Hero culture is a scam built on a beautiful lie: Caring means suffering. We celebrate people who work impossible hours, and call that ownership, leadership, and dedication.
The system is rigged from the start. You either deliver miracles or you’re making excuses. There’s no room for pointing out that something is broken. Speak up, and you’re labeled difficult. Setting boundaries means you don’t care enough.
Read full post “Optimized for burnout”
Everyone knows better than you. Everyone has something to say about your work. Everything you do gets questioned by people who won’t be held accountable for the outcome.
Read full post “When everyone’s an expert”
We’ve normalized this middle ground where people can appear supportive while playing it safe.
Nowadays, having someone’s back means agreeing with them in private but protecting yourself in public. Saying “I support you”, but building a paper trail of concerns for later. It feels smart and strategic and has become reasonable behavior.
Read full post “Emotional insurance fraud”
They tell you to start by outlining your mission and vision. It makes you look noble, strategic, committed. But nobody tells you how easily that becomes a false sense of accomplishment before anything tangible happens.
Read full post “It rarely starts with a slogan”
Nodding at plans that aren’t yours. Following up on decisions you’ll never make. That’s easy. That’s alignment.
Purpose, on the other hand, shows up uninvited. It leaks into side projects, late-night writing, and fuels the frustration after another well-paid day that left you empty.
Read full post “2 a.m. don’t lie”
Truth is complicated not just in what it reveals but also in how it lands. The exact same words that feel liberating to someone can threaten another’s sense of safety.
Read full post “Resistance”
It’s funny how often the loudest voice preaching about standards is the same person who created the mess in the first place.
Yesterday’s owners of rushed-out projects and half-assed solutions become today’s self-appointed guardians of process, picking apart everyone else’s work while conveniently forgetting their shortcuts.
Read full post “Convenient amnesia”
Every day, someone comes up with an idea that could move things forward. A simple change. A small improvement. A step in the right direction that dies under the “bigger picture” mentality.
Simple becomes strategic. Quick becomes quarterly. Immediate morphs into initiative and nothing changes in the end.
Read full post “Simple dies here”
I’m often labeled an asshole because I question everything. People who don’t know me think I don’t give a fuck, but it’s the opposite. I care so deeply it kinda hurts.
It’s not about being right or proving a point; it’s about refusing to accept broken things as normal and settling for half-assed solutions. I can’t stay quiet.
Read full post “The invisible traits”
Nowadays, every piece of work needs a marketing sparkle as, if slapping buzzwords on everyday work would make it more meaningful.
“Strategic Excellence Month,” “Transformative Innovation Week,” “Enhanced Stability Sprint,” etc., are bullshit titles for work that already has value.
Read full post “Rebranding the obvious”