Innovation is a design process — in organisations, and in ourselves.
Hi, I'm Joe. I'm an academic specialising in digital innovation and entrepreneurial identities, a qualified enterprise architect (mainly focused on owner-led SMEs, because I like to have a big impact), and an active member of Bristol's innovation and investment ecosystem. I implement lasting changes for organisations and individuals by making them able to continually grow and change.
I've deliberately built my career straddling academia and industry.
I'm a thinker and a doer and I take a lot from the interplay between academic enquiry and practical experience, finding it makes me better at both and far less siloed in my thinking and practice. I'm never more motivated than solving a complex problem that has real impact and this has been the main thing guiding my career. From Lecturer (Enterprise and Innovation), Enterprise Director (founder-led SMEs, typically manufacturing), Senior Business Analyst (Aerospace), and business owner (professional services). I have always fixated on the most pressing issues for the organisation and indiviudals I am working with and been relentless in finding a solution, guided by empathy and understanding of the people involved - there really is no point designing a great solution if nobody like it and/or you enough to implement it!
Over time I have developed a toolkit and perspective that conceptualises businesses and people as ever evolving, ever changing entities that need to be designed towards productive solutions. The toolkit I use leans heavily on enterprise architecture, blending strategy, operations, and digital infrastructure to map what an organisation currently is, identify the most impactful changes (the simpler, the better), and deliver effective interventions that make the organisation fitter for purpose. The overall perspective draws from design and systems thinking, complexity theory, and the relationship between entrepreneurial identity and entrepreneurial ecosystems to conceptualise innovation as led by enterprising individuals within a structure that appropriately incentivises positive change.
These hard-won perspectives, skills, and experience allow me to create a structure aligned with business needs and empower people to thrive within it - delivering high impact, sustainable outcomes.