Deliver Breakthrough Innovation Results
We partner with organizations to deliver real outcomes through innovation projects, workshops, and training.
Human-Centered Design
Solutions grounded in the needs of the people you serve
Learning Design
Training that changes behavior and delivers organizational outcomes
Service Design
Reimagine how your organization delivers value end-to-end
AI Adoption
Training, workflow design, service integration, and meaningful adoption
THE CHALLENGE
Your organization knows innovation matters. But ambition isn’t execution.
The gap between wanting to create new services and solutions and actually delivering results is a trap. This is where most organizations get stuck. Does this sound familiar?
>> WHAT YOU’RE FEELING
“We’ve been talking about innovation for years, but we still can’t point to real results.”
You’re the one responsible for driving change, and it feels like pushing a boulder uphill alone.
>> WHAT YOU’RE SEEING
“We keep hiring consultants who leave us with a deck and no capability to execute.”
Projects stall. Training doesn’t stick. AI adoption has no strategy. Services stay broken.
>> WHAT YOU BELIEVE
“Innovation shouldn’t be theater. It should deliver real outcomes for the people we serve.”
Every organization that cares about serving people well deserves the skills and tools to keep improving.
HOW WE WORK
A clear path from challenge to breakthrough.
No mystery. No jargon. Three steps to real results.
1
FOCUS
Tell us where you’re stuck.
We help you reveal and select pathways between stuck and the outcomes that matter most.
2
RESPOND
We design and deliver together.
Through consulting projects, workshops, or training — or a combination — we partner with your team to deliver breakthrough results.
3
EXPAND
Your organization gets results that last.
You walk away with measurable outcomes and a team equipped to keep innovating long after the engagement ends.
Dawan Stanford, JD, PhD
President, Fluid Hive
YOUR GUIDE
I’ve spent over 20 years helping organizations turn innovation ambition into real results.
I’ve seen how frustrating it is when innovation becomes a buzzword instead of a practice — when leaders are expected to drive change but aren’t given the expertise or tools to make it happen. That’s exactly why Fluid Hive exists.
Georgetown University — Faculty teaching human-centered design; Fellow at the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, focused on AI and learning innovation
AI Developer & Service Designer at HyperGlyph Systems — designing, building and deploying AI systems that generate revenue
Ohio State University — Served as Director of Design and Innovation, reporting to the provost, coaching senior leadership, fostering innovation across 1,800 staff
Hundreds of leaders trained across higher education, corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors — including hundreds of university presidents at CIC’s Presidents Institute
Technology & Corporate Law — former attorney international experience ranging from startups to multinational corporations
What People Are Saying
Dawan opens possibilities with amazing questions, excellent facilitations, and thought-provoking tools. I love working with Dawan because he helps me imagine what might be possible.
Dawan, you covered a lot in a short time in Designing Engaging Workshops and I was amazed at how much you unpacked. Thanks again for your insights.
Dawan Stanford helped my Strategic Plan Steering Committee gel as a group and really focus on the outcomes they want from the plan. He was energizing, affirming and motivating every step of the way.
Expert Help When You Need It — Design Thinking 101 Podcast!
Practical insights on design research, human-centered design, innovation methodologies, and the skills that drive breakthrough results — from conversations with leaders across tech, government, higher education, nonprofit, and corporate sectors.
Leadership & Strategy + Fighter Pilots + Design Education with Jason “TOGA” Trew — DT101 E145
When I first connected with Jason Trew (callsign: TOGA), I knew this conversation would challenge some assumptions about where design thinking belongs. Jason is an Air Force fighter pilot and strategy leader turned professor. What emerged from our conversation wasn't...
Operational Excellence in Design + Leadership + Design Ops with Jon Fukuda — DT101 E144
Jon said that when he first discovered the design operations community at the 2019 Design Ops Summit in Brooklyn, it felt like coming home. Here was this entire tribe of people who cared about the same things he’d been passionate about for years—creating systems that...
Building Sustainable Research Systems in Organizations with Sam Zucker — DT101 E143
The tension between doing good research and delivering on tight timelines is something I've experienced throughout my career in design and innovation. This conversation with Sam Zucker unpacks powerful approaches to making research more sustainable and equitable while...
Transform your career with breakthrough innovation skills.
Use Fluid Hive’s Breakthrough Innovation System to create change, impact or revenue in three steps.
#1 Breakthrough Innovation Tools, a guide that shows you where to start, what to do, and how to do it.
#2 Breakthrough Innovation Projects, an online course teaching you a simple way to launch innovation projects that get results.
#3 Breakthrough Innovation Workshops, an online course giving you the ability to help people do their best work in less time as you create new solutions.
Order Breakthrough Innovation Tools and take your first transformation step today!
