Empowering change: Reigniting purpose, passion and impact in research
This video is featured in the PDI 2026 playlist.
Summary
Many research professionals are feeling disillusioned due to layoffs, market shifts, and the prioritization of profit over people. Coupled with rapid changes in the field, shifting skill demands, and instances of mistreatment, the current context feels challenging. Despite the ethical imperatives that initially drew them to research, many feel their work lacks agency and purpose. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Our industry is at an inflection point, and the organizational and cultural systems we operate within can be influenced. This session with changemaker Maria Giudice explores how to regain agency, drive change, and balance profit with purpose to reignite a sense of impact, dignity, and value in our work.
Key Insights
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Design roles have evolved from broad responsibilities in the 1980s to specialized roles intensified by AI and tech industry demands.
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Maria founded Hot Studio in 1997, which later became a highly respected multidisciplinary design firm acquired by Facebook in 2013.
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The acquisition of design companies like Hot Studio marked a watershed moment for design’s value in tech.
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Executive support is critical; Maria’s layoffs at Autodesk despite success illustrate corporate politics’ unpredictable impact.
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William Bridges’ model of transitions—endings, neutral zone, and new beginnings—provides a valuable framework to manage career and life changes.
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Grieving job loss is essential and non-linear; rushing decisions under fear can lead to poor career choices.
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Conducting an energy audit helps identify what activities and relationships energize or drain you during transitions.
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Viewing career as trampolines or life experiences, not ladders, encourages growth and adaptability beyond rigid titles.
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Failure is inevitable and a necessary part of growth; recovery builds resilience and sparks creativity.
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Reconnecting with one’s deeper purpose or ‘why’ is essential to find motivation and meaning in new beginnings.
Notable Quotes
"Life has a way of working itself out."
"The best future leaders will embody the qualities, skills and traits of a DEO, a Design Executive Officer."
"The DEO looks at all business problems as design problems, solvable through creativity, imagination, and metrics."
"This is the Oh s**t moment for the tech industry—designers became highly valued assets."
"An ending occurs when the reality of your present moment shifts or changes all together."
"During grief, our creative mind shuts down; fear, safety and security rule the day."
"The neutral zone is like being dead in a coffin above ground, waiting for a sign to rise."
"I prefer to think of my career as a series of trampolines and your resume as a portfolio of life experiences."
"Failure is easy, recovery is hard, but it’s necessary and part of the process."
"What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger."
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