Speed
First Principle: The faster the better... if you have good judgement.
Speed is a force multiplier on agency. The more quickly you can recognize signal, adapt and respond, and innovate — the more surface area you have to shape what happens next.
The constraint: Not "go fast at all costs" but "go fast where your judgment is strong, and let AI take the load where pattern recognition benefits from machine speed."
The Three Speeds
Speed isn't one thing. It's three nested loops operating at different frequencies:
RECOGNIZE (hours) ─── See the signal in the noise
↓
ADAPT (days) ─── Respond with intention
↓
EVOLVE (weeks) ─── Create what didn't exist
| Speed | Cycle Time | What It Is | Failure Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recognize | Hours | Pattern detection, signal filtering | Drowning in noise, missing what matters |
| Adapt | Days | Experiment running, tactical response | Slow feedback, stale assumptions |
| Innovate | Weeks | New value creation, strategic moves | Concept decks that never ship |
The Speed × Agency Matrix
Each speed maps to a pattern skill and phase of the agency loop:
| Speed | Pattern Skill | Agency Phase | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recognize | Recognition | CAPTURE INTENTION | What's the signal? |
| Adapt | Utilization | ENGINEER → MEASURE | What's the right response? |
| Innovate | Creation | REFLECT → SHIP | What new pattern serves users? |
The insight: Judgment is built by completing the loop. You earn the right to go fast by going slow first — capturing feedback, measuring consequence, reflecting deeply. Then speed compounds.
The Speed × Agent Matrix
Where does human judgment stay? Where does AI take the load?
| Speed | Human Role | AI Role | AI % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recognize | Judge which signals matter | Handle volume, surface anomalies | 70% |
| Adapt | Decide response, own consequence | Scaffold code, run tests, suggest options | 50% |
| Innovate | Hold purpose, ethics, narrative | Extend reach, generate variations | 30% |
The principle: AI handles pattern recognition at machine speed. Humans hold judgment, purpose, and stakes.
Speed Layer 1: Recognize
Goal: See the signal in the noise. Hours, not days.
Build systems that capture and filter information into high-signal views:
| Signal Type | Source | AI Role | Human Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Markets | Price feeds, sentiment | Anomaly detection, clustering | Judge significance |
| Users | Behavior, feedback | Auto-summaries, pattern clustering | Decide what matters |
| Infrastructure | Metrics, logs | Alert on deviation | Prioritize response |
| Culture | News, social, regulation | Relevance filtering | Narrative interpretation |
Movement health of attention:
- Short, frequent passes over key dashboards
- Low-friction note capture
- Bias to externalizing thoughts (searchable, recombineable)
Example artifact: Situation room page that surfaces live product metrics, infra health, user feedback highlights, and market/regulatory/AI news — refreshed by agents.
Speed Layer 2: Adapt
Goal: Respond with intention. Days, not weeks.
Wire a tight intention → action → feedback loop:
CAPTURE INTENTION
↓
ENGINEER & BUILD ←── Keep this fast
↓
MEASURE CONSEQUENCE ←── Close the loop
↓
ITERATE OR SHIP
Response SLAs on learning, not just incidents:
| Signal Type | Target Response | Output |
|---|---|---|
| User behavior shift | 48 hours | Experiment running or logged "no change" decision |
| Regulatory move | 72 hours | Impact assessment, adaptation plan |
| Infra cost spike | 24 hours | Root cause + mitigation or acceptance |
| Competitive move | 48 hours | Strategic assessment, response or ignore |
Architecture that enables speed:
- Domain layer: small, explicit, well-tested
- Application layer: thin, composable services
- Infrastructure adapters: swappable (test new AI models, wallets, L2s without surgery)
Example rule: "Any meaningful signal results in code change, pricing/UX tweak, or deliberate 'no change' decision with logged rationale within 48 hours."
Speed Layer 3: Evolve
Goal: Create what didn't exist. Weeks, not months.
T-shaped agency: wide curiosity feeding narrow, ruthless commitment.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ← Wide: markets, culture, tech, geopolitics
┃
┃ ← Narrow: the one wedge where you go all-in
┃
Ship thin vertical slices:
| Slice Type | What It Tests | Success Metric |
|---|---|---|
| New agent workflow | Can AI handle this task? | User adoption, error rate |
| New token mechanism | Does this incentive align behavior? | Participation, retention |
| New participation form | Will users engage this way? | Activation, return rate |
Innovation constraint: Must end in something user-facing. No concept decks. If it doesn't touch a real user or real value flow, it doesn't count.
Example ritual: Monthly innovation sprint that ships to real users. Measure consequence. Double down or kill.
The Speed × Risk Matrix
Speed multiplies judgment. It doesn't replace it.
| Low Speed | High Speed | |
|---|---|---|
| Good Judgment | Safe but slow. Others outpace you. | Compounding advantage. |
| Poor Judgment | Slow failure. Time to course-correct. | Fast catastrophe. Amplified error. |
Guardrail: Separate explore and exploit lanes.
| Lane | Speed | Variance | Domain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explore | High | High | Sandbox: new agents, token mechanics, UX patterns |
| Exploit | Measured | Low | Core value flows: tested, reversible, careful |
Movement Health
Speed applies to body and mind. An agile body is a fun body to live in.
| Domain | What Agility Means | How It's Built |
|---|---|---|
| Physical | Move without friction | Movement protocols |
| Cognitive | Traverse the T-shape fast | Externalize thoughts, short feedback loops |
| Organizational | Clear interfaces, explicit ownership | Domain boundaries, fast builder-user feedback |
The principle: Movement health is a property of the system, not just the individual. Bodies, minds, teams, and code all benefit from agility.
The Speed × Three Flows Matrix
The Three Flows pattern applies to speed:
| Flow Stage | Recognize | Adapt | Innovate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intent | What signal to track? | What response to make? | What new value to create? |
| Route | Dashboard, alert pipeline | Experiment, code path | Vertical slice, distribution |
| Infrastructure | Data capture, processing | Build systems, test harness | Ship mechanism, user touchpoint |
| Settle | Signal confirmed or noise | Response measured | Innovation adopted or killed |
| Feedback | Better filters | Better judgment | Better patterns |
Context
| If you want to... | Go to... |
|---|---|
| Understand agency | Agency — the loop speed operates on |
| See pattern skills | Three Pattern Skills — recognize, utilize, create |
| Build T-shape | Dream Engineer — horizontal + vertical |
| Apply to robots | Robotics Industry — same loops, different fuel |
| Physical movement | Movement Health |
The Meta Question
"Where is your judgment strong enough to earn the right to go fast?"