This week on Shape of Tomorrow, I dive deep into a concept that’s been resonating with many of you: Strategic Surface Area. Born from a newsletter article I wrote while reflecting on the ingenuity of Venice, this idea is about how leaders can create space at the edges of their organizations to reignite momentum when things feel existentially stuck. I unpack the core design principles behind it—intentionality, visibility, and loose coupling—and share examples from different sectors to bring the idea to life.

I also give a quick rundown of the latest shifts in the GenAI landscape: Google’s Gemini 2.5, Microsoft Copilot’s new agents, and OpenAI’s native image generation capabilities inside ChatGPT. The big players are accelerating, and it’s time to consider how these tools fit into your own workflow.