Makers & Breakers #005
Autonomy, Taste, and Navigating Change
Hey Makers & Breakers,
I hope you’re enjoying your Monday morning coffee and easing into the week. Let’s set the tone for the next few days—let the week work in your favour, and I hope you get the chance to be a true Maker & Breaker, driving change and making an impact. In this edition, I’ve curated some topics that will give you space for reflection, whether they provoke new thoughts or inspire fresh ideas.
Enjoy this week’s topics and let’s dive in.
1. The Search for Autonomy
As creators, there’s a constant pull between simply executing tasks and wanting to control the direction of your work. Randall Koutnik’s Implementers, Solvers, and Finders offers an insightful way of thinking about this journey. We all start as Implementers, executing on ideas handed down to us. Over time, we grow into Solvers, solving more complex problems independently. But the real leap is becoming a Finder—someone with the freedom to choose which problems to tackle in the first place.
Autonomy isn’t just a natural progression; it’s something you actively create by aligning your work with your values and curiosity. And while it’s tempting to think autonomy only comes with leadership, that’s not necessarily true. The craft itself, when approached with the right mindset, can be a source of autonomy. The question is: how can you turn your role into something that allows you to innovate, not just follow?
As we consider the changing dynamics of tech, autonomy becomes a theme that ties into everything we do. It’s not about breaking free from structure but about finding space within it to make meaningful decisions. That’s where the true sense of creation comes from.
2. Taste: The New Competitive Edge
As software becomes commoditized, simply building something that works is no longer enough. This brings us to Taste is Eating Silicon Valley, Anu Atluru , where the real differentiator in tech is increasingly becoming taste. The products that stand out today aren’t just functional—they create an emotional connection with users.
Taste is about more than aesthetics; it’s about how your product feels to users and how it aligns with their values. The best products go beyond utility, offering experiences that feel personal and culturally relevant. And this shift is happening everywhere, from consumer tech to enterprise software.
But getting taste right is tricky. It’s not something you can predict perfectly—it takes constant iteration and a willingness to pivot when things don’t land. It reminds us that success isn’t just about technical superiority but also about understanding the cultural pulse of your users.
As we grow as creators, the question we should ask isn’t just how can I make this work? but how does this make people feel? Building with taste means creating something that resonates on a deeper level, something that feels irreplaceable to your audience.
3. Balancing Scale, Skill, and Speed
The third force at play in today’s tech landscape is the delicate balance of scale, skill, and speed. In Rishad Tobaccowala’s Scale. Skill. Speed. Rishad reflects on how these pillars of success are evolving. In a world where small teams can scale as effectively as large ones thanks to platforms like AWS, the notion of scale has transformed. It’s no longer about size, but about leveraging the right tools at the right time.
Skill, too, is shifting. The most valuable abilities today aren’t necessarily technical—they’re about being able to adapt, learn, and connect new ideas in creative ways. In an industry where things move fast, the skill to pivot quickly and solve problems across disciplines has become a key asset.
Speed, meanwhile, is a constant pressure. We see products reaching millions of users in record time, and companies racing to adapt. Streamlining processes is critical, but so is staying focused. It’s easy to confuse movement with progress, but real speed comes from cutting down the noise and focusing on what drives outcomes.
One interesting dynamic here is how AI, particularly large language models like Claude and ChatGPT, are becoming enablers in this space. We’re starting to see more non-technical people using these tools to build SaaS companies or create internal tools. This isn’t about AI taking over—it’s about how it can speed up and scale efforts that once required heavy technical resources. It’s another example of how the balance of scale, skill, and speed is shifting to favour those who can adapt.
Ultimately, the challenge isn’t to be the biggest or the fastest but to know how to leverage these forces in a way that aligns with your core mission. The companies and creators that thrive are the ones who can harness these dynamics without losing sight of their purpose.
Closing Thoughts
The tech landscape is constantly shifting, and navigating these changes means balancing autonomy, taste, and the forces of scale, skill, and speed. Whether you’re seeking more autonomy in your work, creating products that resonate deeply with users, or staying nimble in an ever-accelerating world, adaptability is the common thread.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Success isn’t about perfection; it’s about staying flexible, learning as you go, and continuously evolving with the world around you.
Let’s keep pushing forward.
—Luka