Innovate with Purpose
Summary
Recent advances in AI, ML and robotics have many wondering: Will there be no work left for humans to do? As long as we need to deal with climate change, protect wildlife and fragile ecology, feed the world, end disease, resettle refugees, and educate the next generation, there clearly is plenty of work for us all. The more important question is: Are organizations responsible for delivering returns to their shareholders regardless of social, environmental, and human consequences? The good news is that a new type of organization is emerging, one that delivers not just financial returns but serves the greater good of society they operate in.
Key Insights
-
•
The shift from profit-only business goals to societal contribution is changing enterprise missions and success metrics.
-
•
AI and automation will take over simple, codifiable tasks, leaving humans with more complex, strategic work.
-
•
Enterprise design skills are highly transferable to social impact work, as shown by Janaki’s NGO experience.
-
•
Systems thinking allows designers to create sustainable solutions by understanding the interconnectedness of processes and stakeholders.
-
•
Silos exist even in small NGOs and breaking them is critical for effective collaboration and innovation.
-
•
Fighting for the underdog means advocating for better user experiences even when purchasing decisions focus on features.
-
•
Effective communication requires repetition and patience to bridge gaps between message sender and receiver.
-
•
Cross-functional, diverse teams foster better solution co-creation by incorporating multiple perspectives.
-
•
Purpose-driven enterprises will demand workers to continuously develop skills suited for complexity and ambiguity.
-
•
Design thinking’s mindset of divergent and convergent thinking is essential for innovation across contexts.
Notable Quotes
"There is still so much work to be done: from dealing with climate change, protecting wildlife, rebuilding infrastructure, feeding the world, ending disease."
"Larry Fink said that to prosper over time, companies must deliver financial performance and show positive contribution to society."
"When the role of business changes, the mission and metrics must change to include societal impact."
"Human tasks will become more complex and multi-dimensional as simple tasks get automated."
"Our first superpower is systems thinking — thinking about interconnections that are often invisible but vital."
"Silos are inevitable but as enterprise designers, we find ways to work across them to get our job done."
"Fighting for the underdog means making the case for user experience in language that resonates with decision makers."
"The biggest mistake in communication is the illusion that it has happened."
"When you’re passionate about a topic, you hear the song loudly in your head; the listener just hears clapping."
"The tasks left for humans after automation will be strategic, multifaceted, creative, and complex."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Critical making requires critique, theory, activity, reflection, leading back to theory, but it doesn't have to start with theory. It can start anywhere."
Nathan Shedroff Hugh Dubberly Thomas J. McLeishHow Will Design be Taught When the Schools Shut Down?
May 8, 2026
"Spending more time doesn’t automatically make you productive, it just means you spent more time doing things."
John Paul de Guzman10k Screens Later: How We Became a Data-Driven Design Organization
September 24, 2024
"AI changes everything in unstructured data analysis; before it was painful manual work, now it's automated theme detection and clustering."
Aleksandra Korczynska Caroline Jarrett Justyna ParmeeSurvey Tools
March 12, 2026
"What are some of the metrics that you’ll use to measure the health of your teams and practice?"
Kristin SkinnerTheme 2: Introduction and Provocation
January 8, 2024
"Our curation process is identity hidden to prioritize equity and thematic mapping over affiliation or geography."
Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Victor Udoewa Jennifer StricklandEverything You Need to Know about the Civic Design 2022 Call for Presentations
May 17, 2022
"Meta design is about designing the conditions for design itself to happen well."
Uday GajendarThe Rise of Meta-Design: A Starter Playbook
May 19, 2022
"Feedback is a system. It's not just a pile of comments. It needs to be choreographed, timed, sequenced, and aimed to move the work."
Vanessa VarinFeedback: The Other F-Word
September 10, 2025
"The average car today has 60 to 100 sensors generating a terrifying amount of data that will increasingly make its way to the cloud."
Hugh DubberlyProblems with Problems: Reconsidering the Frame of Designing as Problem-Solving
June 19, 2019
"If you give up, we all give up."
Sean McKayCoexisting with non-researchers: Practical strategies for a democratized research future
March 11, 2025
