My presentation will challenge the fundamental assumptions designers hold about their role and impact when working with massive organizations. Drawing from nine years leading Flying Bisons and delivering projects for government agencies and corporate giants, I’ll expose the uncomfortable truth: exceptional design skills account for only 10% of whether your work creates real impact.

The goal is to shatter idealistic notions about design’s inherent value and reveal what actually determines success: organizational politics, power dynamics, and the ability to navigate complex stakeholder environments. I’ll present controversial but essential insights:

Why beautiful, user-centered designs often die in implementation

How organizational antibodies actively resist meaningful change

The reality of decision-making in hierarchical structures where design is rarely valued

Why understanding power is more important than understanding users

How to gain leverage when you have none

This topic matters because designers are being set up to fail through education and industry narratives that emphasize craft excellence while ignoring organizational realities. The harsh truth is that most designers lack the skills to make their work matter in environments where design thinking is fundamentally misunderstood or devalued.