I believe disciplined, lean operations and systems that work without me can prevent unnecessary bloat while supporting business growth. This connects to my broader thinking about business systems and leverage and cost discipline.
On January 29, 2025, I said a DOGE post was inspiring and planned to run a “whole DOGE operation” in my own business once a month. My goal was to increase money saved per day on unnecessary spending while still growing revenue. I did not describe specific actions, a measurement method, a start date, or any results. The federal savings figures in the post were claims by @DOGE, not results from my business: @DOGE claimed approximately $1 billion per day in savings, attributed mostly to stopping hiring into unnecessary positions, deleting DEI, and stopping improper payments to foreign organizations. @DOGE said these actions aligned with the President’s Executive Orders, called the savings a good start, and said the figure needed to rise above $3 billion per day. The quoted post provided no calculation method, supporting evidence, or timeframe for those figures. I wrote, “This is pretty inspiring.” and “Once a month” and “I’m gonna run a whole DOGE operation in my own business.”
On May 20, 2025, I shared the principle, “Work expands so as to fill the resources available for its completion.” The capture gave no source or further explanation for the claim.
On November 25, 2025, I gave myself a concise instruction: “Keep it lean.” I did not specify a particular situation or method; the principle complements my preference for simplicity in keep it simple.
On December 22, 2025, I said my responsibility was not to work harder, but to design systems that work without me. I did not name the systems or explain how I would design or evaluate them. I wrote, “My responsibility is not to work harder, it's to design systems that work without me.”
Related: business systems and leverage, ai leverage replaces extra hires, stack and protect momentum