Diagnose the pattern. Apply the right lever. Build capability that lasts.

Hi, I’m Neil Walker — welcome.
This is where transformation leaders come when the frameworks aren’t working.
For over 30 years, I’ve been the strategic troubleshooter organisations call when escalations multiply and established approaches fail. From the Bank of England to Royal Bank of Scotland, from Barclays to UK Government — I’ve recovered failing programmes, coached executives through complexity, and built operating models that actually deliver.
That pattern recognition is now documented in Thriving in Turbulence — a diagnostic framework (CIRCA-CLEAR) born from 200+ real-world interventions across banking, government, technology, and professional services.
The core insight: Most transformation failures aren’t execution problems — they’re misdiagnosis. Teams apply the wrong intervention because they haven’t accurately read the conditions. CIRCA-CLEAR fixes that gap.
Whether you’re navigating turbulence, building adaptive capability, or simply trying to work out why progress has stalled — you’re in the right place.
Thriving in Turbulence
Diagnose conditions. Apply the right lever. Build capability.

Published November 2025 | Available on Leanpub and Amazon
The book organisations need when transformation stalls despite everyone working harder than ever. CIRCA-CLEAR provides:
- Pattern recognition that diagnoses conditions in 2-3 days
- Matched interventions with 2-4 week testing cycles
- Leading indicators (ThroughFlow, Human Pulse) that predict problems before they escalate
- Framework integration that makes your OKRs, SAFe, and Team Topologies work better
Foreword by Giles Lindsay, author of Clearly Agile and The Adaptive Leader.
👉 Get the book → Available on Leanpub and Amazon
CIRCA-CLEAR Framework
CIRCA diagnoses five turbulence conditions: Complex, Insecure, Rapid, Contradictory, Anxious.
CLEAR provides five matched responses: Clarity, Learning, Empathy, Agility, Resilience.
Most frameworks tell you what to do. CIRCA-CLEAR tells you why it’s not working — so you apply the right intervention at the right time.
👉 Learn about CIRCA → 👉 Explore CIRCA-CLEAR →
Latest insights
-
Mark Carney Just Described Your Organisation’s Biggest Risk
Two days ago at Davos, Canada’s Prime Minister delivered a blunt diagnosis. The “rules-based international order” is over. It’s now a “pleasant fiction.” Middle powers can no longer assume the old architecture will hold. “If you are not at the…
-
Why Thriving in Turbulence Lost Half Its Words — And Where They Went
The question isn’t whether you’re changing. It’s whether you’re changing fast enough. The manuscript hit 150,000 words before I stopped counting. Too big. A motivated leader doesn’t have time for a 600-page read. They need something they can finish in…
-
When Design Excellence Isn’t Enough
Your work spans three spaces—doing deep design, leading design teams, and amplifying design thinking. But they all collide on the same problem: the system around you is becoming more turbulent, not less capable. You’re being asked to hold outcomes steady…
-
Built for How You Actually Think
Why This Framework Works the Way It Does Most business books assume you’ll read Chapter 1, then Chapter 2, holding concepts in memory as you build toward mastery. They assume sustained attention. Linear progression. Quiet focus. That’s not how transformation…
-
The Human Pulse Signals Published Metrics Can’t Capture
What 15 years of ground-level observation reveals about DSO’s real trajectory BOTTOM LINE Published metrics tell one story. Ground-level observation tells another. I’ve watched Bayer’s evolution for over 15 years—close enough to see patterns that analyst reports miss. The signals…
-
Why Your Transformation Just Stalled (And What to Do About It)
Thriving in Turbulence is live on Amazon. Here’s the diagnostic system behind it. Monday morning. Your transformation is three months in. Everyone’s working harder than ever. Standups happen. Retrospectives are religious. You’ve got OKRs, Kanban boards, and detailed roadmaps. Yet…
Categories
Adaptability (17) Agile (50) Agility (111) Change (21) Coaching (5) Complexity (21) Culture (15) Curiosity (6) Design Thinking (4) Events (10) Future of Work (26) Futures Thinking (14) Leadership (60) Leadership & Diagnostics (4) Lean (5) Methods and Approaches (23) Patterns (5) People (11) People-Centric (8) Product (18) Simplicity (12) Strategy (24) Systems Thinking (8) Thriving in Turbulence (7) Workshops (5)
Tags
Adaptability (14) Agile (15) Agile Culture (16) Agile Leadership (41) Agile Mindset (6) Agile Transformation (7) Agility (110) Americas Cup (6) Artificial intelligence (5) BANI (6) Book Launch (7) Business Agility (69) Change (6) Change Management (5) CIRCA-CLEAR (15) CIRCA-CLEAR meta-framework (4) CIRCA model (26) Co-creation (4) Collaboration (8) Collaboration Tools (4) Complexity (10) Continuous Improvement (62) Continuous Learning (45) Crystal Clear (5) Cultural Catalyst (4) Culture (8) Culture Change (5) Curiosity (23) Design Thinking (4) Digital Transformation (6) DSDM (4) Employee Engagement (4) Enterprise Social Networks (5) Future of Work (27) Ingenious Agility (5) Innovation (24) Leadership (111) Leadership Development (4) Lean (6) Lean Change (9) Lean Product (4) Methods (6) Organisational Transformation (4) Organizational Agility (67) Organizational Change (8) Organizational Transformation (5) People-Centric (4) Product (21) Product Mindset (8) Product Mode (4) Product thinking (4) Project Management (6) Scrum (4) Simplicity (8) Strategy (4) Systemic Thinking (7) Systems Thinking (7) Value Delivery (5) VUCA (9) XP (4)