We bring idealism to life
There's a place beyond where most organizations are willing to go — out past the checkpoints of conventional wisdom and standard practices. We go there with our collaborators to design and build new solutions that matter.
Collaborations
Works in Progress
How can families facing pediatric cancer navigate the extraordinary challenges they face beyond the hospital?
UX for Good | Chicago | See Overview
How can we leverage professional sports to revitalize communities and build better cities?
Chicago Architecture Center | Chicago
How can Rwanda's rebirth after genocide help other nations navigate their own paths to peace?
Aegis Trust, UX for Good | Kigali, Rwanda | See Program
Completed Works
How do we get more people to engage with poetry?
Poetry Foundation | Chicago
How can nonprofit theater thrive when audiences and philanthropy are changing?
Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Court Theatre, Writers Theatre | Chicago | See Report
How do we start solving the world's biggest problems?
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) | Washington, DC | See our Findings
How do innovators win over the establishment?
Harvard Medical School, Family Van | Boston
How can the US make smarter investments in emerging democracies?
US Department of State, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | Palm Springs, CA
Speaking
Unwritten Rules
Your organization and industry each run on a unique set of unwritten rules that have everything to do with what gets prioritized, who gets promoted, and how change happens. These invisible forces evolved alongside humans over thousands of years, which means they're far more powerful than anything we write down, like policies, procedures, or even laws. In this talk, we'll explore how to surface these unwritten rules and leverage them to navigate your organization's politics, be a better leader, and drive innovation.
Other Topics
United Nations SDGs (World Government Summit - Dubai, Wilton Park - West Sussex, England, Singapore Embassy - Washington DC), Arts Leadership (International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Social Impact Design (AIGA - Virtual, Amadeus - Virtual) and others
Speaking Venues
Harvard Graduate School of Design, Stanford d.school, Facebook, Microsoft, AT&T, Coca-Cola, MetLife, US General Services Administration, TEDx Lake Forest College (Lake Forest, IL), Business Innovation Factory (Providence, RI), and 40+ institutions, companies, associations, and conferences
What People Say
Esther Lee, Global CMO, MetLife: "Jeff's talk on unwritten rules was as insightful and thought-provoking as it was entertaining and engaging for my global marketing organization. It has inspired us to think more deeply about how we can successfully drive cultural change to better prepare us for success in the future."
Bill Sleeth, SVP, Design Innovation, Panera Bread: "Jeff has an uncanny and effortless ability to uncover that thing you know is in there, to scratch that mental itch, and to pull out the best from a group. I literally feel smarter when I'm in a room with Jeff - that sense of crazy possibility is palpable."
AJ Paron, Executive Vice President, Design Futurist, Sandow Design Group: "Jeff's talk hit the nail on the head of what designers need to solve for and how to go about doing it. His fresh thinking and new mental models were the most talked about ideas at our conference. He was insightful while being entertaining. Our attendees wanted MORE JEFF! That was our biggest feedback we have from the whole conference."
Books
See Think Solve: A Simple Way to Solve Tough Problems
You already have the tools and commitment to solve the big problems you care about, but there's a hidden layer of human behavior that most people miss entirely. When you learn to see the invisible social norms that guide how we actually behave, you unlock a powerful new way to create change that works with human nature instead of against it. This book gives you nine practical steps to decode this puzzle of human behavior so you can make real progress on the problems that matter most.
Lessons
Hack the Scoreboard: We treat metrics like they're sacred, as if they've been handed down from on high like the Ten Commandments or the laws of physics. But they weren't. Somebody like you or me invented them — probably because the metrics served their interests at the time. And now, years later, the metrics have gained so much traction that they've become incontrovertible. Keep reading…
Aim Unreasonably High: The experts tell us we're more likely to succeed when we set reasonable goals. That's how, they say, we lose weight, learn a new language, or build a new habit. After all, we can't go from sedentary to climbing K2, right? But there are a few problems with reasonable goals. Keep reading…
Be the Congressman: Some years ago, there was a story going around — a true story, as it turns out — about me and a lunch I had with a candidate for Congress. He had run two years before but lost really badly and he was seeking my advice as he prepared to run again. Keep reading…
About
Jeff Leitner
Jeff Leitner leads collaborations that produce new and powerful ways to make impact. His work — in the trenches with global nonprofits, cultural institutions, universities, foundations, government agencies, international organizations, and corporations — produces new tools, programs, and models for change.
As Co-founder of UX for Good, he has collaborated with organizations like the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education to work mindfulness into public education and Aegis Trust to design genocide museums that convert visitors into activists.
As Innovator in Residence at the University of Southern California, he developed the nation's first doctorate in social innovation.
As a Fellow at New America, he collaborated with the OECD to develop the first-ever sequence for solving all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
As Founder of Insight Labs, he collaborated with partners like the US Department of State to redesign international organizations and TED to unite communities with different agendas around a common cause.
His work has been featured in publications such as Fast Company, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Inc., and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Jeff shares lessons from these collaborations with others tackling social problems and big challenges. He co-authored See Think Solve: A Simple Way to Tackle Tough Problems, which details the first norms-based approach to social change. He speaks and lectures on unwritten rules and social innovation, sharing insights at companies, conferences, and venues like Harvard's Graduate School of Design, Stanford's d.school, and the World Government Summit in Dubai.
What People Say
Dan Lurie, Deputy Director for Policy, Office of the Vice President: "Jeff puts together the seeming mundane — or vexing or intransigent — and takes his clients something original and profound, to a higher, as-yet-unimagined plane."
Michelle Boone, President & CEO, The Poetry Foundation: "Working with Jeff gave us the prompts we needed for expansive and imaginative thinking about the future. He is a skillful and thoughtful facilitator with an uncanny ability to help you envision bold, new possibilities."
Marilyn Flynn, Dean, University of Southern California: "Jeff helps people imagine new possibilities and get excited by them — and he makes it all seem so accessible."
Bill Sleeth, VP Design, Americas, Starbucks: "Jeff is curious about every possible question — even the ridiculous ones."