Why the best Ideas get “Governed to Death” (and how you can keep them alive)

How many times have you watched a great idea slowly disappear under layers and layers of “just enough governance”?

Many of us design genuinely good ideas, better services, clearer ways of working and systems shaped around real human needs.

And yet we’ve all seen the same pattern: an idea lands well, starts to work, and then slowly accumulates layers of governance, approval, and control until it’s barely recognisable.

This session isn’t about blaming organisations or defending specific methods.

Instead, we’ll explore a recurring pattern seen across Service Design, Agile, and large-scale change: why ideas that reduce friction, build trust, or distribute decision-making often become uncomfortable once they begin to matter.

What you’ll get out of this session?
Together, we’ll combine short reflections with practical, participatory exercises, share real examples, explore when governance genuinely helps, and spot the signs of when it starts to quietly suffocate the very thing it was meant to protect.

Who should come along?
This session is designed for thinkers, doers, and change makers no prior knowledge required, just curiosity and a passion to keep good ideas alive.

Anything else?
As always, there’ll be drinks, nibbles, and plenty of time to connect with like-minded curious people.

🎫 Places are free but limited – book yours and join the conversation.

About our speaker
Sergio Seelochan is a delivery and systems practitioner with 25+ years’ experience across banking, insurance, fintech, and large digital organisations.

His work sits at the intersection of Service Design, Agile, and organisational power exploring how trust, control, and incentives shape the systems we build.

He is a co-organiser of Agile Nottingham. Only recently discovered that he is a lifelong Marxist. He is also assisted in his work by three cats, who contribute regularly and without seeking formal governance.