I bring a focus on leadership, systems, and decision-making to Kleto Forum. My perspective is shaped by competition and clarity — strategy that gets results.
Design as Organizational Power Most companies still believe design lives on the surface. They see it as “how things look,” the polish applied at the end of a process. That thinking is fatal. Design is not decoration. Design is momentum. Products fail not because designers lacked talent but because leadership
The Opening Gambit: Products Create Revenue. Brands Create Power. Most executives obsess over products. They analyze features, cost structures, and roadmaps with surgical precision. Yet history is merciless to those who believe products alone can secure dominance. Products generate revenue. Brands generate power. Kodak had the product advantage when it
The Opening Gambit: Why Most Companies Fail to Operationalize Design Products don’t fail because the design team lacked talent. They fail because leaders lacked strategy. The corporate graveyard is littered with companies that treated design as a campaign expense instead of a strategic system. They launched splashy visuals, redesigned
The Opening Gambit: Products Fade. Authority Endures. Products do not build empires. Authority does. Every company believes its product is the differentiator, the reason customers choose them and investors reward them. But history tells a different story. Products are temporary — quickly imitated, inevitably commoditized, and eventually replaced. The companies that
The Opening Gambit: Why Design Is Market Power, Not Decoration Brands don’t fail because their logos are ugly. They fail because their design was never tied to strategy. Every year, billions are spent on design: websites refreshed, campaigns launched, packaging redesigned. Yet most of it is wasted. Not because
Why Old Models Fail For decades, many design agencies thrived on a simple formula: win a client, create beautiful assets, collect awards, and move on. That model no longer works. Today, businesses operate in complex ecosystems, where every touchpoint is connected and where design decisions directly affect growth, culture, and
1) Why Most Brands Wobble After Early Growth (and How to Avoid It) Early traction usually comes from a strong product and a recognizable look. Then growth hits—new channels, more people, faster timelines—and the brand starts to splinter: different tones in sales decks, off-brand colors in product UI,
Branding Doesn’t Belong in Marketing. It Belongs in the Boardroom. For too long, branding has been treated as a marketing accessory — a logo refresh, a color palette update, or a campaign theme. But design is not decoration. Branding is strategy. And strategy doesn’t live in the marketing department;
The Harsh Truth: Most Design Frameworks Fail Most design frameworks fail. It’s a bold claim—but true more often than not. Companies pour millions into brand guidelines, design systems, and UI/UX playbooks, only to watch them collect dust. Leadership gets frustrated, teams ignore them, and users encounter inconsistent