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 UBS, 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
-
Welcome to Agnostic Agile
I’d like to introduce the Agnostic Agile revolution. Not another framework, Nor certification. But a community of like-minded individuals. I signed up today, and it had already been signed by 816 people. Many of them I know. Including some of…
-
Insufficient Stakeholder Engagement: A Recipe for Product and Project Failure
Stakeholder engagement is a critical component of successful product management and project delivery. It involves building strong relationships, effective communication, and active collaboration with individuals or groups who have an interest in the outcome of a product or project. Why…
-
Fostering a Culture of Innovation: Unleashing Creativity and Driving Growth
Innovation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the lifeblood of any organization that aims to stay ahead of the curve. A culture of innovation is one that encourages experimentation, risk-taking, and continuous learning. This kind of culture doesn’t just happen overnight;…
-
Key Challenges in Product Development, Hampering Your Business Agility
I facilitated a workshop with several product teams today. One of the topics on the Kanban (used as an adaptive agenda) was around the challenges that they’ve experienced, the ones that hinder the product team’s ability to respond quickly to…
-
Lean Product Management: A Practical Guide to Building Value
In a landscape where speed, innovation, and customer satisfaction are paramount, product management has steadily shifted from heavy upfront planning to more nimble, user-focused, and iterative approaches. Lean Product Management embodies this shift by emphasizing efficiency, customer feedback, and the…
-
Management 3.0: Leading Agile Teams in a Complex World
In the dynamic landscape of modern work, traditional management approaches often struggle to keep pace with the complexity and speed of change. Enter Management 3.0, an approach that redefines leadership for today’s challenges, focusing on empowering teams, fostering innovation, and…
Categories
Adaptability (16) Agile (49) Agility (110) Change (20) Coaching (5) Complexity (21) Culture (15) Curiosity (6) Design Thinking (4) Enterprise Social (3) Events (9) Future of Work (22) Futures Thinking (13) Leadership (51) Lean (5) Methods and Approaches (22) Patterns (4) People (11) People-Centric (8) Product (18) Simplicity (12) Strategy (23) Systems Thinking (8) Thriving in Turbulence (4) Workshops (5)
Tags
Adaptability (14) Agile (15) Agile Coaching (4) Agile Culture (16) Agile Leadership (39) Agile Mindset (6) Agile Transformation (7) Agility (105) Americas Cup (6) Book Launch (4) Business Agility (64) Change (6) Change Management (4) CIRCA-CLEAR (8) CIRCA model (18) 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 (22) Customer centricity (4) Design Thinking (4) Digital Transformation (6) DSDM (4) Employee Engagement (4) Enterprise Social Networks (5) Future of Work (21) Ingenious Agility (5) Innovation (24) Leadership (104) Leadership Development (4) Lean (6) Lean Change (9) Lean Product (4) Methods (6) Organizational Agility (61) Organizational Change (7) People-Centric (4) Product (21) Product Mindset (8) Product Mode (4) Product thinking (4) Project Management (6) Scrum (4) Simplicity (8) Status quo (4) Strategy (4) Systemic Thinking (7) Systems Thinking (7) Value Delivery (5) VUCA (7) Workshops (4) XP (4) Yacht Racing (3)