
Power of Ten with Andy Polaine
In the Power of Ten podcast, Andy Polaine talks to guests from a broad range of disciplines about the intersection of design, technology, psychology, organisations, culture and society. The show looks at how design operates at many levels and in many forms, from thoughtful detail through organisational transformation to the changes in society and the world.
Latest episodes

Nov 13, 2020 • 58min
S2 Ep8: Dr James Hollis – finding meaning and purpose in life
In this episode it is an enormous treat and honour for me to have as my guest, Dr James Hollis, a Washington D.C. based Jungian psychoanalyst and the author of sixteen books on finding meaning and purpose in life, especially the passage into what C.G. Jung called the "second half of life" that most of us go through somewhere between our late 30s and late 40s. I've drawn upon his work for many years, especially in my leadership coaching.
Dr. Hollis shares his wisdom on our relationship to work, how we move through the middle passage and into the second half of life, and how we find our true meaning and purpose.
Show Links
James Hollis's website
James Hollis's books
Doctor’s Note newsletter
Andy on Twitter
Andy on LinkedIn
Polaine.com
Get in touch!

Oct 23, 2020 • 39min
S2 Ep7: Chris Hayward – design anthropology, people, airports and toilets
My guest this episode is my friend, ex-colleague and coffee chat buddy, Chris Hayward. We've often had long, fascinating conversations that I wish we had recorded afterwards, so that's exactly what this is. Chris talks about his work and training as a design anthropologist, what designers can learn from theory and literature, telling the stories of research. And we talk a lot about airports and toilets.
Show Links
Archive and transcript
Chris on LinkedIn
Chris is hosting a salon at EPIC 2020
How Buildings Learn by Stuart Brand
From Notes to Narrative by Kristen Ghodsee
Doctor’s Note newsletter
Andy on Twitter
Andy on LinkedIn
Polaine.com
Get in touch!

Oct 19, 2020 • 47min
S2 Ep6: Allati El Henson – treating design like it can change the world
My guest in this episode is brand strategist and design systems expert Allati El Henson who is currently Lead Brand Designer at Cloudflare. Allati recounts her experience growing up in the hood in East Oakland, the importance of education, discovering design as a profession, technical precision in design systems and the value of having a big store of confidence. And why designers need to treat design like it can change the world.
Show Notes
This episode's archive and transcript
Allati’s website
Allati on LinkedIn
Allati on Instagram
Allati on Twitter
Doctor’s Note newsletter
Andy on Twitter
Andy on LinkedIn
Polaine.com
Get in touch!

Sep 23, 2020 • 51min
S2 Ep5: Molly Wright Steenson - Architecture, interaction design, AI and ethics
My guest in this episode is Molly Wright Steenson, a designer, author, professor, and international speaker whose work focuses on the intersection of design, architecture, and artificial intelligence.
In this wide-ranging discussion, Molly explains how the history of computational technologies, architecture, pattern language and AI combined to define the fields of Agile, interaction design, UX, AI and pretty much the rest of today's digital world.
Show Notes
This episode's archive and transcript
Molly at Girlwonder.com
Molly on Twitter
Molly on LinkedIn
Molly at CMU
Architectural Intelligence: How Designers and Architects Created the Digital Landscape
Bauhaus Futures
Molly talking pneumatic tubes
Mark Pesce and Dr. Genevieve Bell’s podcast on the Mother of All Demos
Doug Engelbart’s Mother of All Demos
Doctor’s Note newsletter
Andy on Twitter
Andy on LinkedIn
Polaine.com
Get in touch!
And if you like Power of Ten, please consider giving it a rating or review on iTunes.

Aug 21, 2020 • 47min
S2 Ep4: Tanarra Schneider – Leader by Design, Badass by Nature
My guest in this episode is Tanarra Schneider, previously Managing Director of Fjord North America and now Head of Design for Accenture Interactive – Midwest. Tanarra talks about her journey into design, her experience as a black, female design leader, the design discipline growing up, and the responsibility of all designers to ensure we take the time to dismantle structural bias in our work and the world.
Show Links
Episode and transcript on Polaine.com
Tanarra
Tanarra on LinkedIn
Tanarra on Twitter
Accenture Interactive
Fjord
Chief
Andy
Doctor’s Note newsletter
Andy on Twitter
Andy on LinkedIn
Polaine.com
Get in touch!
And if you like Power of Ten, please consider giving it a rating or review on iTunes.

Aug 11, 2020 • 49min
S2 Ep3: Alexandra Jamieson & Bob Gower – Radical Alignment
In this episode Alexandra Jamieson and Bob Gower talk about their new book, Radical Alignment, a book about difficult conversations and how they can change your life. In it they discuss their framework for tackling difficult conversations, how to be inclusive, respectful and vulnerable, avoid the usual winner/loser dynamic, and end with radical alignment, whether that’s a “hell yes!” or “hell no!”
Alexandra a success coach for driven womxn. She has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart shows, was Elle Magazine’s Inspirational Coach of 2015, and was the co-creator of the Oscar-nominated Super Size Me.
Bob helps organizations design and build future-ready systems. He is an authority on lean, agile, and responsive org design, and has worked with Ford, Spotify, GE, and many others.
This episode's links and notes
Bob & Alex
Radical Alignment book site
Alex on Twitter
Alex’s website
Alex on LinkedIn
Alex on Instagram
Bob’s website
Bob on LinkedIn
Bob on Instagram
Andy
Doctor’s Note newsletter
Andy on Twitter
Andy on LinkedIn
Polaine.com
Get in touch!
And if you like Power of Ten, please consider giving it a rating or review on iTunes.

Jul 25, 2020 • 45min
S2 Ep2: Jim Kalbach - Jobs To Be Done
In the Power of Ten podcast, Andy Polaine talks to guests from a broad range of disciplines about the intersection of design, technology, psychology, organisations, culture and society. The show looks at how design operates at many levels and in many forms, from thoughtful detail through organisational transformation to the changes in society and the world.
My guest in this episode is Jim Kalbach, an author, speaker, and instructor in design, customer experience, and strategy. Jim has worked with many large companies and is currently Head of Customer Experience at MURAL, the leading online whiteboard. He is the author of Designing Web Navigation, Mapping Experiences and, most recently, the Jobs to be Done playbook.
Show Links
Jim’s website, Experiencing Information
Jim Kalbach on LinkedIn
Jim on Twitter
The Jobs to be Done playbook
Designing Web Navigation
Mapping Experiences
MURAL
This episode's links and notes
Doctor’s Note newsletter
Andy on Twitter
Andy on LinkedIn
Polaine.com
Get in touch!

Jul 25, 2020 • 2min
S2 Ep1: A New Home for Power of Ten
Welcome to the new season and feed for Power of Ten, a podcast about how design operates at many levels and in many forms, from thoughtful detail through organisational transformation to the changes in society and the world.
In upcoming episodes, I'll be talking about culture, airports and toilets with Design Anthropologist and Researcher, Chris Hayward, Jobs to Be Done and remote work with Mural's Jim Kalbach, Designing Conversations with Daniel Stillman, Radical Alignment with Bob Gower and Alex Jamieson, Architecture and artificial intelligence with Molly Wright Steenson, and journeys into Design Leadership with Ryan Rumsay.
Unfortunately, I was asked not to move the feed over to the new podcast host, so make sure you subscribe to the new feed and, as always, get in touch if you have any comments, feedback or suggestions for guests.
Links
Power of Ten's home
Doctor’s Note newsletter
Polaine.com
Andy on Twitter
Andy on LinkedIn
Get in touch!