“The sooner you put yourself out there, the sooner you’ll get the feedback you need to grow.” — Jack Butcher
Growth is achieved in public.
You won’t find it in an echo chamber of one. From one small group to billions on social media, objective feedback is critical to your growth. The more you can digest, the better.
Ignore this simple truth at your own peril.
Building in public is the process of releasing your creation in increments... one small improvement at a time. Rooted in lean manufacturing and agile software development, it is the living embodiment of continuous improvement.
Building in public begins with an idea. You then...
Create the smallest version.
Publish or ship for all to see.
Get objective feedback.
Make one small improvement.
Repeat.
Why is building in public a good thing?
You learn what resonates early and often. You learn what to tweak and where to tweak it. All the while, you engage with others, establish relationships and generate new ideas. It is a virtuous cycle of creation for you and those you engage with.
What is the alternative?
Building in private is the process of creating something away from the prying eyes of others. You create exactly what you want. You release it only when ready.
But what if it is never ready?
What will others think?
Am I good enough?
Is it good enough?
That is precisely the point of building in public. The repeated act of publishing prevents you from procrastinating your life away out of fear. It saves you from creating something that fails to resonate. Publishing often is the habit of being proactive and the antidote to impostor syndrome.
But what if other people are mean and judgmental?
Trolls are a rare occurrence, and the pain of such infrequent encounters is outweighed by the benefits. Other builders and creators will jump to your defense, because they grapple with the same difficulties. There is safety in numbers along the path of creation.
Learn from Jack Butcher, one of the masters of building in public…
“Make contact with the market every day.”
You will create things people love.
You will love the act of creation.
Growth will ensue.
🤔 Food for Thought:
Are you still building in private?
What is holding you back from releasing?
In this answer, do you see the fingerprints of fear?
⚙️ One Small Step:
What is the most important creation you are working on right now? Identify the simplest version of it you can publish. If you don’t feel uncomfortable, then it isn’t the simplest, smallest version. Now complete this version in the next day or two. Publish! Now do it over and over again.