"Could BlackBerry have remained the best-selling mobile phone brand if its leaders, including cofounder Mike Lazaridis, had rethought their strategy to adapt to the smartphone revolution? Can we design another breakthrough moment - like the first iPod click wheel or the simplicity of Google's search box - by rethinking what meaningful interaction really means?"
"Now Earth is a mess, its climate warming rapidly, its seas full of waste. There are microplastics in the glaciers, the air is polluted and forests are being destroyed to make more stuff. If everything is design, then design is responsible for all of it."
"It feels different in tech right now. We're coming off a long era where optimism carried the industry. Something has curdled. AI hype, return-to-office mandates, and continued layoffs have shifted the mood. Managers are quicker to fire, existential dread has replaced the confidence that a tight job market for developers provided for decades. The vibes are for sure off."
Innovations can stall when leaders remain fixed on past paths instead of rethinking strategy and interaction models. Iconic companies like BlackBerry missed opportunities by not adapting to smartphone shifts, while breakthrough moments arose from reimagining meaningful interaction. Designers face responsibility for environmental and social harms produced by mass consumption, and compensation often reflects business value and accountability rather than effort or knowledge alone. Leadership now must navigate a changed cultural mood in tech—marked by AI hype, return-to-office mandates, and layoffs—requiring different approaches to support teams and restore confidence.
Read at Medium
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