NEW COURSE

Writing as Thinking

(and Learning and Leading)

An eight-week course for technologists — exploring writing practices for thinking, learning and leading.


This course is full! We will be offering it again soon. Please leave your contact info at the bottom of this page. We'll let you know when ... and send you a discount coupon.


As technologists, we craft knowledge. We weave other people’s thinking (and experiences) into our own. We construct recommendations that we believe have value.

We envision what is not yet visible and bring it to life.

We also get lost in the forest of disparate opinions. We go down promising paths and find dead ends. We discover a viable path … and nobody follows.

We are sometimes screaming into the wind.

Constructing something whole and actionable from abstract ideas requires creating conceptual integrity. Unfortunately, we are truly terrible at creating or maintaining conceptual integrity … unless we are supported by practices.

Fortunately, writing is the practice of crafting conceptual integrity.

Our writing practices will help us:

  • strengthen metacognition: awareness and understanding of our own thought process.
  • synthesize knowledge, experience and sound judgement into well-reasoned recommendations.
  • integrate disparate experiences and expertise.
  • focus on how to think, rather than what to think.
  • navigate uncertainty through inquiry and structured learning.
  • think well, together.


Thinking well together generates better outcomes. And makes daily life more enjoyable for everyone. When people cooperatively strengthen their thinking, and reasons for acting, they make better decisions.

When we structure teams and initiatives with high levels of conceptual integrity, where knowledge grows and people flourish, we are providing integrative leadership. This type of leadership is a strong foundation for generating true and lasting change.

January 19 - March 16, 2023
Thursdays at Noon ET, 5pm GMT, 6pm CET, 9am PT
(one hour, remotely)

Cost: $499​
Join the beta (initial) class
for only
$249

This eight-week course meets weekly, remotely. Between classes, you will adopt writing practices. Together, we’ll iterate and improve those practices. (Classes are held in English. But you can write in any language you prefer.)

Includes:

  • A free ebook
  • Daily exercises and reading
  • Weekly group exercises and coaching
  • Editing and private feedback from Diana (if desired)

Weekly Agenda


01. Introduction to the three practices: For eight weeks, we’ll practice free writing, focused writing and synthesizing other people’s thinking (aka learning).

02. Free writing: Exploring multiple approaches to cultivating metacognition.

03. Focused writing practice: We can’t think if we can’t concentrate, so we’ll create space for focus in our daily life. (This practice can include modeling.)

04. Synthesizing and learning: Designing your own curriculum and growing your thinking practice.

05. Designing feedback loops: Including others in your thinking process without derailing it.

06. Systemic reasoning: Crafting recommendations in support of an action, idea or theory.

07. Strengthening the reasons: Improving the quality of your systemic reasoning.

08. (Re)structuring thinking, together: Creatively adapting your recommendations for various audiences.

Want to join the next class?

We'll let you know when it's happening.
And send you a coupon!

    We won't send you spam or share your information with anyone..

    Subscribers to the Mentrix weekly newsletter From Software to Systems get extra discounts on courses we offer. They also get books, podcasts and courses from systems thinkers inside, and outside, technology. Subscribe here.

    About the Course Creator

    Diana was an actor, writer and independent bookstore owner. She was selected for the Stonecoast Writer’s Conference and studied creative nonfiction writing with Diana Hume George.

    Fifteen+ years ago, she quit her communications career to pursue a career in tech. She has built software, led teams and architected systems for clients like The Economist, The Wikimedia Foundation and Stanford.

    Along the way, she discovered … technology architecture is a communications career. So, now she combines her skills to teach, architect knowledge systems and help organizations transform.

    Diana has taught workshops in coding and thinking all over the world. She lives in the bountiful Hudson Valley, New York, USA. Her hair is usually purple (or pink, or occasionally teal.)