At first glance, the flowers at DiffExpo25 may have seemed like beautiful decoration — a burst of colour across tables and corners of the venue.
But, they carried a far deeper message.
A living metaphor for transformation
The arrangements, created by Jayne Manley, Director at Sunnyhill Consultants, weren’t about aesthetics. They were designed to spark a conversation. In her talk – Are we ready? To learn, think, and thrive? An invitation to see technology and AI ecosystems through a fresh lens – Jayne challenged us to think about sustainability beyond its usual contexts, using flowers as a metaphor to step outside of our professional comfort zones.
For many attendees, this talk was eye-opening. By asking people to consider something as universal yet overlooked as flowers, Jayne created a space where conversations about sustainability and transformation became more tangible and human.
One of Jayne’s simplest but most striking choices was to move the arrangements around throughout the day. Flowers from daytime sessions reappeared at the evening dinner, a gentle but powerful reminder that sustainability isn’t about constant consumption, but about reimagining, reusing, and maximising value.
This mindset extends far beyond the cut flower and floristry sectors. In change and transformation, the same principle applies: how can we make the best use of the tools, data, and knowledge we already hold, before chasing the next new thing?
Another unexpected impact of the flowers was the community they inspired. Attendees gathered around them for photos, shared them online, and carried them home at the end of the event. What began as an arrangement became a symbol of collaboration, of shared experience, and of joy.
At Differentis, we believe transformation thrives when we look at challenges from new perspectives. The flowers, grown in the UK and arranged without unsustainable mechanics, were more than centrepieces; they embodied that philosophy. They showed us that by shifting context — by looking through an unexpected lens — we can unlock fresh thinking on the most pressing issues of our time.
As Jayne herself reflected: “Sustainability is about looking to the future, being creative and challenging our use of natural resources and being mindful of the impact we are having on the planet.”
Dave King, Managing Director at Differentis, said: “AI was a central theme at DiffExpo25, but Jayne embodied our call to Dare to be Different. By using flowers to challenge how we think about sustainability and transformation, she created one of the most surprising and impactful moments of the day. The response was remarkable. Jayne showed us that fresh perspectives don’t just add to the conversation, they change it. And that’s exactly what this event was about.”
At DiffExpo25, her flowers left us with a reminder: real change often begins when we dare to see the familiar in a completely different light.
