Simon Wardley

A British researcher and strategist, best known as the inventor of Wardley Mapping. A former CEO and advisor to startups (acquired by large tech firms). He’s a frequent speaker at international conferences and has twice been voted among the UK’s top 50 most influential IT figures by Computer Weekly

Keynote—Crossing the river by feeling the stones

In dynamic, fast-moving organisations, waiting for perfect clarity before acting is a recipe for drift or disaster. This talk explores how Wardley Mapping helps teams and leaders make strategic decisions in uncertainty, not by chasing false certainty, but by learning to “feel the stones” beneath their feet as they move. Drawing on real-life examples from both tech and non-tech contexts, I’ll walk through how mapping has been used to break down silos between teams by making assumptions, dependencies, and blind spots visible; align organisational structure to purpose and landscape, avoiding one-size-fits-all operating models; create shared situational awareness, so teams can respond coherently even in complexity and spot strategic self-harm.

We will follow a few grounded stories: where maps helped, where they revealed hard truths, and where they were completely ignored (to everyone’s regret).