Feedback Timing

Feedback delayed is feedback diluted.

After two weeks, the lesson goes cold. Details fade. Emotions disappear. What could've been a clear moment becomes a blur.

You try to explain what went wrong. Or what went right. But the context's gone. The person nods but doesn't feel it. They can't replay the moment in their head. The energy's moved on.

Feedback works when it's fast.
“In that meeting just now…” hits different than “Remember that thing two weeks ago?” One feels sharp. The other feels vague. Fresh feedback still has signal in it. Wait too long, and all you're left with is noise.

Don't hold it back. Say “great job” when the win is fresh.

If something was worth noticing, it's worth saying. Right now. Say it while the moment's still alive.

Build Thinkers, Not Just Features

To build great products you need to start asking great questions.

A simple question: “What problem are we solving?” will shift a team's mentality from execution to purpose.
And you can feel the exact moment when task-doers start to solve problems.

It's when they talk less about delivery and shipping features and ask more about business challenges, user pain points and the market. That's when they stop taking orders - and start shaping work.

Questions fuel curiosity and curiosity drives collaboration. Teams that ask deeply create better products.

High Standards

Push others. Push yourself harder.

That's the heartbeat of high standards. Not perfection. Not pressure. Just a shared refusal to let average become the norm.

Call it out when your peers slide. Remind them of what great looks like. Help your boss see where they've dropped the ball. Hold the mirror up. But don't stop there. Hold yourself to a sharper edge. Show them what it looks like to care - about the work, the craft, the outcome.

Start small. Set one standard. Stick to it. Then raise another. Don't change everything overnight. That's how you burn out or burn bridges. Instead, build it like a muscle. Layer by layer. Standard by standard.

High standards aren't loud. They're consistent. You live them, not shout them.

Patience wins. But only if you don't lower the bar while you wait.

The Trust Battery Effect

The concept of a Trust Battery is that it typically starts at 50% and then every interaction charges or drains the trust battery.

It's interesting how, once you pass a certain percentage - let's say 80% (mind you, it's a bit abstract) - on the other person's Trust Battery, a shift happens. Walls drop. And suddenly the next level of collaboration unlocks.

Love these moments.

New Year, Who Dis?

Everyone talks about ‘hitting the ground running' after the Christmas break.

Let's be honest, no one feels like sprinting straight away at this time of the year.

Some are still catching up on sleep, recovering from all the desserts they've eaten, wrapping their heads around what day it is and trying not to fail one of their New Year's resolutions in the first week of the year.

Forcing yourself into work mode overnight is hard.

I'd rather ease into it. Spend the first day reconnecting with your team, archiving all the emails from last year and marking all Slack messages as read. Oh, that feels great.

By the second day, you're already feeling more in control.

Uncertainty defines startup life.

Prioritising the right problems keeps you grounded. Communicating your vision aligns your team. Flexibility lets you navigate the unexpected. These habits aren't luxuries - they're survival skills.

Adaptability and focus turn uncertainty into opportunity.

Weird Works Wonders

Hesitating to share a weird idea kills creativity. Fear of judgement silences potential brilliance.

Most unconventional ideas won't work. But the rare one that does can change everything. What seems absurd in one moment might solve a problem in another. Creativity thrives on the unexpected and bold ideas are the spark for breakthroughs.

By embracing the bizarre, teams unlock new possibilities. Instead of dismissing “stupid” ideas, explore them. Confidence to share fuels progress and every idea becomes a seed for innovation.

Culture is shaped by the people within it. Sometimes, one person is all it takes to spark positive change.

An employee who offers genuine encouragement, lends a hand to solve a problem or suggests small but meaningful improvements can transform a team's energy - one action at a time.

This is the quiet yet powerful force of influence.

Amplify their voices.
Support them.
Elevate them.

Let their impact ripple further.

Silos.

Break them whenever you see them.

Silos keep teams from seeing the whole market picture.

Silos risk losing sight of the customer, prioritising internal goals and creating a fragmented experience.

Silos slow everything down - teams hold onto information, delaying solutions.

Silos leave teams blind to risks outside their scope.

Expertise vs open-mindedness.

Sometimes it's hard to tell if someone's perspective is genuinely the best approach or if they're just anchored in familiar thinking. What if they don't even know what “awesome” could look like?

On the other hand, knowing when to hold your ground versus when to let things go can be even trickier. What if I don't know what “awesome” feels like and am just comfortable with my usual approach?

Define who's making the call before a debate starts.

That person takes in everyone's input but in the end they own the final decision.

It cuts down on endless debates and helps the team align around a single direction - even if not everyone agrees at first.

A short post about unstoppable teams.

Weathering the Torpedoes

All teams will face this moment sooner or later.

Torpedoes hit and chaos erupts. This feels like the end.

You see those who freeze and are lost in analysis or despair. Others grab buckets, extinguish fires and patch the holes. Those who can't handle the shitstorm often leave or, worse, switch off - but the team that stays learns.

Each crisis builds resilience and over time, the screams fade, the paralysis lessens and the team grows steady.

One day, the torpedo hits again but nobody panics. Everyone acts, shoulders the load and trusts each other to hold the line.

That's the moment you know your team is unstoppable.

Scaling Skills in Small Teams

Working at a small tech business shapes your career differently.

You'll juggle strategy, customer service, product development and beyond. The small team demands versatility, immersing you in every aspect of the business. This hands-on experience accelerates learning and builds skills quicker than larger organisations ever could.

For ambitious minds craving growth and variety, nothing compares.

Building a Thinking Team Culture

When a product leader decides to forge a new feature or even build a new product it's a good idea to brief the team and draw a couple of diagrams on a whiteboard. What does your team do next though?
I bet the chances are the devs have already started thinking about technical implementation, the designers are creating UI elements in their heads, and the testers are coming up with scenarios to break whatever they can.

At that point interru... read more