Most of the article is a bit of a downer (makes you think about how valued design is/has become), but I think the best idea comes in the last paragraph, with this:

"What if the answer lies in random acts of kindness? The bits of business that add value to a service, but that aren’t part of its core offering. Something we can’t anticipate, something that captures our attention — randomly exceeding our expectations."

This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Presenting what it is I do more as a business solution, and I do it through design. Not that I simply do design, as that is beginning to be perceived as a commodity.

(note to self, write an article on this)