Finding Our Way

Hosted by Jesse James Garrett and Peter Merholz

Technology Arts DesignInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Jul 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

UX design pioneers and Adaptive Path co-founders Peter Merholz and Jesse James Garrett discuss the evolving challenges and opportunities for design leaders. Apple Podcasts token: 84d2bd40-8aa0-11f1-9b21-b97313d0d8c2

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 14, 2026Episode 7653 min

76: Embrace the Chaos—Design Operations in the age of AI (ft. Z)

Peter and Jesse are joined by Chengying "Z" Zheng, who shares her experience migrating a design team to be AI-first — off Figma and into code. She discusses how design leadership and operations divide the work, what happens to roles and titles when everyone becomes a builder, and how to make good design easier than bad design. Z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/changyingz/ Z's Substack: https://changying.substack.com/ Jesse James Garrett: https://jessejamesgarrett.com/ Peter Merholz: https://petermerholz.com/

July 24, 202643 min

75: The Steady State of Unsteadiness

Peter and Jesse compare notes from Config, Figma's AI study, Lenny's newsletter survey, and countless conversations to read the current state of design leadership. The signals: existential AI panic has cooled into exhaustion, organizational chaos and leadership churn are the new normal, and design still stumbles on business acumen. Their case for thriving—lead, don't just design, and reclaim design's unfinished mandate.

May 24, 202647 min

LIMINAL—4: You As A Service (ft. Dave Gray)

Dave Gray, author of Liminal Thinking and founder of School of the Possible, joins Peter and Jesse to examine what's actually getting in leaders' way right now: not the disruption itself, but the expertise that blinds them to it. The conversation moves from beginner's mind to the compression of corporate work, landing on a provocative question — what does your value look like when you define it yourself?

May 16, 202653 min

73: Charting an Adaptive Path toward AI Transformation

Peter and Jesse compare notes from their respective listening tours and client work on how AI is reshaping design teams. The conversation moves through the operational chaos of proliferating tools, the urgent need to articulate a value proposition, why design operations got cut right before they were needed most, and the window of expertise power that won't stay open.

May 9, 202654 min

72: The Worst Technology Rollout in History (Ft. Paul Ford)

Journalist, technologist, and Aboard co-founder Paul Ford joins Peter and Jesse with the perspective of someone running a services firm in the middle of being remade by AI. The conversation covers the collapsing cost of software, blurring roles, what machines do well and badly, what design's value proposition becomes, and Paul's practical advice for staying upright through indefinite change.

April 19, 202653 min

71: Finding Our Way Live! (ft John Gleason)

Design consultant John Gleason returns to explore the leadership skills design needs to claim greater strategic influence. The conversation covers vulnerability and psychological safety, translating design value into business outcomes, the boldness required to assert a larger value proposition, and how to avoid burnout while navigating organizational complexity.

April 10, 202648 min

LIMINAL—3: The Waves within Waves

Jesse's surfing metaphor opens a conversation about discernment and collective action in the liminal moment. Peter and Jesse explore why not every wave is yours to catch, how to find fellow travelers across functions and beyond your organization, and why sustainable pace — not anxious intensity — is what keeps leaders navigating when uncertainty has no end date.

March 27, 202656 min

69: In a World of AI, What is the Work Really About? (ft. Jorge Arango)

Information architect and consultant Jorge Arango returns five years later with a pointed question at the center of his practice: when AI can handle the surface work, what is design actually for? The conversation explores first principles, the conditions for skillful AI adoption, and why going faster without clarity just accelerates you in the wrong direction.

March 14, 20261 hr 7 min

68: AI and Design: Fundamentals and The Future (ft. Dan Saffer)

Show Notes About the episode: Dan Saffer—designer, author, and CMU professor—joins Peter and Jesse to take stock of design education at a moment when everything is in flux. What’s worth teaching when the tools change weekly? How do you define quality when AI can spin up a passable prototype in minutes? And what are today’s […]

February 28, 202645 min

LIMINAL—2: Liminal Mindset, Skillset, and Leadership

When the ground is shifting and the destination isn't clear, how do you lead? Peter and Jesse explore the mindset and skills required to navigate the liminal moment—when old ways have dissolved but new ones haven't taken shape. From core mindsets of maintaining situational awareness and striving for balance, to core skills around communication, persuasion and connection to build lifelines, this is a conversation about what it actually takes to lead through uncertainty.