🧱 Building Blocks – Issue 1
Short reflections and practical patterns for the ethical builder
This post is the first in a new series I am calling “Building Blocks”. The idea is to have more of a lighter weight newsletter format to compliment my longer form content. The emphasis for this series will be to provide some bite-sized thoughts and practical tips/tricks for the Better Builder. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think of this format! - Erik
🧭 Compass Heading
“Play has its uses, but they belong rather to the sphere of work; for he who toils needs rest, and play is a way of resting, while work is inseparable from toil and strain. We must therefore admit play, but keeping it to its proper uses and occasions, and prescribing it as a cure; such movement of the soul is a relaxation, and, because we enjoy it, rest.” - Aristotle, The Politics
🧠 Top of Mind
Recently I’ve been struggling with burnout. I have a nasty habit of trying to take on too much and resorting to white-knuckling my way through life. I feel like an overmatched boxer in the ring who, to the shock of the crowd and their opponent, just keeps getting back up no matter how many hits I take. Eventually, something breaks, and all the spinning plates come tumbling down. When this happens, I tend to overcorrect and drop all the things I have in flight. I finally can unplug and get some rest, but there is a creeping anxiety stalking my relaxation that I am failing to make progress on the projects that are important to me. Eventually this sense builds to the point where I can’t help but jump back into the ring. And the cycle repeats. I am working on finding more balance. Trying to be true to the part of me that needs to build, while also respecting my need for rest and maintenance, not as a failure of willpower, but as a critical key to being able to build at my best.
📐 Better Building Pattern
A principled pattern to help you build better
Content Subscription
What it is: The Content Subscription pattern is a way of monetizing content via recurring subscription as opposed to ad revenue or one off transactions. This pattern can be applied in digital or physical formats and normally takes the form of monthly payments though longer payment periods can often be locked in at a discount to overall cost.
Why it matters: The Content Subscription pattern generally aligns creator and customer incentives in a sustainable, mutually-beneficial way. Content creators are able to build up a predictable revenue stream while consumers are able to pay for the specific content that they want to consume. It also creates an incentive towards developing and maintaining a longer-term relationship with a paying customer as revenue accrues over time as opposed to trying to push the consumer toward making a sizeable one off purchase.
Example or context application: Patreon is probably the best example of this model as it allows any type of creator to create a premium content subscription. Often this application is combined with the Freemium pattern with a portion of the content free for all subscribers and premium content gated behind the Content Subscription. This balances the need to grow an audience with the ability to monetize the users who are getting the most out of a creator's content.
📡 Signals from the Field
Articles, tools, and ideas that resonate with the Philosophy of Building Better
Innovation and Repetition by René Girard via clunyjournal.com
Why it matters: Girard originally published this article in 1990 and it remains as relevant today as it was 30 years ago (if not more so). It explores the historical context of the word “innovation” and grapples with the friction between innovation and imitation. Today, we take innovation as an unadulterated good unto itself, but in a world where the implications of increased AI usage are becoming more and more pronounced, grappling with the role that imitation plays in innovation and whether innovation should even be an end we strive towards is more important than ever.
🛠️ Builder’s Log
A candid update on my current building efforts
What I’m building:
Building Better Newsletter
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Building Better Marriages v2
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BB Interview Format
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BB next longform post
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Key insight or challenge:
Challenge: Burnout
Insight: Sustainable work leads to long-term results. Rest is not something to feel guilty about, but critical maintenance that I need in order to be at my best for the things that are most important to me.
Up next:
Gathering feedback on this newsletter format. Testing out a new format interviewing builders who I think are building better. Making renewed progress on my Building Better Marriages project.
Asks:
If you have any feedback on this newsletter format please share in the comments or via email!
If you have any examples of companies or builders that you think are doing a great job of abiding by the precepts of the Philosophy of Building Better please let me know!
If you found this post compelling, consider joining me in signing The Builder’s Oath and committing to a higher standard of building conduct.
To learn more about the Philosophy of Building Better, a great place to start is my post on The Builder’s Oath which sums up all of the core tenets of the philosophy. If you would like to go back through each post, you can also find them stored on TheBuildingBetterProject.com.
