptable at the pace required for today's world.
Phil’s career includes 30 years as a start-up entrepreneur, and he speaks regularly on topics of corporate culture and large scale transformation. He graduated as a Pe-et (top ten) senior from the University of Oklahoma in 1978 and lives in Austin, Texas.
Phil's emphasis is on helping leaders understand the nature of change today, and imparts his learnings from IBM and other large scale change efforts he's been associated with. He's an inspiring speaker who combines that inspiration with concrete, actionable take-aways that can help anyone who is leading change.
The Role of Artists in Business
Phil's comments upon being inducted into the New York Foundation for the Arts' Hall of Fame. He discusses the role of the arts and artists in business.
Design Thinking + Agile
Phil discusses his life and times in Britain... and how design thinking + agile leads to easier alignment of stakeholders, better cross-disciplinary teaming and faster, more impactful outcomes.
At The Crossroads of Chaos and Calamity
Phil takes us through the forces driving the need for large scale culture change, and lessons learned from the 400,000 person IBM change effort.
Every Day Is A Prototype
Phil reveals his philosophy that everything — even you daily life — is a prototype to be learned from and improved upon, in this lecture to the Design and Engineering students at Northwestern University.
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