S3•E5 Phil Gilbert

One of the core principles of my leadership courses and coaching engagements is that, as design leaders, we are always agents of change in complex, scaled organizations, always challenging entrenched ways of working and cultural norms, especially in legacy enterprises. But here’s the thing: transforming a company is far easier said than done. 

In his new book Irresistible Change: A Blueprint for Earning Buy-in and Breakout Success, Phil Gilbert provides an actionable playbook for leaders across disciplines to drive durable, sustainable, and scalable change by turning change itself into a product, and by managing it as you would an early stage startup.

Phil was the General Manager of Design at IBM between 2012-2021, and the book documents the design-driven transformation he architected at that historic global technology company during those years, a transformation that included adding more than 3,000 practicing designers to the company globally, and training more than 200,000 IBMers as design thinkers. 

Last month, I sat down with Phil at the State Theatre in downtown Austin, Texas—the home base for the IBM Design program and its flagship studio—for an evening of stories from our IBM days, and insights from the new book.  

Doug Powell is an award-winning designer and executive design leader with more than 30 years of experience in a wide range of design disciplines. Learn more about Doug's practice as a consultant, educator, and coach at his website dougpowell.design.