Stories
Writing on product, innovation, culture and growth, and what we are learning building inside big organisations. Most of it published first on LinkedIn.
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.
26 Aug 2026In 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.
26 Aug 2026In 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.
26 Aug 2026The 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.
24 Aug 2026Getting someone to hand their heating over to an app was never just about whether the technology worked. The thermostat at Hive was reliable within the first year, and that reliability got us in the room, nothing more.
06 Apr 2026Building 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.
30 Mar 2026There 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.
23 Mar 2026Cross-functional teams, a clear outcome to own, autonomy to build and iterate without waiting for the committee.
09 Mar 2026A simple idea that raises an uncomfortable question about how we live. The Four Burner Theory and what it means for the choices we make.
06 Mar 2026Over the years I have written posts about people who have shaped the teams and companies I have been lucky enough to build.
09 Feb 2026There is a growing confidence that generative AI will largely eliminate product and engineering teams. Code can be written faster.
15 Aug 2025You notice it first in your head, not your legs. That shift in mood.
29 Jun 2025Over 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.
13 Jun 2025Storytelling has been at the heart of everything I have done throughout my career. Whether building products, shaping design processes, or leading teams.
03 Jun 2025You have to protect what is unique about a brand. But you also have to know when combining makes it stronger.
20 May 2025Every failed idea. Every abandoned project. Every weird experiment that didn't go anywhere. It all accumulates.
15 Apr 2025Something 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.
01 Apr 2025A decade of blending startups and corporates. My career has always been defined by a balance between two seemingly opposite worlds.
25 Mar 2025When 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.
20 Mar 2025I'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.
15 Mar 2025Navigating ADHD and a sense of justice in a corporate world that isn't always ready for it.
12 Mar 2025This week I was lucky enough to join Elizabeth Dirgins from Volkswagen Financial Services, Nick Haywood from CI&T and Robert Tiderington at General Motors.
07 Mar 2025International Women's Day is a moment to celebrate progress, recognize talent, and commit to driving real change.
20 Jan 2025How 25 billion data points can transform businesses and unlock new possibilities.
15 Nov 2024For 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.
10 Sept 2024A candid take on living and working with ADHD.
01 Jun 2024Reflecting on two years building BT's innovation hub.
20 Mar 2024At 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.
06 Mar 2024Tom Guy discusses BT's first green cabinet charge install on Sky News.
05 Mar 2024BT repurposes its first street cabinet as an electric vehicle charging station.
20 Jan 2024A roundup of the most interesting trends from CES 2024.
15 Jan 2024Tom Guy discusses CES 2024 trends on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours.
08 Jan 2024Welcome to Las Vegas the sign reads. This city has been welcoming me with the same slot machine noises every January for many years.
03 Jan 2024The 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.
14 Sept 2023I'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.
14 Aug 2023Exploring how technology can address the growing healthcare crisis.
24 May 2023365 days since we officially launched Etc. - the startup incubation hub of BT Group. Here's what we built.
03 May 2023Building startups within large corporations requires a particular kind of faith.
11 Apr 2023BT invests £5m in building a drone superhighway across southern England.
28 Feb 2023BT powers the UK's first medical drone trial.
20 Sept 2022Large companies need to think and act more like startups to stay relevant.
10 Jun 2022What it actually takes to open UK airspace for commercial drone operations.
24 May 2022This 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.
05 Apr 2022Sifted explores how BT is moving beyond its telecoms roots.
18 Feb 2022Tom Guy discusses Vodafone Smart Tech and the future of IoT with Wallpaper magazine.
15 Jan 2022Imagine 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?
08 Nov 2021The Russian Pencil is one of the best kept secrets in product design thinking.
15 Jan 2021As 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.
11 Dec 2020A 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.
25 Nov 2020How do you create a world-class team that drives fantastic results whilst maintaining a strong sense of culture and belonging?
15 Jun 2020We 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.
09 Jan 2018Designer Yves Behar debuts the Hive View home security camera at CES 2018.
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