The Future is too Precious to Leave to Chance.
Are you shaping the future,
or being shaped by it?
I work with leaders who are expanding possibilities
and shaping better futures.
Hi, Kia ora - I’m Jim Scully
A glimpse of my journey
Thirty years ago, I stumbled into a way of working that would shape everything that followed.
Human-centred design, or design thinking, was not mainstream. The pioneers were still figuring out the language for it. I was fortunate to learn from some of them early — and to spend the decades since using that lens to create impact across countries, sectors, and scales of complexity.
I've led from inside start-ups, multinationals and government. I've helped New Zealand exporters lift their game through Better by Design. Supported Singapore to grow its design thinking capability. Been on the UN Development Programme panel. Built NZ Government's first customer and human-centred design capability — from the ground up, inside one of its largest agencies.
Every one of those experiences taught me something the leadership books didn’t: the people who shape the future aren't always the ones with the biggest titles. They're the ones who've learned to design conditions — for better decisions, better systems, better possibilities — in others. Some are senior leaders, some are not.
The question that changed things
In 2024, I found myself sitting with a question. Two threads had run through my entire career: leading great teams, and designing better futures. What if design was the leadership stance the world actually needed right now? What if leaders were great designers?
That question became the foundation for everything I'm building.
I founded my leadership practice after successfully leading ThinkPlace | Wāhi Whakaaro NZ — a for-impact, for-profit design consultancy. The practice brings together thirty years of lived design and leadership experience in service of one purpose: helping leaders use design to shape what's next.
Shapers — the book I'm writing
Halfway through a book about leaders who expand possibilities rather than hoard them. I'm sharing frameworks and provocations as I go.
How I work (Local + Global)
I work with a small number of leaders at a time. Selectively. That's intentional.
The work isn't advisory in the traditional sense — it's closer to a thinking partnership, a design collaboration, a deliberate reshaping of how a leader sees their role and their future.
Mentoring. Strategic advisory. Keynotes and Strategic facilitation.
Beyond work
I love travel, having been to all 7 continents and 42 countries (with more to experience!)
Facilitating global innovation labs (UNLEASH)
Kayaking on the coast, fishing up a river, skiing down a mountain
Walking our dog (River) with my family on Wellington’s steep, green hills.
What are people
saying about Jim?
“I have worked with Jim Scully for over a decade, often collaborating to deliver workshops and experiences for senior government officials. Jim is a master at bringing a group together to catalyse new ways of looking at the world to generate new insights. You can ‘trust the process’ when the process is good and the right method is applied to the right challenge. On a personal level, Jim is unfailingly generous with his time and wisdom – he has been a valued sounding board for me. For raising my spirits and energy levels, a ‘Jim session’ has much more impact than any ‘gym session.”
Sally Washington, Practice Fellow (Policy capability & Public management)
“Jim has been an invaluable and highly respected part of the UNLEASH community, serving as a highly dedicated Facilitator at four UNLEASH Innovation Labs in Singapore, China, India and Rwanda where his outstanding innovation expertise, empathy, and motivational leadership have inspired numerous UNLEASH international teams across the world turning bold innovative ideas into action.”
Flemming Besenbacher,DSc, DSc h.c. mult., FRSC, Professor and Chairperson of UNLEASH, and former Chairman of Carlsberg Group
Jim Scully brings extensive experience, expertise, and thought leadership in applying a wide array of innovation approaches ranging from systems thinking to design thinking, to address diverse transformation challenges and building innovation capacity within institutions and organizations.”
Banny Banerjee, Global ChangeLabs Stanford
“Jim has helped me and the teams I have worked with navigate the complexities of driving innovation and change in forestry. He has a wonderful ability to view things from different perspectives, challenge your thinking, and often sets you down a more inspiring path.”
Claire Stewart, Programme Leader, Forest Growers Research
A Postcard from 2040……..
To you,
It’s 2040. You’re part of a thriving community of leaders who didn’t wait for the future to happen - you shaped it.
Through your leadership, you built high-performing, purpose-driven teams that still thrive long after you’ve moved on.
By 2026, your new blueprint was alive - and so was your momentum.
2025 was tough. But you made a defining choice.
You decided you needed a partner — not a coach — an ally who could help you design your way forward.
That’s when you asked Jim to be your trusted ally and mentor.
Together, you reimagined what leadership could look like.
You equipped others. You created space for emerging leaders to rise. The systems you designed still hold - clear, connected, and future-ready.
The rest is (future) history.
Regards……..
Let’s write a postcard to your future.
Schedule a call
Whether you’re guiding a public system, leading a team, or stepping into your next challenge, mentoring can accelerate your impact.
Mentor for future-shaping leaders