[TMA] In which I process some anger and frustration

Before getting into the meat of the newsletter, let me point you to my pal and co-host Jesse James Garrett’s 30 March 2025 virtual seminar: “The Elements of UX in the Age of AI” (scroll down a little). 25 years later, and his model has never been surpassed.

Take those words out of your mouth

Joe Gebbia, a co-founder of AirBNB, announced this past week that he was bringing his “designer brain” to “improve the user experience within our government.” Gebbia is often vaunted in design circles, because of his background (studied design at RISD) and AirBNB’s success. As someone who has worked in UX/Design for over 25 years, it’s disheartening to read Gebbia use the words “designer” and “user experience” as he enables “DOGE” and aligns with Musk, a drug-addled authoritarian racist bigoted narcissist, whose value system runs contrary to everything the UX/Design community stands for.

A few days later, 18F was shut down, further demonstrating the inanity of Gebbia’s tweet. 18F was actually doing the the good work that “DOGE” claims as its mission. 18F was most likely eliminated because it was seen to compete with “DOGE” (18F was distinct from the USDS), and 18F staffers weren’t shy to call out “DOGE”’s bullshit for what it was.

So, yeah, Gebbia can fuck all the way off.

The crucial role of agenda in leadership

While Trump and his goons dismantle federal government, many of us on the left have been wondering what the hell the Democrats are doing in response. And, while there are bits and pieces of activity, there’s no substantial movement. Given my own brain worms, I’ve been thinking of this through the lens of the leadership class I teach, and it’s disheartening (yep, using that word again) how the American left is basically a case study in how not to lead.

(Before getting into that, it’s worth recognizing the the Democratic Party would be, in most countries, “center” or maybe even “center-right.” It’s definitely nowhere nearly as leftist/liberal as I would seek.)

To lead, you must have an agenda. Preferably a compelling, audacious vision, and then an articulated set of initiatives that move toward that vision.

The Democrats have no vision nor coherent agenda. Whereas the right/Republicans had Project 2025, the Democrats have no coherent platform around which they’ve aligned. The closest in recent memory was The Green New Deal, which proved divisive even within the Democratic Party. Where’s “The New Deal”? The “Great Society”?

In my masterclass, we often talk about just how long it takes to realize change—it can be many years, and that can be in a mid-sized company. To realize change on a national level takes decades. In order to see things through over such a long term more than just a set of laudable principles and values, but a specific vision of how things will be positively different. Without an agenda, you’re not leading, you’re reacting, and, ultimately, going nowhere.

Masterclass lesson: become pals with data scientists

Last week, I taught a public version of my masterclass Design Leadership ✨Demystified✨. In addressing the challenge of connecting design with business value, for the first time I had two participants independently share how they found success by directly partnering with data analysts in their organizations. I think this is often seen as the responsibility of product management, but these folks shared how they brokered their own connection, and how it lead to creating scorecards/dashboards that in turn elevated people’s appreciation for UX/Design.

Parting thought: #NotAllAmericans

I write that hashtag both facetiously… but not. I know many people reading this are from outside the US, and I feel compelled to make exceedingly clear, among the people I most care about and for, we’re distraught at what is happening in our government at a federal level. This is compounded by being married to a Canadian, and having a deep appreciation for the Canadian national character, and how, for literally no good reason, Trump has made our relationship with Canada weird, and fraught. It’s just all so fucking dumb, and please know that so many of us realize this. We’re figuring out what to do, and, as I intimated earlier, realizing that we’re having to do so on our own, that there really is no organizing body or institution that can be relied on to respond.