Sangeet Paul Choudary - Reshuffle: Figma Adobe and Just about Everything

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Aug 27, 2025

Sangeet Paul Choudary, bestselling author and platform strategist, dives into the battle between startups and incumbents like Figma and Adobe. He discusses how mindset shifts are essential for embracing new tech rather than just adopting it. Sangeet explores AI's transformative impact on workflows and career paths, emphasizing the need for governance-led infrastructure in organizations. He highlights why forgetting previous paradigms is more crucial than merely learning new ones, offering a roadmap to thrive in a rapidly changing knowledge economy.

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INSIGHT

Adoption Vs Rearchitecture

Incumbents often adopt technology without rearchitecting their mindset, which limits competitive advantage.
Winners rebuild around new architectural properties rather than merely shifting delivery or pricing models.

INSIGHT

Technology Changes Architecture Not Just Tools

New technologies change solution architectures and enable fundamentally different business logic.
Cloud, AI, and other shifts require rethinking units of work and organizational design.

ANECDOTE

Figma Reimagined Design

Aidan contrasts Adobe's cloud move with Figma's reimagining to show mindset matters more than migration.
Figma shifted the unit of work from files to elements and reshaped collaboration and industry structure.

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What happens when startups like Figma outpace industry giants like Adobe? In this episode of The Innovation Show, Aidan McCullen sits down with bestselling author Sangeet Paul Choudary (Platform Revolution, Reshuffle) to explore how AI, cloud technology, and mindset shifts are reshaping the future of work, design, and competition.

Discover why incumbents often fail—not from lack of innovation, but from failing to unlearn old architectures. Using the case of Figma vs. Adobe, we unpack how element-based design, governance-led workflows, and AI-first thinkingare redefining industries from design to law to construction.

Key takeaways:

Why adapting mindsets matters more than adopting tools
How AI is unbundling knowledge work and rewriting career paths
The importance of governance in enterprise-wide collaboration
Why the forgetting curve is as critical as the learning curve

Perfect for innovators, leaders, and professionals navigating the knowledge economy, this episode is a roadmap for thriving in a world of structural uncertainty where AI and cloud-native startups are rewriting the rules.

00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message 00:17 The Hammer and the Nail: Misreading New Technology 00:28 Adobe vs. Figma: A Case Study in Innovation 01:03 The Importance of Mindset in Technological Shifts 01:20 Guest Introduction: Sanjeet Paul Choudary 01:49 Figma vs. Adobe: A Deep Dive 04:07 Technological Shifts and Organizational Change 05:57 The Impact of AI on Work and Careers 17:00 Governance vs. Execution in Modern Enterprises 18:22 The Future of Competition and Industry Structure 21:40 The Need for Unlearning in the Age of AI 24:34 Preparing for the Future: Skills and Careers 36:54 Conclusion and Final Thoughts 38:05 Closing Remarks and Sponsor Message

📚 Resources & Links

• Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Reshapes the Knowledge Economy

→ https://amzn.to/3HWwj1I

• Platform Revolution

→ https://amzn.to/4mBq2aQ

• Sangeet's Substack

→ https://substack.com/@platforms/posts

• Aidan's show notes

→ https://thethursdaythought.substack.com

🎙️ Listen now to learn how to reshuffle your thinking, your organization, and your career for the AI-driven future.