One of the ideas I’ve become increasingly obsessed with while building my own firm is the relationship between culture, intensity, and progress. We hear phrases like “culture eats strategy for breakfast” constantly, but very few people explain what culture actually feels like inside organizations that are truly building at a high level.
In this BuilderBlock, I explore a framework I’ve been developing around organizational “heat” — from stagnant, low-energy cultures to the high-intensity environments capable of producing outsized results. Drawing from experiences in investing, leadership, restaurants, technology companies, and my own mistakes as a founder, this essay examines how ambitious cultures are created, why speed compounds advantage, and how teams can push toward excellence without becoming toxic.