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I remember reading this phrase on an IDEO blog many years ago:

“Big companies want to behave more like startups. Startups want to scale like big companies. Time to start thinking like a designer.”

Perhaps not entirely related, but it caught my attention at the time. I had a certain confidence that, in the serious world of responsible businesses, the vision of the future and the planning to get there was almost like a treasure map, meticulously crafted on Mount Olympus. That planning was exquisite and the “how” was clearly defined.

Well, 14 years later, and after having worked with dozens of teams, I still don’t see it.

I’m convinced that companies are a reflection of the people within them. People, yes, with their brilliance as well as their chaotic and disastrous moments. Reflections that make the abstract concept of a company something tangible and, above all, human.