Hey Makers & Breakers,
I constantly reflect on a recurring theme in product development, startups, and life itself—the tension between moving fast and doing it right. There’s a constant pull between building for speed and building for longevity, and finding that balance is something we all struggle with. Are we crafting something we believe in, or are we just checking off boxes on a product roadmap? Today, I want to dive into three key pieces that struck a chord with me this week, each touching on this delicate balance yet offering a distinct perspective.
But before we dive in, let’s get straight to it: what can you take away from this?
It’s not just about working faster or harder—it’s about aligning your actions with intent. Every decision and every task should propel you toward what matters most. If you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, maybe it’s time to rethink your approach.
So, grab your coffee (or tea, or whatever fuels you), and let’s dig deeper.
Time Management: Auditing to Take Control
I’ll kick things off with time management—a topic that often gets swept under the rug. Andy Sparks’ piece “Conducting a Time Audit” really hit home. It’s tempting to think of time management as a passive, background task—something you just let your calendar manage for you. But what if we flipped that on its head?
Time management isn’t just about reacting to meetings and deadlines—it’s about auditing how we actually spend our time and using that data to manage it actively. Sparks calls for a structured audit of time, akin to how we track and analyze metrics in product development. Through this, we can identify where our time is really going and make purposeful decisions to reclaim it.
In fact, there’s a critical difference between passive and active time management. Passive is blocking out time on your calendar without intention or simply reacting to external demands. Active management, however, is deliberate. It’s building your time with purpose, just as you would build a product. And it all starts with an audit—collecting data on your time usage to inform better, more intentional decision-making.
Think about it: Time isn’t just a resource to track; it’s a tool to build with. What would happen if you treated your calendar like a sprint backlog? Instead of fitting your work into the day, you build your day around what matters most.
The Power of Founder Mode: Conviction and Context
Next, let’s transition into a more action-oriented mindset—founder mode. The Skip Episode: Founder Mode, Done Right with Shreyas Doshi, dives into what it means to operate with conviction.
Founder mode isn’t just about making decisions based on data—it’s about trusting your gut and, sometimes, making bold moves when the metrics tell you otherwise. But here’s where the nuance comes in: founder mode isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s crucial at the early stages of building, but there are times when stepping back to let others lead is the better call—especially when the complexity of the organization increases. Knowing when to lean into conviction and when to delegate is what differentiates great leaders from those who burn out.
What struck me is how this mode of thinking can apply far beyond founders. Product managers, engineers, and designers—anyone deeply involved in building—can adopt this mindset. Founder mode is about making deliberate decisions with confidence, but it’s also about recognizing when it’s time to let go and let others take the reins. In fact, some of the best decisions you can make involve stepping back, trusting your team, and focusing on the bigger picture.
Founder mode doesn’t mean ignoring data or external feedback—it means having the conviction to make hard calls in moments of ambiguity. But to avoid falling into the trap of micromanagement, it’s crucial to balance this instinct with context and collaboration. After all, even founders can’t do it all.
Building With Purpose: Intent Beyond Acceleration
Lastly, let’s zoom out and talk about the bigger picture: What are we building, and why? Kyle Harrison’s piece, “It’s Time to Build… But Build What?”
Kyle makes a compelling argument about the risks of building without purpose. Drawing from Marc Andreessen’s “It’s Time to Build”, Harrison warns against blind acceleration. It’s not just about speed—it’s about building with intent, about ensuring that the things we’re creating today will last tomorrow.
Here’s where the irony comes in—Andreessen’s call to build more housing is a poignant example. While he publicly advocates for solving the housing crisis, Harrison highlights the contradiction when Andreessen opposed plans to build multi-family housing in his own backyard in Atherton, California, the country’s most expensive zip code. This “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) approach underscores a broader problem in building with purpose. It’s easy to champion large-scale solutions, but when it comes to personal stakes, the conviction sometimes falters.
It’s not just about pushing forward for the sake of progress. If we’re not intentional about what we’re building, we risk creating systems that ultimately fail us. Whether it’s housing, technology, or even how we manage teams, building requires purpose. Moving fast and breaking things might work in the short term, but without clarity on where you’re going, you risk crashing into a brick wall at full speed.
What really resonates here is the contrast between today’s focus on quantity over quality—whether in products, processes, or even housing—and the craftsmanship of the past. Planned obsolescence, whether in consumer electronics or short-sighted company strategies, serves short-term goals but leaves long-term consequences. Building with purpose means having the foresight to think beyond the immediate payoff.
Tying It All Together: Build Deliberately, With Conviction, and With Purpose
When you look at time management, founder mode, and building with intent, one thing becomes clear: building isn’t just about speed. It’s about conviction, intention, and direction. Here’s how these concepts connect:
Auditing and actively managing your time allows you to focus on what truly matters, freeing you to make decisions that count.
Founder mode is about operating with conviction, but with the understanding that not every situation calls for the same intensity—you need to balance stepping in and stepping back.
And finally, building with purpose reminds us that it’s not just about pushing things out—it’s about creating something that lasts.
As we move into the rest of the year, let this be a reminder: we’re not just building products or features. We’re building systems, companies, and cultures. And that requires more than just speed—it demands reflection, conviction, and clarity of purpose. The world doesn’t need more stuff. It needs more meaningful things.
So, I leave you with this question: What will you build next?
Let’s keep pushing forward.
— Luka
p.s.
If you haven’t already, check out Marc’s essays—there’s always something new to uncover on a second read.