Ideas & Resources

Some of our stories, insights, and industry trends surrounding social innovation, capacity building, design thinking, and human-centred design.

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Ideas

Using AI to Do Hard Work Better: Why Your Organization Needs an Enabling Policy

Most organizations are stuck on AI—banning it, ignoring it, or letting hidden use happen. Here's a different approach: enable capability building with clear guardrails.

From Strategy Documents to Strategy Systems: What AI Makes Possible

Most strategic plans die on shelves. Strategy by Design turns strategy into a living system—finally made operational by AI. This piece explains how AI enables dynamic, adaptive strategy organizations can actually use.

Three Modes of Working with AI: Efficiency, Collaborator, Thinking Partner

AI isn’t just about speed. It’s about relationship. These three modes—efficiency, collaborator, and thinking partner—show how to use AI to think better, not just work faster.

Rediscovering the Edges: Why AI Feels Like Playing Again

AI feels less like finished software and more like those early days of DOS and dial-up—unfinished, full of possibility, and waiting for us to tinker. Curiosity, not control, is the stance leaders need to take if they want their teams to discover what’s really possible.

From the Mouse to the Chat Window: Rethinking Our Relationship With Technology

We’ve gone from punch cards to command lines, from the mouse to chat windows. Each shift changed how we work with machines. AI chat is the newest grammar—treat it as relational rather than transactional, and you’ll unlock more clarity, context, and possibility.

5 Leadership Lessons from Jennifer Jones: Transforming Strategy into Impact

In a recent fireside chat, Jennifer Jones, CEO of Fighting Blindness Canada, shared invaluable insights on leadership, strategy, and driving meaningful impact. Her journey, combined with her deep expertise, offers lessons that resonate strongly with Overlap’s Strategy by Design approach.

How to Host an Effective Annual Planning Retreat for Your Team

A well-structured annual planning retreat allows teams to gather, align on goals, and turn ideas into actionable plans.

[Webinar] Strategy by Design: A How-To Guide to Transform Your Strategic Planning

Categories:

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Stop Brainstorming — How to Ideate With Empathy

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Evolving Team Norms in our New Hybrid Workplace

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Shake Things up with 6 Alternatives to Traditional Meetings

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Using Design Sprints to Create an Early Literacy Movement

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Why Behavioural Insights Are Essential to Good Design

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Helpful Resources to Help Non-Tech Industries Learn Agile Methodology

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How to Implement Empathy Training in the Workplace

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Cultivating Empathy in the Workplace—Today’s #1 Skill

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12 Powerful Idea Generation Techniques

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How to Use An Empathy Map

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8 Critical Benefits of Design Thinking Training

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Municipal Reinvention, Not Hybridization

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15 Free or Nearly Free Design Thinking Tools

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Municipal Reinvention, Not Hybridization: Delivering Better Public Service

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Integrating Healthcare and Housing Supports in Shelters: Perspectives from Within

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Beyond the Boardroom: Five Creative Leadership Retreat Strategies

This year, instead of the same old team retreat, why not give something new a try? Take a walk on the creative-side and embrace innovation, design, and collaboration across your team.