The Anti-Cambridge Analytica

How does a massive, complex institution like the NHS respond to a crisis? It turns out that some of the most important work happens outside the formal structures—in informal networks, personal relationships, and even WhatsApp groups.

In this episode, I sit down with Diarmaid Crean, who served as a senior technology leader in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coming from the private sector, Diarmaid brought an outsider's perspective to government and some refreshing ideas about leadership, innovation, and how change actually happens inside large institutions.

We talk about his experience helping lead the NHS through one of the most challenging periods in its history, but spend much of our conversation unpacking something that became a particular fascination of his: the hidden networks that helped people move quickly, share information, solve problems, and work across organizational boundaries when it mattered most.

It's a fascinating conversation about the power of relationships, the limits of formal hierarchies, and what it really takes to make innovation happen in large, messy, complex systems.

And it raises a bigger question: If these informal networks are so important to making government work, why do we pay so little attention to them?Also check out Diarmaid's article on murmurations: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nhs-doesnt-need-another-centrally-architected-masterplan-crean-aglfe/