Indi Young
@indiyoung.bsky.social
Data Science that Listens - indiyoung.com
Book - Time to Listen indiyoung.com/books/
Systems thinking research for solutions that support human variety. (Fully human made posts & illustrations; no use of AI)
Book - Time to Listen indiyoung.com/books/
Systems thinking research for solutions that support human variety. (Fully human made posts & illustrations; no use of AI)
Pinned
Fresh Starts — Not Everyone Wants Them
Both Solar and Lunar New Year have traditions around cleaning up and making a fresh start. Not everyone is into cleaning or fresh starts…
medium.com
Me, I like fresh starts. I am a minimalist which manifests as having everything put away. My partner is a just-in-case-ist, which means buy extra to be prepared for the unexpected. Awareness of this kind of variety is core to your team’s ability to generate deep ideas.
medium.com/inclusive-so...
medium.com/inclusive-so...
Demographic assumptions: A person's demographics don't cause their inner thinking, emotional reactions, or personal rules (except in experiences of discrimination).
January 20, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Demographic assumptions: A person's demographics don't cause their inner thinking, emotional reactions, or personal rules (except in experiences of discrimination).
Me, I like fresh starts. I am a minimalist which manifests as having everything put away. My partner is a just-in-case-ist, which means buy extra to be prepared for the unexpected. Awareness of this kind of variety is core to your team’s ability to generate deep ideas.
medium.com/inclusive-so...
medium.com/inclusive-so...
Fresh Starts — Not Everyone Wants Them
Both Solar and Lunar New Year have traditions around cleaning up and making a fresh start. Not everyone is into cleaning or fresh starts…
medium.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Me, I like fresh starts. I am a minimalist which manifests as having everything put away. My partner is a just-in-case-ist, which means buy extra to be prepared for the unexpected. Awareness of this kind of variety is core to your team’s ability to generate deep ideas.
medium.com/inclusive-so...
medium.com/inclusive-so...
Summary: For each concept write a summary using their words. Use this formula, to make it easier to see patterns in the second part of data synthesis: verb + key point + supporting details. The key point is what the person is verb-ing.
January 13, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Summary: For each concept write a summary using their words. Use this formula, to make it easier to see patterns in the second part of data synthesis: verb + key point + supporting details. The key point is what the person is verb-ing.
Comb transcripts for concepts: Search each transcript for all the inner thinking, emotional reactions, and personal rules. Gather repeats into single concepts, and untangle clumped ones, so that you can write a summary for each concept.
January 12, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Comb transcripts for concepts: Search each transcript for all the inner thinking, emotional reactions, and personal rules. Gather repeats into single concepts, and untangle clumped ones, so that you can write a summary for each concept.
The user spent 30 minutes trying to find where to "allow" a call in on their mobile phone from a doctor that is not in their contacts list. She used to know how, but the phone updated. The help files did not get updated, though.
January 5, 2026 at 8:37 PM
The user spent 30 minutes trying to find where to "allow" a call in on their mobile phone from a doctor that is not in their contacts list. She used to know how, but the phone updated. The help files did not get updated, though.
New year's resolution: schedule a lunch or a coffee with one decision-maker a week. Cut across departments. And rotate around to the start of your decision-makers list again, so that you have at least four or five chances in the year to have 1-to-1 listening sessions with them over lunch or coffee.
January 2, 2026 at 10:33 AM
New year's resolution: schedule a lunch or a coffee with one decision-maker a week. Cut across departments. And rotate around to the start of your decision-makers list again, so that you have at least four or five chances in the year to have 1-to-1 listening sessions with them over lunch or coffee.
A friend told me about an org where the researchers are so protective of their work that they only let the product folks see a "report." And my friend's complaint is that the PM's don't get the benefit of knowing the audience.
December 30, 2025 at 9:52 PM
A friend told me about an org where the researchers are so protective of their work that they only let the product folks see a "report." And my friend's complaint is that the PM's don't get the benefit of knowing the audience.
🎁 Last December Jess (my illustrator) and I made this BEAUTIFUL gift for you! Full of color and packed with illustrations. Have fun finding each thing on the list! It even has a coloring version 🌱
#HappyHolidays
––
Get the "I SPY: Data Science that Listens" here:
🔍 indiyoung.com/wp-content/u...
#HappyHolidays
––
Get the "I SPY: Data Science that Listens" here:
🔍 indiyoung.com/wp-content/u...
December 24, 2025 at 6:31 PM
🎁 Last December Jess (my illustrator) and I made this BEAUTIFUL gift for you! Full of color and packed with illustrations. Have fun finding each thing on the list! It even has a coloring version 🌱
#HappyHolidays
––
Get the "I SPY: Data Science that Listens" here:
🔍 indiyoung.com/wp-content/u...
#HappyHolidays
––
Get the "I SPY: Data Science that Listens" here:
🔍 indiyoung.com/wp-content/u...
It's near the end of the year, your budget is gone 💸;
you're sweating the deadlines, late nights make you yawn 🥱.
Inside at your core, curiosity and kindness still live 💗;
for some rest then some new views--anything you would give 🧠.
you're sweating the deadlines, late nights make you yawn 🥱.
Inside at your core, curiosity and kindness still live 💗;
for some rest then some new views--anything you would give 🧠.
December 18, 2025 at 8:37 AM
It's near the end of the year, your budget is gone 💸;
you're sweating the deadlines, late nights make you yawn 🥱.
Inside at your core, curiosity and kindness still live 💗;
for some rest then some new views--anything you would give 🧠.
you're sweating the deadlines, late nights make you yawn 🥱.
Inside at your core, curiosity and kindness still live 💗;
for some rest then some new views--anything you would give 🧠.
That was fun! I just finished a five-week private Team Practice Group for Listening Deeply!
Got education budget?? Join me for your own Private team practice group some day!
Permanent discounts, up to 30% off
Got education budget?? Join me for your own Private team practice group some day!
Permanent discounts, up to 30% off
December 12, 2025 at 3:57 PM
That was fun! I just finished a five-week private Team Practice Group for Listening Deeply!
Got education budget?? Join me for your own Private team practice group some day!
Permanent discounts, up to 30% off
Got education budget?? Join me for your own Private team practice group some day!
Permanent discounts, up to 30% off
1/2 You know how teams tend to converge on one solution? In digital, this is really common. Why not allow a few solutions?
There is a history behind this. While fashion, art, plays, books, tv shows all revel in variety, digital and mechanical things tend to narrow down.
There is a history behind this. While fashion, art, plays, books, tv shows all revel in variety, digital and mechanical things tend to narrow down.
December 10, 2025 at 6:31 PM
1/2 You know how teams tend to converge on one solution? In digital, this is really common. Why not allow a few solutions?
There is a history behind this. While fashion, art, plays, books, tv shows all revel in variety, digital and mechanical things tend to narrow down.
There is a history behind this. While fashion, art, plays, books, tv shows all revel in variety, digital and mechanical things tend to narrow down.
🧵 These past few years, does it seem to you like everybody starts with a solution, but nobody makes time for generating ideas?
By now, I hope there are teams who are ready to switch gears and set up idea camps. They will camp near a rich flow of knowledge and come up with several ideas.
By now, I hope there are teams who are ready to switch gears and set up idea camps. They will camp near a rich flow of knowledge and come up with several ideas.
December 4, 2025 at 11:49 PM
🧵 These past few years, does it seem to you like everybody starts with a solution, but nobody makes time for generating ideas?
By now, I hope there are teams who are ready to switch gears and set up idea camps. They will camp near a rich flow of knowledge and come up with several ideas.
By now, I hope there are teams who are ready to switch gears and set up idea camps. They will camp near a rich flow of knowledge and come up with several ideas.
Listening deeply helps people connect.
🤝 If you are trying to build someone’s trust in you, listening deeply is a super-connector for relationship-building among peers and with leadership.
🤝 If you are trying to build someone’s trust in you, listening deeply is a super-connector for relationship-building among peers and with leadership.
December 1, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Listening deeply helps people connect.
🤝 If you are trying to build someone’s trust in you, listening deeply is a super-connector for relationship-building among peers and with leadership.
🤝 If you are trying to build someone’s trust in you, listening deeply is a super-connector for relationship-building among peers and with leadership.
Listening sessions are a novel interview technique, with space to truly follow the conversation through twists and turns.
You are free to learn about the topics a person brings up without time cut-offs or scripted questions.
You are free to learn about the topics a person brings up without time cut-offs or scripted questions.
November 26, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Listening sessions are a novel interview technique, with space to truly follow the conversation through twists and turns.
You are free to learn about the topics a person brings up without time cut-offs or scripted questions.
You are free to learn about the topics a person brings up without time cut-offs or scripted questions.
If you work in government or healthcare, the focus is on supporting a greater share of the #population. An intentional, guided way to increase your support for people is to follow a mental model skyline, built from listening sessions about what people are focused on in their lives.
November 24, 2025 at 9:08 PM
If you work in government or healthcare, the focus is on supporting a greater share of the #population. An intentional, guided way to increase your support for people is to follow a mental model skyline, built from listening sessions about what people are focused on in their lives.
"All of my career I’ve been tilting at the windmill of tech’s process of speeding along to launch.
While the practitioners may be aware of the quandary, the orgs as entities enjoy speed like an addiction.
While the practitioners may be aware of the quandary, the orgs as entities enjoy speed like an addiction.
November 22, 2025 at 11:38 PM
"All of my career I’ve been tilting at the windmill of tech’s process of speeding along to launch.
While the practitioners may be aware of the quandary, the orgs as entities enjoy speed like an addiction.
While the practitioners may be aware of the quandary, the orgs as entities enjoy speed like an addiction.
When you are creating a basket of ideas, you try to think like the people you serve. During this work, speak aloud what people are thinking, using "I" instead of "they."
One of my team members says, "I get more juice out of it when I say the quote as that person." 💡
One of my team members says, "I get more juice out of it when I say the quote as that person." 💡
November 20, 2025 at 12:06 AM
When you are creating a basket of ideas, you try to think like the people you serve. During this work, speak aloud what people are thinking, using "I" instead of "they."
One of my team members says, "I get more juice out of it when I say the quote as that person." 💡
One of my team members says, "I get more juice out of it when I say the quote as that person." 💡
Under the stress of making solutions within quick deadlines, teams don't have time to ground their ideas in the complexity of how humans think while addressing an intention or purpose.
Stress and lack of time kill ideas, especially if the team is trying to create new ideas they didn't have before.
Stress and lack of time kill ideas, especially if the team is trying to create new ideas they didn't have before.
November 17, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Under the stress of making solutions within quick deadlines, teams don't have time to ground their ideas in the complexity of how humans think while addressing an intention or purpose.
Stress and lack of time kill ideas, especially if the team is trying to create new ideas they didn't have before.
Stress and lack of time kill ideas, especially if the team is trying to create new ideas they didn't have before.
🧵 Listening deeply help teams broaden their mindsets to serve people they vilify.
“The loud passenger,” “the by-the-book cook,” and “the partying campers” are all humans with cognition which is totally reasonable from their own point of view.
“The loud passenger,” “the by-the-book cook,” and “the partying campers” are all humans with cognition which is totally reasonable from their own point of view.
November 13, 2025 at 10:22 PM
🧵 Listening deeply help teams broaden their mindsets to serve people they vilify.
“The loud passenger,” “the by-the-book cook,” and “the partying campers” are all humans with cognition which is totally reasonable from their own point of view.
“The loud passenger,” “the by-the-book cook,” and “the partying campers” are all humans with cognition which is totally reasonable from their own point of view.
Thinking styles are not like personalities or horoscopes. Thinking styles are specific to ONE thing people are addressing. So I make characters separate from thinking styles. There is not the same number of characters as there are thinking styles.
📣 NEW COURSE on Thinking Styles soon!
📣 NEW COURSE on Thinking Styles soon!
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Thinking styles are not like personalities or horoscopes. Thinking styles are specific to ONE thing people are addressing. So I make characters separate from thinking styles. There is not the same number of characters as there are thinking styles.
📣 NEW COURSE on Thinking Styles soon!
📣 NEW COURSE on Thinking Styles soon!
A #listening session its not about coverage of topics your org needs answers to. It's more like a tour, so your org can build a better strategy to support more people.
November 7, 2025 at 8:30 PM
A #listening session its not about coverage of topics your org needs answers to. It's more like a tour, so your org can build a better strategy to support more people.
There are teams that are innovative, and there are teams that stay focused on the features of their solutions.
The innovative teams rely on durable knowledge that was built earlier about people’s personal rules, emotional states, and thinking style.
The innovative teams rely on durable knowledge that was built earlier about people’s personal rules, emotional states, and thinking style.
November 6, 2025 at 9:56 PM
There are teams that are innovative, and there are teams that stay focused on the features of their solutions.
The innovative teams rely on durable knowledge that was built earlier about people’s personal rules, emotional states, and thinking style.
The innovative teams rely on durable knowledge that was built earlier about people’s personal rules, emotional states, and thinking style.
Back when teams were encoding processes–making formerly manual things automated, digital, or scaled–there wasn’t a “come up with ideas” phase. There was a process, the team explored all parts of it, and they encoded it.
November 3, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Back when teams were encoding processes–making formerly manual things automated, digital, or scaled–there wasn’t a “come up with ideas” phase. There was a process, the team explored all parts of it, and they encoded it.
Strangely, I see more and more people writing that UX means "user interface." (?!) And that strategic, system-wide decisions are what #PMs and #CX do.
This is ironic because back when we invented UX as a name, it was an effort to move away from being restricted to the role of user interface. 🙃
This is ironic because back when we invented UX as a name, it was an effort to move away from being restricted to the role of user interface. 🙃
October 29, 2025 at 8:33 PM