Peeling away complexity – a visionary look at agility, simplicity, and more.

Hi, I’m Neil Walker — welcome.
This is my space to explore the real work of transformation: leading with agility, thinking in systems, and building better ways of working.
For over 30 years, I’ve helped organizations—from financial services to frontline social care—navigate complexity, adopt agile and product mindsets, and drive meaningful change that lasts. I’ve worked across the board: from coaching teams to advising execs, from recovering failing programmes to shaping new operating models.
Since the early 2000s, I’ve been writing and speaking about agile, business agility, and transformation—long before they were hashtags. I’ve shared ideas, sparked conversations, and built communities (even before Twitter became “X”).
What ties it all together? A deep belief in the power of simplicity, adaptability, and human-centered change.
Whether you’re here to learn, rethink, or just get unstuck—you’re in good company.
Latest insights
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Embracing Complexity in Product Management
I’ve spent the day preparing materials on navigating complexity for a bespoke workshop. I’ll be working with a cohort of product managers and product owners from DWP Digital’s product management community of practice in the coming weeks. The workshop is…
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Agile Has Stopped Being Agile: What Happened, and How Can We Get Back on Track?
A phrase I hear more often is, “Agile has stopped being agile.” (or worse still “Agile is dead”). What started as a flexible, innovative approach to delivering value has, for some, become just another bureaucratic system. Organizations that set out…
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Ingenious Agility: Why Every Organization Needs More Than Adaptability (Or Agile)
In an era of rapid change and complex challenges, the need for agility extends far beyond the boundaries of businesses. Public sector organizations grapple with shifting societal demands, evolving regulations, and constrained budgets. Third-sector organizations navigate growing expectations for impact…
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Why Traditional Approaches Fall Short in Addressing Complexity
Traditional problem-solving approaches, honed during the industrial era, assume that the world operates in predictable and linear ways. These approaches rely on breaking down problems into smaller parts, analyzing each component, and reassembling them into a solution. While effective for…
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Egg and Eggbox Analogy in Agile: Balancing Value and Frameworks
A few days ago, during a fascinating discussion at a Business Black Belt workshop I was facilitating, we explored an intriguing analogy: eggs and eggboxes in the context of Agile. This discussion delved into the delicate balance between the value…
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Thriving in Chaos: Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic
In 2010 I published Thriving in Chaos: Lessons for Agile Leaders, delving into Tom Peter’s “Thriving in Chaos”, a classic business book (first published in 1987) that offers timeless advice for leaders navigating complex and ever-changing environments. As I previously…
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Project Mode vs Product Mode
Last week I mentioned that we are seeing a subtle shift from project mode to product mode. It’s been driven by a combination of market dynamics, customer expectations, and organizational imperatives that demand greater adaptability, value orientation, and a user-centric…
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