As I write this, Tara Mackings’ interview is still sitting open on my screen, and there are two words I keep coming back to.

Why not?

Tara says them a lot.

Why not make accessibility better?

Why not ask the people actually using the spaces?

Why not design things properly in the first place?

Why not expect more?

It sounds simple when you write it down like that. Almost obvious. But I think we all know how often “that’s just how it’s done” becomes the end of the conversation.

We inherit systems, habits, expectations and rules we never chose. Some are useful. Some made sense once. Some have simply been repeated for so long that nobody remembers to ask whether they still work.

And every now and again, someone comes along who does ask.

The theme of Issue 69 is Rethinking the Rules.

Not breaking them for the sake of it. Not setting fire to everything and calling it innovation. Just being willing to look again.

Tara’s cover story is a perfect example of that. Her work is rooted in accessibility, but the bigger story is about refusing to accept a barrier simply because someone else has decided it is normal.

She has spent years asking what happens when disabled people are not just consulted, but genuinely involved. When spaces are built with people rather than at them. When inclusion becomes action instead of a paragraph in a policy document. And that same question runs right through this issue.

What if success does not require you to tone yourself down?

What if building something also means protecting it properly?

What if efficiency is not automatically progress?

What if the way we work, lead, communicate, grow and measure success deserves another look?

What if the answer really is: there is another way. 

Across Issue 69, we’re questioning some of the assumptions that sit underneath the way we build businesses, lead people, use technology, protect what we’ve created, tell our stories and define success.

Different subjects. Different voices. Different perspectives. But the same willingness to look at what we’ve inherited and ask whether it still deserves to be there.

The rules are not always wrong. But they are always worth examining and sometimes the biggest shift begins with a better question.

Why this way?

Why now?

Why me?

Why not?

Enjoy Issue 69.

I believe in you (always),