Synthesis and Sense-Making

In order to act, we need to turn information into knowledge, and create appropriate mental models.

LLMs

Cognitive Pollution: Real knowledge only forms through doing the work

Aug 7, 2026

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5 min read

Cognitive Pollution: Real knowledge only forms through doing the work

What if the cure for getting a grip on this moment wasn't a pound of artificial intelligence, but an ounce of the natural variety?

Pavel Samsonov

Problem Design

Your problem framing is sabotaging your strategy

Jan 18, 2026

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7 min read

Your problem framing is sabotaging your strategy

Skipping to designing the solution before you have adequately designed the problem is not speeding you up, but slowing you down.

Pavel Samsonov

LLMs

AI Fatigue VS the Executive Echo Chamber

Dec 20, 2025

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7 min read

AI Fatigue VS the Executive Echo Chamber

The backlash against "AI-in-everything" is rising. Only execs are surprised.

Pavel Samsonov

Problem Design

Nov 9, 2025

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6 min read

This meeting could have been a picnic

Well-designed meetings are just as important to our work as well-designed artifacts.

Pavel Samsonov

Teamwork and Leadership

All your problems are people problems (Don't Just Do Things, Part 2)

Oct 19, 2025

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7 min read

All your problems are people problems (Don't Just Do Things, Part 2)

If you want to do strategy, you must be willing to do process transformation first.

Pavel Samsonov

LLMs

Sep 21, 2025

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8 min read

The people ARE the process

Cutting down on collaboration tricks you into thinking you're going faster, but it destroys the divergence effects that make the design process valuable.

Pavel Samsonov

Metrics and Data

Research is a leadership skill; don't cede it to AI

Sep 12, 2025

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9 min read

Research is a leadership skill; don't cede it to AI

The role of UX is not only to change the behaviors of users, but also to influence the behaviors of stakeholders. Adding AI tools to this process only undermines alignment.

Pavel Samsonov

Problem Design

Jul 12, 2025

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9 min read

Fear vs Play

Fear is choking out thoughtfulness in tech, and it can't be replaced with "more productivity" — because productivity is not what motivates corporate layoffs.

Pavel Samsonov

Teamwork and Leadership

Taste is a dead end; what you should have is a point of view

Apr 20, 2025

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10 min read

Taste is a dead end; what you should have is a point of view

By justifying decisions on the basis of taste, designers are throwing away the influence they need for preventing low-value feature bloat

Pavel Samsonov

Teamwork and Leadership

Why design goes wrong and how to set it right, part 1

Mar 16, 2025

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8 min read

Why design goes wrong and how to set it right, part 1

At the root of design's crisis is an incentives crisis throughout tech. But we have tools that let us cut through the magical thinking of feature factories - if we're willing to use them.

Pavel Samsonov

Feedback Loops

Feb 21, 2025

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7 min read

The process is the point

Using LLMs to rush the design process to the output at the end cuts out the very feedback loop that makes design worth doing in the first place.

Pavel Samsonov

Synthesis and Sense-Making

Cognitive Pollution: Real knowledge only forms through doing the work

Your problem framing is sabotaging your strategy

AI Fatigue VS the Executive Echo Chamber

This meeting could have been a picnic

All your problems are people problems (Don't Just Do Things, Part 2)

The people ARE the process

Research is a leadership skill; don't cede it to AI

Fear vs Play

Taste is a dead end; what you should have is a point of view

Why design goes wrong and how to set it right, part 1

The process is the point

The Product Picnic