During the height of the design thinking days, probably right around the time we met Roger… I remember going to a conference hosted by IIT. I forgot who the speaker was but they were celebrating the fact that the US had shifted away from manufacturing and that our export was innovation. This was around 2009 maybe—shortly after the iPhone. That never Sat well with me. That we’d be a county that only innovated but never manufactured things here again. I think in the long term, a re-balancing of both what we innovate and what we make is good for the country on the whole
Quite moving, David. Interesting to read your recounting your experience of the past half-decade. Thanks for sharing.
One thing I’ll add: this country dodged a major bullet in November 2024. I can’t imagine what a Kamala presidency would be like now.
Looking forward to reading your observations in 2026!
During the height of the design thinking days, probably right around the time we met Roger… I remember going to a conference hosted by IIT. I forgot who the speaker was but they were celebrating the fact that the US had shifted away from manufacturing and that our export was innovation. This was around 2009 maybe—shortly after the iPhone. That never Sat well with me. That we’d be a county that only innovated but never manufactured things here again. I think in the long term, a re-balancing of both what we innovate and what we make is good for the country on the whole