[TMA] Surfing the Waves of Liminality

My publishing schedule has been in flux due to Spring Break travel (visiting colleges with the 12th grader!). But I've been busy, so wanted to share...

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LIMINAL 3: The Waves Within Waves

Two hours ago I hit publish on the latest episode of Finding Our Way, which is the third installment of LIMINAL, our side quest in unpacking this moment we are in.

We recorded this episode a few weeks ago, and one theme from it has stuck with me most since then: the need to operate collectively.

There's something about this moment that is driving people to tackle their challenges in isolation, with each of us figuring it out for ourselves. In some contexts, we are pitted against one another to justify our standing.

But this moment is greater than any individual can master. The only way through is together—connecting with others with similar values to make sense of the situation and propose productive ways forward.

As I think through this, I realize this connects with another theme, which is the sociopathy of the executive class. The selection criteria for the c-suite is an ability to see people as just another resource on a balance sheet, like IT or furniture. As unionizing has shown, it requires collective action to successfully grapple with these sociopathic corporate forces.

This episode spans widely, with Jesse kicks us off with a surfing 🏄‍♂️ metaphor, which we then push, pull, prod, and generally overextend as we address how leaders can best gird themselves in this upheaval. We discuss leading with intention, developing discernment to identify the work worth doing and shedding everything else, and recognizing their own power and agency.

Listen in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whatever podcatcher you prefer. You can also read the transcript.

The Evolving Design Process

A podcast worth your time is the latest episode of AI And Design, hosted by Dan Saffer and Nik Martelaro, with guest (and Adaptive Path cofounder) Mike Kuniavsky. It's an extremely provocative discussion on the practice of design in the face of all this AI tooling.

And "provocative" in that I was occasionally provoked to yell at Mike because I disagree with him, but I also know Mike is among the deepest thinkers around this stuff that I know, so I had to wonder if I need to check my priors. You will come away from this discussion thinking different about how work gets done.

Have a delightful weekend!