🧠 SYSTEMS THINKING

Collaborative design is the future

Building technology around outcomes, not just functions

šŸ” Why it matters

CMOs are finding that cross-functional collaboration and centralization often yields worse revenue outcomes. Businesses need a new consensus between collaboration and independence; a playbook to create change from within.

Collaboration is often treated as a soft skill or a process layer. At HITMXE, we treat it as a design principle. A way to build systems and stories that are resilient, inclusive, and future-fit.

Drawing from our concept of cultures of enthusiasm, we help organizations move beyond siloed execution toward shared meaning and mutual reinforcement.

ā€œDon’t re-org. Don’t lay-off. Re-design.ā€
— Oliver Spalding

šŸ‘„ Who is this for?

1ļøāƒ£ CMOs & CXOs seeking better revenue outcomes through cross-functional alignment

2ļøāƒ£ Innovation Leads designing internal change with emotional resonance

3ļøāƒ£ HR & Culture Architects building inclusive, high-performance teams

4ļøāƒ£ Systems Designers rethinking contribution and autonomy.


šŸ”® What we explore

1. The six components of cultures of enthusiasm

  • Common Languages

  • Integrated Measurement

  • Outcomes-based models

  • Calculated Independence

  • Communities & Tribes:

  • Minimum Lovable Products.

2. Designing for mutual reinforcement

  • Cooperation and collaboration as co-equal forces

  • Avoiding monolithic processes and re-org fatigue

  • Identifying inflection points across teams

3. From systems to stories

  • Harmonizing sameness and difference

  • Building shared cultural architecture

  • Designing rituals that reinforce belonging


šŸ› ļø

Engagement format examples

  • ā€œCollaboration Without Compromiseā€

    Build systems that support both autonomy and alignment

  • ā€œCultures of Enthusiasm Studioā€

    A multi-session journey through the six components

  • Designing Change From Withinā€

    Why collaboration is a design challenge, not a process fix


šŸ”— Related resources


šŸ’­ Final thought

Collaborative design isn’t just about consensus, it’s about coherence with independence. At Humans In The Machine, we help organizations build cultures that don’t just work together, they think together and flow together - like murmuration in birds. Because in a world obsessed with standing out, perhaps the most radical act is to stand together.

Let’s work together