Creative courage in big tech with Ben Lehnert, fmr design leader Microsoft and SAP

Benedikt Lehnert is former design leader at Microsoft and Chief Design Officer at SAP. He's had a seat at the top table in big tech and brings his own clear-eyed perspective based on that experience.I really enjoyed the conversation with Ben as we discussed the role of the designer in this current moment, the moral responsibilities of building business and technology, the hype cycles and weird incentives at play with the AI hyperscalers, and Ben's view that we should simply focus on adding more than we take.Chapters00:00 The Evolution of a Designer05:38 Navigating the Startup Journey10:03 Transforming Microsoft: A Design Perspective14:45 The Role of Chief Design Officer at SAP20:14 Shifting Focus: From Big Tech to Teaching and Ethics30:07 The Human Condition in Technology38:35 AI and Humanistic Considerations43:17 Learning from Poets and Thinkers58:37 A Hopeful Vision for the FutureBen hosts the Poets and Thinkers podcast and you can find out more about him here: https://benediktlehnert.github.io/