Articles

The org chart is the UI. The working system is the UX.

I’ve spent most of my career designing products and experiences. One of the things you learn very quickly in Product is that what something looks like and what it feels like to use are very different things.

Culture is never finished

I’ve spent most of my career building products. Every product I’ve worked on has started in roughly the same place.

What holds a team together when reporting lines don’t?

I’ve always liked doing a stop-the-floor. Get everyone together, stop whatever we’re doing for a while and talk about where we’re going, what’s happening across the business and what we’re learning.

People don’t need to report to you to be part of your team

The latest article in my Organisation Design series. Across the organisations I have worked in, there are a surprising number of people I would describe as having been part of my teams who didn’t always report to me.

Where expertise sits matters less than when it arrives.

In the last article I argued that organisations often redesign the reporting system when the working system is where the real problems sit. Reporting lines are visible, so they become the focus.

The problem with most restructures isn’t the structure

In my last article I argued that organisations run two systems at the same time. There is the reporting system, which appears on the org chart, and there is the working system, which determines how decisions get made, expertise moves around the business and problems get solved.

“If your org chart fits too perfectly on a PowerPoint slide, it’s probably the wrong org structure”

Jeff Kunins, CPTO at Axon , said that on #TheProductPodcast by Product School hosted by Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia . It’s stuck with me for days.

Why HealthTech Still Feels Like Unfinished Business.

Building in health tech was actually a really hard experience. It was really hard to move fast in an industry that has so much regulation and so much bureaucracy.

First Solve the problem in front of you, not the narrative you have created

There is something some of us do, especially certain types of brains, where we are facing a challenge and we quietly create another one in our head.

Squads, Pods, Tribes, Clusters and Bean Bags

Cross-functional teams, a clear outcome to own, autonomy to build and iterate without waiting for the committee.

The Four Burners of Life

A simple idea that raises an uncomfortable question about how we live. The Four Burner Theory and what it means for the choices we make.

Quietly Exceptional

Over the years I have written posts about people who have shaped the teams and companies I have been lucky enough to build.

GenAI won't kill product and engineering teams. It will expose who matters.

There is a growing confidence that generative AI will largely eliminate product and engineering teams. Code can be written faster.

Every Day Was Hard. Every Day I Felt Better.

You notice it first in your head, not your legs. That shift in mood.

Pens, Pencils, Calculators, and Knives: The GenAI Story

Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to get closer to AI than ever before. Watching my team build Active Intel inside Etc.

The Power of Storytelling: Products, People, Culture.

Storytelling has been at the heart of everything I have done throughout my career. Whether building products, shaping design processes, or leading teams.

When mergers keep multiple brands, do we serve the customer or just protect the status quo?

You have to protect what is unique about a brand. But you also have to know when combining makes it stronger.

One Day, We Will Use Everything We Have Ever Learned

Every failed idea. Every abandoned project. Every weird experiment that didn't go anywhere. It all accumulates.

Shaping Innovation Through Narrative - The Importance of Media

Something I've learnt over 20 years of my career is that the media isn't just a platform for announcements; it's a partner in storytelling.

The Playbook: Building Startups from Within

A decade of blending startups and corporates. My career has always been defined by a balance between two seemingly opposite worlds.

Building Etc.: A Culture of Bold Innovation at BT Group

When we first set up Etc. as the incubation arm of BT Group in 2022, the goal wasn't just to build groundbreaking products. It was to create something different.

When there's a crisis - ask the person with ADHD

I'm a bit of a walking paradox when it comes to how I operate. Day to day, my colleagues joke that I can be the work diva - but that all changes in a crisis.

"You feel you have to go on crusades, but they can be a very lonely place". Navigating ADHD and a sense of justice

Navigating ADHD and a sense of justice in a corporate world that isn't always ready for it.

From Legacy to Leading Edge: AI in Automotive

This week I was lucky enough to join Elizabeth Dirgins from Volkswagen Financial Services, Nick Haywood from CI&T and Robert Tiderington at General Motors.

Accelerating Action: How the Growth of a Young Independent Woman Helped Me, a Middle-Aged Man, Tell My Story

International Women's Day is a moment to celebrate progress, recognize talent, and commit to driving real change.

How 25 billion data points can transform businesses

How 25 billion data points can transform businesses and unlock new possibilities.

ADHD, RSD... how many letters do they want?! Navigating ADHD and feedback this review season

For as long as I can remember, I've faced a fear of negative feedback, rejection and ultimately failure. It's been an odd experience, particularly as someone in leadership.

Get over yourself, it's just ADHD

A candid take on living and working with ADHD.

Etc. at two

Reflecting on two years building BT's innovation hub.

SXSW 2024: my week in review

At this stage in my career, there's very few tech events that I don't know like the back of my hand. SXSW was different.

Sky News - Business Live with Ian King - BT's first green cabinet charge install

Tom Guy discusses BT's first green cabinet charge install on Sky News.

The FT - BT to repurpose first street cabinet as electric vehicle charging station

BT repurposes its first street cabinet as an electric vehicle charging station.

From preventative health to drone soccer: my CES 2024 wrap

A roundup of the most interesting trends from CES 2024.

BBC You and Yours - CES 2024 trends

Tom Guy discusses CES 2024 trends on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours.

A look back at my love affair with CES - 15 years on...

Welcome to Las Vegas the sign reads. This city has been welcoming me with the same slot machine noises every January for many years.

Out with the old and in with the new... goodbye to 2023 and hello to CES

The Christmas lights are being taken down. The turkey and nut roasts have been polished off, and the sound of New Year's fireworks has slowly faded.

This is the hardest blog I've ever written. But probably the most important.

I'd never really paused to consider my mental health until well into my adult life. I found myself sitting in my car outside my office, paralysed and more exhausted than I've ever felt before.

Can tech be the answer to tackling the healthcare crisis?

Exploring how technology can address the growing healthcare crisis.

12 months of creating, amplifying and investing - my Etc. year in review

365 days since we officially launched Etc. - the startup incubation hub of BT Group. Here's what we built.

When it comes to building startups from within, you've got to have faith

Building startups within large corporations requires a particular kind of faith.

The Guardian - BT Invests £5m in plan for 'drone superhighway' across southern England

BT invests £5m in building a drone superhighway across southern England.

IoT Tech News - BT powers UK first medical drone trial

BT powers the UK's first medical drone trial.

Dear corporates, it's time to be more startup

Large companies need to think and act more like startups to stay relevant.

Unlocking the skies for drones. It isn't rocket science... is it?

What it actually takes to open UK airspace for commercial drone operations.

The other stuff... The undefined... Introducing Etc.

This morning I was lucky enough to share the stage with some of the best and brightest at our yearly Digital Live conference, to reveal what my team have been up to.

Sifted - How BT aims to move beyond telecoms

Sifted explores how BT is moving beyond its telecoms roots.

Wallpaper - Vodafone Smart Tech's Tom Guy on the Internet of Things

Tom Guy discusses Vodafone Smart Tech and the future of IoT with Wallpaper magazine.

I want to be in product when I grow up... said no one ever

Imagine a world when everyone in product trained to be in product, studied product and set out to be in product. Feels like a boring place?

Looking for the secret to great design? Find the Russian Pencil

The Russian Pencil is one of the best kept secrets in product design thinking.

What CES reminded me about great design

As an event known as a stage for world firsts, CES faced its own this year as it closed its doors and was forced to turn virtual.

Why build products when you can drive categories?

A great product isn't just for Christmas. If done well, it should be able to create a magical moment for customers by finding an elegant, long-term solution to a practical challenge.

Let's go fly a kite: Building a world class product design team is simple - just follow Mary Poppins

How do you create a world-class team that drives fantastic results whilst maintaining a strong sense of culture and belonging?

Lessons from a lockdown launch

We had been sprinting towards our first product in the Designed and Connected by Vodafone range of smart devices. Unlike some other tech players out there, we didn't delay.

Yves Behar debuts Hive View home security camera at CES

Designer Yves Behar debuts the Hive View home security camera at CES 2018.