I've been thinking a lot about patterns. Not product decisions. Not roadmaps. Personal patterns - the kind that shape how I show up, whether I notice them or not.
After years of building - companies, systems, communities - I can see my own fingerprints. The rules I follow. The traits I default to when no one's watching.
And as I step back from one chapter and look at what comes next, I want to write them down. Not as fixed truths, but as a snapshot. A way of seeing the operating system I'm running on today, before it inevitably shifts again.
So here it is. The shape of me, right now.
I build to make sense of the world.
Sometimes that means a product. Sometimes a tool, a system, or a sketch. I don't build just to ship - I build to understand. To turn the abstract into something real.
I care.
About whether the work matters. About how people behave when strategy is thin. About whether we're chasing outcomes or just theatre. That idealism is a strength, but also a liability.
I play long games.
Trust compounds. So does work that lasts. I'm not chasing the biggest audience - I'm building a body of work worth keeping.
I run on high agency.
I move when I see a gap. I don't wait for consensus or permission. I need clarity and purpose, not sign-off.
I carve through ambiguity.
When ownership's unclear, I pick up the thread. When priorities clash, I bring focus. Not because it's my job, but because it needs doing.
I switch altitudes fast.
One moment I'm working with founders or leads on direction and trade-offs. The next, I'm on a customer call, reviewing designs, or testing a release minutes before it ships. Switching like this isn't distraction - it's how I connect strategy to detail, spot gaps, and keep momentum alive.
I write to create clarity.
I talk things through to explore. I write to refine. Writing shows the gaps, sharpens the thinking, and aligns the team. It's not content. It's a tool.
I lean on systems when they're needed.
I don't love process for its own sake. But I know when a lightweight system will help - creating clarity, reducing friction, and enabling others to run faster. The point isn't control. It's making sure the team adds up to more than the sum of our parts.
I believe in small, high-trust teams.
I don't need 50 people and a wiki full of process. I need a handful of sharp minds, shared context, and the trust to disagree, decide, and deliver.
I need momentum.
Not busyness. Momentum. Progress that resolves tension. When ambiguity drags, I ship something - a doc, a decision, a release - to get things moving again.
I look after my energy.
I want deep work and deep rest. Enough slack in the system to think clearly and act intentionally. When I feel stretched, I don't grind harder - I reset how I'm working.
