Beyond solutions — our story problem: Interview with Dr. Dominique Hes

I had the honor of interviewing Dr. Dominique Hes — regenerative design pioneer, educator, co-author of Designing for Hope, and one of the biggest influences on my own thinking over the past two decades.

“We have become very good at changing the stuff. We have paid far less attention to changing the story.” — Dr. Dominique Hes

That distinction (and how it came to matter to Dominique) framed almost everything we discussed.

For years, Dominique has worked across science, engineering, architecture, and regenerative development. Yet she increasingly believes that:

Our greatest challenges are no longer technical. They are narrative. Because economics is a story. Planning is a story. And so is law. organizations. and markets. Even many of the systems we experience as fixed are, ultimately, stories we collectively agreed to live inside.

Stories are infrastructure.

That conversation led somewhere neither of us expected: the regenerative brain. The possibility that our collective excellence in analytical, literate, reductionist thinking has left us less practiced at noticing, relationships, presence, and seeing wholes.

Perhaps regeneration requires a different way of paying attention.

“Listen with the intent to learn.” — Dr. Dominique Hes

Listen not to reply, persuade, or defend, but to understand. That feels rare. And vital.

Another lovely moment came from me asking Dominique, What kind of changemaker do you consider yourself to be?

“I’m mycelium.” — Dr. Dominique Hes