# Brendan Stec's Essays

Essays on what I'm learning in business and life

Page: <https://rssamplifier.com/brendanstec-substack-com>  
Feed: <https://rssamplifier.com/brendanstec-substack-com.md>

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## [The burdens of optimization](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/the-burdens-of-optimization)

_2026-07-26 · Brendan Stec_

Optimizing is everywhere.

## [How to throw away a bad idea](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/how-to-throw-away-a-bad-idea)

_2026-06-28 · Brendan Stec_

This week, I threw away 5 months of work on a project after realizing I was going in the wrong direction.

## [Step 1: Swallow the frog](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/step-1-swallow-the-frog)

_2025-07-06 · Brendan Stec_

Happy Sunday readers!

## [Achievable vs. realistic goals](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/achievable-vs-realistic-goals)

_2025-06-09 · Brendan Stec_

Later doesn't mean never

## [Closer to co-intelligence](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/closer-to-co-intelligence)

_2025-05-25 · Brendan Stec_

I operate with AI tools (e.g.

## [Past regrets](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/past-regrets)

_2025-03-29 · Brendan Stec_

Past Regrets

## [Business vs. sports competition](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/business-vs-sports-competition)

_2025-01-19 · Brendan Stec_

What some analogies miss about how to compete

## [Thanks to AI, politeness matters more than ever](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/thanks-to-ai-politeness-matters-more)

_2024-10-27 · Brendan Stec_

Doing the hard thing is becoming special

## [An escape from a bad team](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/an-escape-from-a-bad-team)

_2024-10-06 · Brendan Stec_

Lessons on team performance, exponential AI, strategy and more

## [Disagreements of Taste and Disagreements of Position](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/disagreements-of-taste-and-disagreements)

_2024-09-22 · Brendan Stec_

Lessons on navigating conflict

## [Open directory of blogs for agents (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/1NcsR4ubwwjm)

_2024-09-22 · **Sponsored**_

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## [The growth tension model](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/the-growth-tension-model)

_2024-09-08 · Brendan Stec_

A new model for impostor syndrome

## [Searching for signals](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/9-searching-for-signals)

_2024-08-11 · Brendan Stec_

My favorite books on systems thinking, human behavior, and quantitative topics

## [An introduction to signals](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/8-an-introduction-to-signals)

_2024-07-28 · Brendan Stec_

Improve your thinking by recognizing life's recurring patterns

## [A simple signal to stick to your goals](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/7-a-simple-rule-to-stick-to-your)

_2024-07-14 · Brendan Stec_

And avoid downward drift

## [The parable of the comb-over](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/6-the-parable-of-the-comb-over)

_2024-06-24_

How to avoid failing gradually

## [You should stop blindly copying other people](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/5-you-should-stop-blindly-copying)

_2024-06-09_

This week's signal: "cargo culting"

## [From crutches to solutions](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/4-from-crutches-to-solutions)

_2024-05-26 · Brendan Stec_

Identifying cycles of dependency and addiction

## [Five actors move to Hollywood](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/3-five-actors-move-to-hollywood)

_2024-05-12 · Brendan Stec_

Lessons in luck and reputation from a challenging career

## [What's holding you back? A simple signal.](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/whats-holding-you-back-a-simple-signal)

_2024-04-28 · Brendan Stec_

Introducing the limiting factor. Plus, Lisa Allen's story and the Theory of Constraints.

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_2024-04-28 · **Sponsored**_

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## [Why so many top-down decisions fail](https://brendanstec.substack.com/p/why-so-many-top-down-decisions-fail)

_2024-04-14 · Brendan Stec_

Policy resistance | Making more robust decisions | Systems thinking