This week’s Build explores the fascinating tension that shapes every founder’s journey: the gap between who you are now and who you need to become.
Whether it’s learning to wield power without becoming Machiavellian, challenging the beliefs that once served you but now hold you back or navigating the eternal conflict between maximisers and focusers in your scale-up, this week’s three articles all point to the same truth: growth means letting go of something that worked before…and being OK with that transition…over and over again.
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RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK #1
A clean path to power: six moves that work
Richard Claydon gives founders six practical moves for building organisational power whilst maintaining integrity. His article looks at making outcomes easier for others through increased visibility, understanding real power structures, clear communication, coherent storytelling, strategic networking and sophisticated use of different power modes.
My take:
It’s unusual to read an article on power without the usual cynicism or naivety about this topic. Richard’s piece acknowledges that doing excellent work invisibly rarely leads anywhere. I particularly loved the practical action plans and his emphasis on publishing artefacts and decision logs. These are tools I use in my work to help build individual power into systemic improvement in organisations.
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RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK #2
Unlearning is a wildly underrated skill
In his newsletter Chris Laping identifies five warning signs that your outdated beliefs are holding you back. He picks out things like trusting gut over evidence, defaulting to “we’ve always done it this way”, silencing yourself with limiting stories, repeating tired platitudes and relying solely on existing strengths. Catching and challenging these limiting thoughts in real-time before they cost you opportunities is essential for continued growth for founders.
My take:
For me the most valuable insight here is the distinction between intuition that sparks ideas and intuition that replaces evidence. Founders often conflate the two. Chris’s challenge to find your own words rather than repeating business clichés is particularly relevant in an era where a lot of founders sound like they’ve ingested the same LinkedIn feed.
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RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK #3
Maximisers vs. focusers
John Cutler challenges founders to distinguishing “maximisers” (who favour speed, optionality and parallel bets) from “focusers” (who prioritise coherence, depth and meaningful constraints), arguing that both can be strategic but fundamentally misunderstand each other. He suggests the healthiest organisations don’t eliminate either archetype but instead create productive tension between them.
My take:
This article explains what’s behind so many founder conflicts I’ve witnessed. It’s a useful reminder that you can’t reason someone out of their fundamental operating mode. John’s point that “you can’t counter with logic” is great: it shifts the challenge from proving you’re right to understanding why intelligent people see the same situation so differently.
From the Build archive
Build #3 –
Power in scaling businesses
A deep dive into the Build archive to look at some key theories around power and how it works.
Build #75 –
Tension is the work: leading without easy answers
James Gairdner explains why tensions are healthy through the lens of psychodynamic theory.
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