Marc Stickdorn on Journey Management, AI & Leading Change in Chaotic Times

SPONSORED ADS The Service Design Global Conference 2026 (SDGC26) takes place 28-30 October in Frankfurt RheinMain region - onsite and online. Get 10% off by using 'HCDSDGC10' at checkout *New* Listen to Marc Stickdorn's new podcast https://www.smaply.com/podcast ________________________

In this episode of This is HCD, Gerry Scullion is joined (again!) by service design pioneer Marc Stickdorn – recorded right after they both spoke at SD in Gov in Edinburgh.

We walk (literally) through the current state of service design, why so many teams feel stuck, and how journey management can help organisations move beyond one-off projects to achieve truly systemic change.

We talk about: How to scale service design beyond a single team and embed it organisation-wide Journey management, service architecture and “journey ops” – and why naming really matters Building scaffolding for long-term impact (using the Dublin City Council work as an example) How to speak the language of leadership and show measurable ROI Why stealth projects can be your best way to build credibility The role of AI and tooling – where it helps, and where it’s genuinely dangerous Why leaders can’t outsource understanding to an algorithm If you’re trying to move service design from nice decks to real organisational change – in public services or the private sector – this episode is for you.

🔗 Links mentioned – Marc’s upcoming book & community: https://www.thisisjourneymanagement.com – Smaply blog & resources: https://www.smaply.com

________________________ BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION → Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training → Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses → Coaching Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/members → Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/ ________________________ BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion (Sign up for free with an email) https://www.thisishcd.com/dashboard/learning/introduction-to-journey-management → Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners Gerry wears clothes from Sutsu, and has a coupon code for them, as well as Smaply, Scenario Cards, Unit 1 and more... ________________________ All episodes have been produced by This is Podcasting. Click here to watch a video of this episode.

Creators & Guests

Gerry Scullion - Host

Marc Stickdorn - Guest