Flickr:  Johan G cc-by-2.0

Dear Person on the Verge of Something New:    

I’m an innovation and entrepreneurship leader with background in high tech, education, cognitive science, non-profits, design thinking, lean startup, and various leadership models.  I help people create new things like businesses, non-profits, products and services.  I specialize in working with people who are starting their own thing for the first time (or the first time in a long while).  

My method integrates mindsets and practices from well-known and long-proven innovation and leadership models.  As a trained learning scientist, I’m uniquely placed to make coherent sense across all of these compelling ways of thinking.  By working with career changers, startup founders and corporate employees, I’ve figured out how to pull in the right tool at the right time to help you learn, execute and make powerful choices.  

Some examples of people I've helped recently:
+Career transitioner moving from finance to design
+Recently disabled salesperson who needs to ask for physical accommodation at work
+High-tech startup founder who needs to understand his target customer
+Small business owner faced with a decision about growth
+Newly divorced homemaker who needs to build a career at short notice
+Established bookkeeper who anticipates change in her industry

I provide personal consulting on an as-needed or regular basis -- some clients hire me to address a specific problem or opportunity that arises.  Others hire me as a partner on their journey with a regular meeting schedule. 

Contact me with questions, or to set up a low-cost initial/trial session, or to check on my free office-hour schedule in Campbell, California.  

​I initially met with Diana in November 2016. I was unsure of what I needed or wanted either out of the meeting or with regard to my career. I just knew that I needed someone who would listen to me and my conflicted thoughts about work. Five months later I have an offer for a job that is "just right" for me, and I have Diana to thank for that. 

I have a Ph.D. in engineering and had worked for a few years in the technology industry before my first child was born. Since then I have dabbled a little in part time work but I have mostly focused on being with my kids and volunteering at their schools. 

As my younger son enters Middle School, I decided that the time was right to step back into the working world. However, I did not want to do the work I had done previously and also had no idea what kind of job I now actually wanted or could do. The only thing I really knew was that I wanted something that would be meaningful for me. Diana guided me through my foggy thoughts and helped me figure out what kind of job I wanted and then how to go about pursuing that job. Most importantly, she gave me the confidence to ask for what I wanted and to not settle

​--Aine O'Donovan, Program Manager

​Some of the tools we'll use to get you on your way:
*Practical Dreaming
*The Fear-O-Meter
*TimeFinder
*Customer Discovery Interviews
*Quick Messy Prototypes
*What are you Worth?
*Critical Issue Brainstorming
*The Decision Game
*Spectacular vs. Useful
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