speaking and writing

I speak and write about what we can learn from unexpected places to mobilise collective action toward safer, more just and exciting futures.

My research explores cartels and monopolies, power, risk  and relationship-centred approaches to systems change. I'm also curious about active love (as an alternate to active 'hope') and community-making in changing world,. My recent TEDx talk and forthcoming book explore the connections between these topics.

I'm available for speaking engagements, workshops and podcast conversations. I welcome invitations to collaborate on related articles and research.
Get in touch
Sarah is addressing an audience with a serious look on her face. Her hands are open. She has a microphone and she is wearing a cream blazer and yellow top. You can see her body from the waist up. She is wearing glasses.
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Watch my TEDx talk: can the cartel playbook be used for 'good'?

In this talk, I explore one particular perspective from my research on what cartels and monopolies can teach us about creating sustainable change in volatile times: the big business playbook.

By unpacking the playbook, I examine how big business is able to thrive even in the most volatile and uncertain times. Specifically, how they:

  • Invest in long-term relationships as leverage points for action
  • Strategically use power with others to multiply their impact
  • Systemically remove barriers to change rather than fighting resistance.

I ask the audience the question: "Can we steal their playbook and use it for good?" and invite them to improve the quality of their relationships, seek opportunities outside their own bubbles and support others who are taking big risks to succeed in creating positive change in the world.

Topics: Systems change, power dynamics, strategic partnerships, resilience, learning from unexpected places.

Listen to recent podcast conversations

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What Doesn't Kill Us with Dr Marion Piper
Episode 32 "Sarah Patterson on Love & Community"

Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify

‍In this conversation with Dr Marion Piper, we explore how to remain hopeful in challenging times. We dive into:

  • ‍creating just, safe, and abundant futures in uncertain times
  • why transformation is fundamentally about relationships
  • practical wisdom for staying grounded despite the storms you might be experiencing
  • the former US Surgeon General's 'Parting Prescription for America' and the idea of shifting from seeking success to seeking fulfilment
  • love, community and bringing people together to tackle big problems locally.
"Medicine for any of you that might be feeling a little hopeless, given the state of things" - Dr Marion Piper
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The Forest Floor with Simon Wong
Season 1, Episode 2 "Bushrangers Bay: Sarah Patterson on Listening, Loving, and Belonging"

‍In this conversation with Simon Wong, we take a walk to Bushrangers Bay on Bunurong/Boonwurrung Country and reflect on:

  • the importance of love and connection in fragile times
  • learning and unlearning from nature
  • community and what it means in a changing world
  • the "myth of alignment" and finding our own ways to move through unifed efforts
  • what we can learn from cartels about power and innovation
"By tick boxing, codifying, what collaboration is, we're really damaging, any hope of finding breakthrough solutions." - Sarah Patterson

See me speaking live - upcoming events

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"Design like a cartel boss"
Upcoming keynote | 16 July 2026
The Outlook Firebrand '26
Naarm/Melbourne

Conference Website

They told us in design school that we could save the world. For a while, I believed them.That story worked in theory but not in practice. Climate crisis, extinction, fracturing social systems. The challenges we face can’t be solved by any single discipline, no matter how skilled or well-intentioned. I felt the gap between what I'd been promised and what I could actually do, and for a long time, I didn't know how to close it.
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This is a talk about reclaiming agency when the world feels too big and too broken to design your way through.
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Driven by curiosity about those who navigate and thrive in chaos I found myself studying some unlikely teachers: drug cartels, corporate monopolies and big tech. What I discovered was as uncomfortable as it was clarifying. These actors are ruthlessly effective at securing leverage, multiplying impact through others, and systematically dismantling the barriers that stand between them and their goals.
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It left me with one question: what happens if we steal their playbook and use it for good?
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This session won't give you a tidy answer. But it will change the way you think about power, relationships and how designers might reclaim their agency in an increasingly volatile world.


Interested in having me as a speaker or guest on your podcast? These are the topics I'm currently exploring.

I deliver keynotes, facilitate workshops and speak on podcasts about strategic partnering, effective collaboration and systems change - all through the lenses of relationship-centred approaches and finding lessons in unexpected places. Below are some of the topics I'm exploring right now. I'm always open to collaborating with you to develop something specific to your needs.

‍Format options: Keynotes (15-45 mins) | Workshops (90-mins, half-day, full day) | Panel discussions and moderation | Podcast and interview conversations.

1. Can the cartel playbook be used for good?

Based on my TEDx talk and ongoing research. I explore what cartels and monopolies can teach us about building systems resilience in volatile times, investing in long-term relationships, strategic use of power with for collective impact and removing barriers to change.

Audience: leaders navigating systems change, change-makers, systems thinkers

2. Understanding the Partnership Lifecycle

Drawing on over 20 years of work in policy, innovation and systems change. I share the fundamentals of creating the conditions for enduring change in your partnerships across 5 stages: preparing, building foundations, co-creating, navigating challenges and ending well.

Audience: leaders navigating systems change, executives, community builders

3. Centring relationships in systems change

An interactive session on why change is about relationships, not just having the perfect strategy. We cover power, risk and courage, reciprocal relationships, invisible forces that derail us and the myth of alignment and I introduce practical tools to improve your relationships.

Audience: strategic leaders, consultants, facilitators, community builders
Book me to speak

Follow my research and co-conspire with me

‍I'm writing a book on what we can learn from cartels and monopolies to mobilise collective action for 'good'. On Substack, I share ongoing research, provocations and reflections through The Good Cartel series and personal essays. Recent explorations include:
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  • The Good Cartel series: deep dives into historial cartels exploring what changemakers can steal from their playbooks and whether its possible to decouple what is harmful from what is useful.
  • When systems change meets regulation: How regulatory frameworks intersect with the collaboration needed for climate and social transformation. Who gets to define what good collaboration looks like? When does coordination tip into collusion? How can we innovate in competitive settings?
  • Values-based tensions and delusions: the tension between what we value in times of safety versus crisis, and what it means to walk the tightrope between them. Examining blind spots in our perception and challenging the delusion of "solving" metacrisis from Islands of Sanity.
  • Community building and overcoming the trust deficit: personal stories about choosing curiosity over fear in search for greater connection to ourselves and others.
You can explore and subscribe to my Substack below. I'm looking for co-conspirators to work with on the book, so if you have had experience inside a 'cartel' (good, bad or ugly) get in touch.
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Writing style: Long-form, reflective and critical. I weave (at times vulnerable) personal narrative with systems thinking and provocation.

Let's connect

Whether you're looking for a speaker for your event, a guest for your podcast, or want to explore how I might support your partnership or systems change work, I'd love to hear from you.

You can schedule a 30 minute call or send me a message and I'll get back to you shortly.
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Strategic Designer and Partnership Broker in Naarm/Melbourne working with leaders and visionaries with complex collaboration challenges.
Trading as The Good Cartel Consulting
ABN: 33 628 372 151
PO Box 3026, Ripponlea VIC 3184
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I acknowledge the Bunurong/Boonwurrung people of the Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians of the land, water, and sky of the Country I live on. This beautiful place I get to call home always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I pay my respects to the Elders who have cared for this Country since time immemorial. I commit to understanding, listening and learning from the stories, culture and traditions of all First Peoples, and to contributing to caring for Country too.
© 2025 SARAH PATTERSON
TEDx CANBERRA PHOTOS BY THOMAS LUCRAFT AND SAM COULTER