Tony Quinlan

My clients come from everywhere – corporate boardrooms to classrooms in rural Rwanda, government departments to start-up garages. What unites them isn’t their sector, but their mindset: they’re ready to explore beyond their familiar toolkit of analysis and action plans. Smart enough to know that being smart isn’t always the answer.

They’re the ones who care enough to be a bit adventurous, who sense there might be richer possibilities beyond the usual ‘best practices.’ They’ve noticed that their most interesting challenges – both personal and organizational – refuse to be solved by just another process improvement or clever solution. They might not have the map yet, but they’re up for exploring new territory together.

Picture a Silicon Valley infrastructure giant wrestling with a familiar challenge: how to become more resilient, responsive, and genuinely enjoyable to work in. Rather than imposing change from above, together we took a complexity-aware approach, growing change from within.

Over several months, I helped build an internal change team of 100 people, equipping them with complexity thinking and practical tools. The ‘aha moments’ were beautiful to watch, especially among engineers discovering the Cynefin framework. ‘I’m not mad!’ one exclaimed with relief. ‘The problem was always complex – I was just trying to solve it as if it were complicated.’
As confidence grew, these newly-skilled practitioners used tools like Future Backwards, Ritual Dissent and Anecdote Circles with their teams. They created spaces where colleagues could truly understand each other, often dissolving long-standing disagreements in the process.

Meanwhile, we ran an ongoing SenseMaker research project to track what was shifting and what still needed attention. The real magic? Watching teams lean into learning and influence rather than control, creating change that emerged naturally rather than being imposed. The organization became more connected, more human – and yes, more enjoyable to work in.

I create playful spaces for discovery, knowing that the most powerful insights often come from wandering down surprisingly productive side paths. Instead of marching straight at problems with pre-packaged solutions, I help people notice what they already know but couldn’t quite see.

Using everyday language (complexity is knotty enough without adding jargon!), I bring fresh perspectives to life through stories and real examples. Whether we’re exploring organizational change or personal growth, I’m there alongside – part guide, part fellow explorer – creating conditions where everyone’s experience adds to our understanding.
Sometimes that means bringing in voices that rarely get heard, or helping seasoned leaders see their familiar world through fresh eyes. Always it means staying curious about what might emerge when we give ourselves permission to explore beyond the obvious paths.

When it comes to keynotes, I bring that same spirit of exploration to larger audiences. Rather than delivering pre-packaged wisdom from on high, I create moments of recognition – those “aha!” instances where complexity suddenly becomes clearer and new possibilities emerge. Through stories drawn from decades of working with organizations worldwide (from Silicon Valley startups to UN refugee programs), I help audiences see their challenges in a new light. My aim is to shake up thinking just enough to open new doors, while keeping things grounded in the real world where most of us spend our working lives.

I started in communications but found my true calling when I discovered the power of narrative and complexity – though it took me plenty of stumbling to get there. While I have the engineering background to handle complicated challenges, I thrive in complexity where exploration and human partnership matter more than having answers.

I discovered complexity through Dave Snowden and Cynefin in the early 2000s, though initially I couldn’t understand it – the articles were too dense! But when it clicked, I realized this was my world. While I have the engineering background to handle complicated challenges, I thrive in complexity where exploration and human partnership matter more than having answer.

I’m a complexity-savvy sounding board, one of the people that colleagues bounce ideas off when they’re wrestling with thorny client challenges. I help separate the practically useful from the merely interesting, bringing particular expertise around measuring impact through tools like SenseMaker.

But I’m also the virtual bartender at our monthly ‘pub calls’ – creating those essential spaces where we can exhale, reconnect as humans, and remember we’re more than our work.

Outside work, you’ll find me exploring emergence through acrylic pour painting (where the art has its own ideas) and discovering new possibilities in the French countryside, where I live with my wife and friends. Music grabs me body and soul – I’m that person dancing with abandon at concerts, eyes closed, quite possibly crying. Between stumbling through French lessons and dreaming of hiking Kilimanjaro, I devour books and create spaces for interesting things to happen. Life’s an adventure worth feeling deeply.

While I love tackling thorny challenges, I’m probably not your person if you’ve already decided on the answer or just want another efficiency drive. My work thrives in curiosity and care for humans – so if you’re more interested in control than enabling potential, or if engineering solutions are your only lens, we might not be the best match.

I help people discover richer possibilities, not implement pre-packaged answers