How IBM scaled design thinking remotely
When IBM shifted tens of thousands of employees to remote work, Lee Duncan helped lead the transformation. In this conversation, we discuss how enterprises adapted, what true compassionate leadership looks like, and why “no prototype, no meeting” became his mantra.
A conversation with Lee Duncan, Enterprise Design Sprint Leader at IBM Transformation
Originally recorded April 29, 2020
Introduction
How do you take an entire enterprise remote?
When the pandemic forced even the most established organisations to work virtually, Lee Duncan, Enterprise Design Sprint Leader at IBM Transformation, was already experimenting with ways to make enterprise collaboration more agile, visual, and human.
We spoke about how IBM scaled design thinking across the organisation, what the early challenges of remote work looked like, and what leadership and culture lessons stuck.
Compassionate leadership in a crisis
Ross Chapman: As many enterprise teams went remote for the first time, what stood out to you about how they handled the change?
Lee Duncan: Compassionate leadership was the biggest differentiator. Leaders needed to understand the human factor — family situations, uncertainty, stress. No one was truly prepared for what happened. The best companies communicated clearly, acted authentically, and showed empathy.
“Leaders make people feel safe. That’s what separates great companies.”
Clarity, calmness, and empathy became essential management skills. Or as Lee put it: “The more you know, the less you fear.”
The shock of going remote
Lee Duncan: IBM is a 100-year-old company. Many employees have been co-located for decades. So when the switch to remote happened overnight, it was a psychological shock — emotionally, culturally, and technically.
“Anything that happens that quick is disruptive. But it forced us to learn fast.”
The pace of change meant the team had to experiment continuously — not just to replicate the office remotely, but to redesign how collaboration worked altogether.
No prototype, no meeting
Lee Duncan: One of the biggest changes was embracing visual thinking. I love the phrase “No prototype, no meeting.” When you make work tangible, people see what others mean.
Design sprints helped accelerate that — producing real, testable outcomes fast. Time became the most valuable resource. Meetings without clear intent were cut.
“Everything we do should have intent. Time is the most precious resource that exists.”
Redesigning collaboration
The team overhauled communication, experimented with content strategy, and refined how to run large remote sessions of 50–70 people.
They learned to:
- Over-communicate with clarity and rhythm
- Build internal credibility through visible wins
- Create opportunities for experts to share knowledge
- Use data from tools like MURAL to measure engagement
Cursor activity, chat participation, and energy in workshops became live feedback signals.
Showing the work
Perfection took a back seat. Instead of polished decks, teams focused on unfinished but clear artefacts that drove decisions.
Lee Duncan: “There’s a cost to perfection. The goal is clarity, not polish.”
He emphasised the importance of handover ceremonies — translating design outcomes into the language of business so insights didn’t die in the workshop.
Future-proofing the enterprise
Lee believes the pandemic accelerated an overdue reflection for enterprises:
- What does our culture value — output or outcomes?
- What’s our collaboration stack?
- How do we design for the future of distributed work?
“Companies need to think about their collaboration stack — the technologies and tools that allow that to happen. That’s how you become future-ready.”
Closing thoughts
Ross Chapman: Incredible. Thank you for sharing your perspective, Lee — especially at a time when distance reshaped how we all worked.
Lee Duncan: Absolutely enjoyed it.
Lee Duncan’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent those of his employer.
