Cut the Crap:
Does Innovation Regenerate or Deplete?
The Shepherd & The Steward — From Human Doing to Life-Centered Being
We celebrate innovation. We reward speed. We optimise efficiency.
But the planet is exhausted, systems are cracking, and so called “solutions” keep multiplying.
So perhaps the problem is not that we innovate too little, but that we innovate from the wrong premise. Inside a living system, nothing is isolated. You don’t command the flock into coherence — you move with it. What if stewardship is not the opposite of innovation, but its condition?
At this Meetup, we confront a radical shift: from human-centered doing to life-centered being. From designing for systems to designing within them. We’ll learn from the Shepherd and the Steward, from producing solutions to practicing stewardship.
Featuring
Chiara Treglia — The Regenerative Culture Steward
Working at the intersection of design, learning and organisational transformation to cultivate cultures rooted in responsibility and long-term thinking.
Walter Baets — The Wicked Problems Shepherd
Bridging complexity theory, quantum interpretations of innovation and lived experience as a shepherd, exploring how direction emerges within living systems.
Expect sharp dialogues, bold insights, honest reflections and an open, welcoming conversation. Because at the EHV Innovation Café, the discussion is not the afterthought — it is the main act.
Whether you’re a founder, designer, technologist, policymaker, educator or curious do-er, this is your space to listen, learn and connect.
We are Inclusive by Default and Give to Grow.
Because the real shift is not controlling the flock, but learning how to move with it
Can we cut the crap — and make innovation an act of care?
Moderated by Charlotte Grün
@ Kazerne Downtown Eindhoven
Walk in from 17:30, Start 18:00.
English spoken, Free entrance, Open to All.
Special Guests
Chiara Treglia
Regenerative Design Practitioner | Learning & Development Expert | Coach
Chiara Treglia operates at the intersection of regenerative design, learning and organizational transformation. Through her practice tini studio as ICF-accredited (ACC) coach, she supports organisations in cultivating cultures rooted in responsibility, shared meaning and long-term thinking.
Trained as a design engineer at TU Eindhoven, she later completed a Global Innovation Design MSc/MA at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. Her trajectory reflects a shift from designing products to designing conditions — from problem-solving to culture-shaping.
As Learning & Development expert at TU/e Innovation Space and Chair of Stichting SPEN (Sustainability Professionals Eindhoven Network), she works across ecosystems, connecting internationals and locals around social and environmental sustainability.
Chiara challenges the assumption that design is neutral. She argues that design is always political, always relational, and always shaping culture — whether intentionally or not.
“Design is not a tool to fix the world. It is a practice that shapes how we relate to the world and to each other over time.”
Walter Baets
Wicked Problems Officer at Eindhoven Engine | Professor Emeritus | Shepherd
Walter Baets is Professor Emeritus at the University of Cape Town and currently Wicked Problems Officer at Eindhoven Engine. Internationally recognised for his work on complexity and the quantum interpretation of innovation and transformation, he has built an academic career across seven countries, bridging econometrics, strategy, leadership and systemic change.
Former Dean of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town and Allan Gray Chair in Values-Based Leadership, Walter has long explored how organisations learn and transform under conditions of uncertainty.
In parallel, he is a part-time shepherd. Participating in transhumance — walking 230 km with sheep across France — reshaped his understanding of innovation, belonging, and leadership. Living inside a moving ecosystem, he experienced what entanglement means in practice. Immersed in the here and now, he discovered the power of authenticity — and how creativity and innovation are born in the silence between thoughts.
His motto: Love your problem, not your solution.
“Innovation is not about imposing order. It is about sensing patterns in the living system you are already part of.”
Context
Innovation has become a reflex.
A KPI.
A growth strategy.
A promise of control.
But what if the problem is not that we innovate too little, but that we innovate from the wrong premise?
For decades, innovation has been framed as inherently good. More solutions. More scale. More optimisation. Yet while innovation accelerated, ecological limits were crossed and inequality deepened.
We kept solving.
The world kept unravelling.
Perhaps the issue is not speed.
Perhaps it is our ground principle.
Modern innovation often assumes we stand apart from what we create, that we can intervene without consequence, optimise without depletion, extract without being affected ourselves, or affecting other living systems.
But a shepherd knows better.
Inside a living system, nothing is isolated. You don’t command the flock into coherence — you move with it. You read patterns. You adjust. You participate. Force creates resistance. Attention creates alignment.
Once we acknowledge entanglement, neutrality disappears.
Innovation without stewardship accelerates damage.
Stewardship without innovation risks paralysis.
Sometimes direction does not emerge from pushing harder, but from pausing long enough to sense what the system actually needs. In the space between actions, perception sharpens. Responsibility becomes visible.
This shift – from control to participation, from extraction to responsibility – demands more than new tools or better strategies.
It demands courage.
This Meetup is not about romanticising shepherds or rejecting innovation.
It is about understanding how direction emerges in living systems — and how we can guide large groups without domination, manipulation, or force.
Because the real shift is not learning how to control the flock — but learning how to move with it, so that collective transformation becomes possible.
If innovation shapes the future, what must shape innovation?
Can we cut the crap — and make innovation an act of care?
Our city is full of hidden Tech & Design gems that fuel transformation. Now is the time to unite their superpowers. What visions do they hold for creating an attractive, sustainable world for us and future generations? What groundbreaking experiments and prototypes are they developing to boost our society forward? How can we learn from each other and contribute to this shared mission? Join us for an inspiring event where ideas and connections come to life!
Join the EHV Innovation Café Tech & Design Meetup
Do you want be a part of the Future of Eindhoven? Mark the event in your calendar and secure your free ticket here. Walk in is also possible but the seats for the debat are limited. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!
26 March 2026
17:30 Walk-in and networking, we’ll offer a free drink and a bite
18:00 Introduction to the Special Guests followed by a moderated debate
19:00 Networking
20:00 Meet-up dinner with the speakers
English spoken, of course