Build something to disagree with
Discussing an idea before anything exists is surprisingly difficult.
Everybody is reacting to a different version of it.
Even when we use the same words and think we agree, each person is filling in the details in their head. Those details might be completely different.
The reverse happens too: we can debate an idea for hours even though we would agree immediately if we could see what the other person means.
The fastest way out is to make something concrete.
It could be a sketch, a rough doc, an ugly prototype, a draft API, or a half-working implementation. It only needs enough detail to expose the choices hidden inside the idea.
Now everybody can react to the same thing. Instead of comparing several imaginary versions, we can point at one shared version and say exactly what works, what doesn’t, and what we would change.
The first version is not a proposal to defend. Its job is not to be right. Its job is to turn invisible assumptions into visible choices.
This is why our brainstorming works better when people sketch before discussing, why I prefer weekly demos to project updates, and why the only way I know to make something great is to iterate.
When a discussion stays abstract, don’t schedule another discussion.
Build something to disagree with.
Other notes about Company Building and/or Learning
- 🌿How to be better at making decisions
What can I do before, during, and after making decisions to be better at making them?
- 🌿How I tend to my digital garden
My quests with this digital garden are to publish more and to have fun. Let's explore why I even have a digital garden and how it's going.
- 🌲1:1s are for personal connection, not project updates
My 1:1s are unusual. Here's why.
- 🌿How to present to executives
1. Know all your details Know and be able to speak to all the details. Review your own work and ask yourself what somebody else might ask you about it, then make sure you have a solid answer to all those questions. Even things that are technically ou...
- 🌿Developer tools startups are playing on hard mode
How do you build a business selling tools to people who can technically build anything you can?
- 🌲Being unreasonably responsive has made my projects more successful
Creators who respond to feedback quickly unlock two virtuous cycles that allow them to build better solutions more quickly.
- 🌱How to ship faster
Humans have the ability to get ambitious things done ridiculously fast. How can I get more things done quickly?
- 🌱How I manage my todos as a CEO
Kanban board with five columns: Inbox, Backlog, Blocked, Delegated, Done Most importantly: GTD-style “if it takes less than 2 minutes, do it immediately.” Create todos for everything (and I mean, everything, including replying to people) that go in...
- 🔗Deliberate practice beats every other form of training, even via transfer learning
Many people are doing deliberate practice wrong in one specific way though. The Brazilians are an example of what happens when you get it right.
- 🌿Message me whenever
Send me messages whenever inspiration strikes or when it makes sense for your workflow. I'll respond when I'm back online. This isn't about being "always on," quite the opposite: it's about respecting that we each know how to structure our own work l...
- 🌱How do you invent the future?
Innovation happens by combining things we can see and touch today in novel ways. So how can we have more things to see and touch?
- 🌱How to run recurring virtual meetings efficiently
Start with a checkin question for connection (10% of the meeting length) Capture decisions made Capture open action items and check in on open ones every time, otherwise they get lost/forgotten due to poor personal execution Align on discussion ...
- 🌿How I run gratitude circles
Credit to Sue Ko who taught me this many years ago. Gratitude circles are a beautiful way to get team members feel seen by their peers. I run them in-person at least once a year with each of my teams. Quote from one of my engineers after their first ...
- 🌿Why I don't compliment people for their talent
When people see somebody they perceive to be really good at something, they often say, “Wow, they are so talented!” I think that’s a bullshit compliment.
- 🌿How we make brainstorming work
Brainstorming usually fails. But, I noticed a pattern in the times that it worked exceptionally well. Here's how to make it work.
- 🔗David Cain: Do Quests, Not Goals
I love this reframing from "goal" to "quest": "goals" feel like pressure, "quests" feel like excitement and adventure!
- 🌿How we foster deeper connections in our remote team
I believe that teams that are more connected perform better and that remote teams have worse connections. How can we improve that?
- 🌲Why I'm vigorous about giving feedback
Every day, you will find me hunting down a founder's email to send them feedback about my experience with their product. Why?
- 🌱How I get things done
The smallest project management setup I need: visible workstreams, one accountable owner, deadlines, status updates, and fast weekly demos.
- 🌿Save polish for where it matters
Internal communication should be clear and useful, not performatively polished.