Get a job you can believe in
Even if you have to network your way in (or make one up).
George Aye and his co-founders at Greater Good Studio have coined a term for the professionals inhabiting a curious cognitive niche: they are "pissed off optimists”. These individuals display a disarming capability of maintaining righteous anger at systemic failures while sustaining hope for human potential, all while having a lovely drink after work, the so-called “Angry Hours”.
This emotional duality has proven surprisingly widespread. When the studio began hosting "Angry Hour" networking events, they discovered a latent demand for communities that acknowledged both frustration and possibility. Tickets consistently sell out across American cities, suggesting that professional do-gooders were hungry for spaces where cynicism and idealism could coexist.
The phenomenon reflects broader tensions within purpose-driven capitalism. As government design programs face political headwinds and talented civil servants seek private-sector alternatives, organizations like Greater Good Studio occupy an increasingly vital sector. The Studio maintains a database of firms dedicating at least 50% of their resources to social-sector work—a deliberate act of market curation that rejects the "shiny project" approach of corporations that feature token charitable projects, but only commit about 1000th of their time to those projects.
This curatorial philosophy extends to their business model. Rather than hoarding client referrals, Greater Good Studio actively directs potential customers to competitors, operating as what they call a "porous company." The counterintuitive strategy reflects their belief that distributed power creates stronger industries than concentrated fiefdoms.
Such thinking challenges conventional wisdom about competitive advantage. By elevating the entire field, these firms bet that rising tides lift all boats—that evangelising the need for social-impact design generates more opportunities than zero-sum client acquisition.
Whether this collaborative approach scales to our current choppy moment remains unclear, but the signs are promising. As political upheaval continues displacing government talent, the "pissed off optimist" model offers a compelling framework for channelling outrage into entrepreneurial energy.
What we’re into this week
Charlotte Ledoux of the Data Governance Playbook is back with 10 tips on data governance best practices. I especially resonate with her Tip #1: Don’t try to implement data governance during a reorg. Governance of any type is about sustainment and stability; a reorg is the acceptance that the prior strategy has failed and so the org must undergo some instability to survive. So don’t try to govern during a reorg.
This is pertinent to data governance, but also a compelling case for an a-political civil service with strong employment protections. Because the country never stops needing stability, even during a political reorg.
— Ana
I’ve been thinking about storytelling and data ever since I talked to George last week and saw a post of Ana’s about the charts our team had to make for 2 years, so I took a run around the internet to find out how to better tell data stories. I’m just a beginner, but I really appreciate Storytelling with Data’s Limit the Minutes and Let the Slides Slide. I always try to pack too much in (you know this, Ana), so I’m trying to learn to pare down so people can actually understand the data I’m sharing.
— Aaron
On my end, I was fascinated by Stuff Made Here’s complete failure of an egg cracker. No, I promise this has to do with work! It’s an excellent exploration of building something because you can, not because you should, and then ending up with over engineered nonsense. Makes me think of how engineering-led companies often end up with solutions in search of problems, something that can be solved with proper problem framing.
— Scott
Problems, well-framed
And speaking of problem framing, if you want guidance on how to do that well (and it is tricky!) check out the Problem Framing sections in the HCD Discovery Guides.
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Credits
Interviewer: Aaron Meyers
Guest: George Aye
Producer: Ana Monroe
Article: Abigail Adams
Artwork: Microphotograph of Traverse Section of Wood (Salisburia) 1870s Dr. Arthur Durham Artist, British, British, 1834 - 1895. Via the National Gallery of Art. Treatment by Ishmael Interactive