Naveen Sreenivasan

#DAY3 - Org Architecture That Scales Without Friction One of the most important decisions in building a GCC is designing an organisation that can scale without losing quality, velocity, or alignment. When I built the India design capability, the goal wasn’t just to hire talent, it was to architect an org system that could collaborate across regions, own end-to-end workflows, and operate with clarity at every level. The layered structure we built enabled this: - #Director: cross-geo alignment, quality governance, organisational health - #Principal: platform strategy, AI-native experience frameworks, system-level design - #DesignLeads: pod leadership, roadmap ownership, operational tempo - #SeniorDesigners: feature leadership, mentoring, technical depth - #ProductDesigners: execution excellence, accelerated skill growth This model ensured that decision-making didn’t bottleneck at the top, and that each layer had clear responsibilities, interfaces, and leadership expectations. The outcome was a team that could scale rapidly while maintaining consistency, autonomy, and predictable execution, essential for any global GCC. Executive Learning: Org design is not about filling positions. It’s about creating clarity, leadership depth, and decision rights that enable teams to operate independently and at global standards. For Product, Engineering, and Design Leaders: How do you structure your teams to balance velocity, ownership, and cross-geo alignment? If any site leaders or VPs are working on org design, pod models, or GCC scaling frameworks, I’m always open to exchanging perspectives. #OrgDesign #DesignLeadership #GCCLeadership #AINative #TeamScaling #EnterpriseDesign #LeadershipJourney #IndiaGCC

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Such a great post, sharing lessons learned by Akshan Ish. For anybody interviewing for senior design roles, or just presenting a great story, take a look. There aren't many resources helping senior / principal / staff designers prepare for interviews, so sharing 10+ experience from both sides of the table, is gold. https://lnkd.in/d4XprbS2

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Design systems are growing exponentially in the world of product design, and one of the most surprising examples of that is from right here in India. A few months ago, I noticed that my college website (NIT SILCHAR) har had a fresh new look. At first, I assumed it was a standalone redesign effort by our college. But then I saw similar design patterns on the APDCL website. And then on a few more government platforms… The components looked eerily similar – clean UI, structured layouts, familiar elements – yet with slight variations and personalization. That curiosity led me to dig deeper. Turns out, even the @Indian government has its own design system — UX4G (User Experience for Governance). It’s built to make design scalable, unify brand experience, and simplify digital services across departments. This is not just a step forward — it's a leap. A government adopting a design system shows how critical UX has become in shaping digital interactions, even in public sector services. If you’re a designer, I strongly recommend studying UX4G. It’s a goldmine for understanding how scalable systems meet consistent branding and accessibility goals — at a national level. #DesignSystems #UX4G #IndiaDesign #UIDesign #GovTech #UXDesign #ProductDesign

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Mentoring 100+ designers taught me one truth, confidence is rarer than talent. When I started mentoring in 2017, I never imagined my Zoom calls would stretch from sunrises in India to midnight check ins in New York. But over the years across 6 roles, 4 countries, and 100+ mentees this global exchange became more than just time zones and calendars. It became human. What I thought mentoring meant: ➜ Sharing career tips ➜ Reviewing portfolios ➜ Giving design feedback What it really meant: ➜ Listening through self doubt ➜ Helping first gen designers belong ➜ Staying calm through layoffs and burnout Across continents, I noticed the same truths: Design is universal. But confidence isn’t. Talent exists everywhere. But opportunity doesn’t. Everyone’s looking for clarity. Not just in UX but in life. As a Certified Usability Analyst, now leading design at IBM and with past stints at EY, BCG, and Grant Thornton, I’ve worked on global tools that touch millions. But the most fulfilling moments? Helping a junior designer from Nigeria land their first job Coaching a career switcher in Berlin build their first UX case study Watching a mentee become a mentor themselves Here’s what mentoring has taught me: Time zones don’t block connection intent. Good design isn’t just about users, it starts with caring for the people designing. The future of UX is inclusive, global, and deeply human. If you're a designer feeling stuck, unseen, or unsure Know this: - There’s someone out there who’s been where you are. - And they’re just a message away. I was lucky to be that person for 100+ others. And I’m still here if you need one more. P:S: Who was the one person who believed in you when you didn’t?

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🔥 My Biggest Hot Take of 2025 🔥 (Controversial) "Design and Front-end need to completely merge into one, if both of these want to survive." I took a session in Friends of Figma, Kozhikode last month where I talked about a new role of the future called a "Builder" that will be a mix of Design+Code+PM. And that is already happening! There are young founders who are exactly that! Builders! But that role may not make it into big league companies where the role and responsibility of an individual is more nuanced and specific. But in a long term something that I anticipate happening more and more even in Big leagues is Design and Front-end Code merging. Where AI will be the lever. Now I can say more about it, what I want to take this as an opportunity to initiate this discussion here and hear what we all think Let's go! Comment your thoughts👇

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“If humans are stupid enough to believe Block’s layoffs are not actually about over-hiring, mismanagement, and a flat stock price over the last four years, maybe we really do need AI to take over. But that obvious reality didn’t stop the market from celebrating Block’s announcement. Expect to see a lot more of this. “Wall Street rewards CEOs who make steep cuts and attribute those cuts to AI. That could embolden other management teams to follow suit.” As I wrote yesterday, news like this is why it’s not just the tech we don’t trust. It’s the technologists.” 👉 Dave Pell’s Nextdraft is one of the few dailies worth reading. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/grQQbUJr 🚛 Also here’s an unrelated video to trick you into reading this because it’s Sunday and layoffs are stressful.

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