When Michael Diaz-Griffith was appointed to lead the Design Leadership Network in 2022, it was a different world. Tariffs were low, AI was a novelty, and the industry was still riding the highs of the Covid home boom. Needless to say, there’s been a lot of change; but Diaz-Griffith isn’t sweating it. “The DLN that I encountered when I joined, or the one that I knew about when I was in the design world before joining, was the DLN of its time,” he tells host Dennis Scully on the latest episode of The Business of Home Podcast. “I’m never that focused on what an organization was, as if it’s a platonic ideal that can be maintained in the abstract or in isolation.”

Founded in 2006 by Waterworks CEO Peter Sallick, the organization brings together interior designers, architects and landscape architects for yearlong education and networking programs that culminate in an annual summit. The resources help designers navigate some of the quickly changing issues they face, from a volatile trade policy to the expectation of being a social media performer on top of running a business. “The environment is so competitive, things have changed so much. While you’re sitting around and thinking about how to look more professional, someone is developing a new communication strategy on social media, a new efficiency hack using AI, or having an authentic creative breakthrough and pushing their practice forward,” he says. “I don’t think we get to be static anymore in professional practice.”

With the rise of AI and changing social media landscapes, the organization—and Diaz-Griffith himself—has had to adapt. “Things are coming to a head around AI and this question of authenticity. We’re going to see in a couple of years that people really have to plant their stakes on one side of an emerging divide,” he says. Designers can use AI as an efficient way to improve back-end systems, or use it to generate “more and more slop,” as he puts it.

And as having a social media presence becomes more essential than ever, Diaz-Griffith reminds designers to stay true to themselves. “The demand to be as authentic as humanly possible, whether it makes things easier or harder, still feels like the most important thing to pursue right now as an individual. I think this is because the dangers of being swept away by social media and AI are greater than they have been in the past,” he says. “We’ve got to plant our stake as fallible humans, who are all just doing the best we can.”

Crucial insight: While the DLN’s annual summit is its most visible event, Diaz-Griffith believes the biggest impact of the organization is truly felt in its small networking groups: “forums” that bring together seven or eight industry professionals to swap stories and go deep on the challenges they share. “Imagine having a handful of people within your industry who are not direct competitors, but who understand very much your arena, and you can go to them with any problem,” he says. “I say any problem you’re experiencing, not only in your professional practice, but to some extent in your personal life too. It’s an amazing resource for people.”

Key quote: “The focus right now in our industry should really be on the amount of discipline, integrity, seriousness and creativity we bring to our work—not on trying to look more professional or trying to emulate other disciplines. The design world is not the business world. There is an important component of business in it, but our strongest differentiator is, in some ways, our lack of business. Thinking around creativity and the amazing creative contributions that designers bring to the table are not value-engineered at the beginning. And maybe they get value-engineered. But if that happens too soon, it kills creativity. I’m just much more interested in all of us showing up with a great deal of honesty and integrity.”

This episode is sponsored by Ernesta. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The Thursday Show

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a pullback on furniture tariffs, bankruptcy for Food52 and Schoolhouse, and a creative new use for AI in real estate.

This episode is sponsored by Loloi. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.