Optionality isnât just a business strategyâitâs a creative philosophy.
Lately, Iâve been checking LinkedIn the same way I used to check my Garmin.
Not for recovery dataâbut for relevance.
Iâll post something I care about. Something that feels true.
Then the loop starts:
- Impressions: up or down?
- Engagement: better than last time?
- Comments: silent? active?
- And what about theirsâwhy did that hit?
I donât need an algorithm to shame me.
I do it myself.
Data as Judgment
Itâs the same trap wearables created in the health world:
- You wake up feeling restedâuntil your HRV score tells you youâre not.
- Youâre proud of your workoutâuntil Strava says itâs âlow intensity.â
- You trust your intuitionâuntil it contradicts the data.
The issue isnât the data.
Itâs the frame.
When tools become judges instead of guides, we trade self-awareness for scorekeeping.
We stop listening inwardâand start optimizing outward.
Optionality > Optimization
In Optionality is the New Alpha, I wrote about resisting rigid pathsâchoosing a strategy that leaves room to adapt, pivot, or play multiple games.
That applies just as much to how we show up online.
The creator economy subtly teaches us:
- Optimize everything
- Post for performance
- Build an audience before you build a point of view
But thatâs just another version of overfittingâwhere the algorithm dictates the shape of your voice.
Optionality, by contrast, says:
Post what resonatesâbefore it performs.
Share whatâs trueâbefore it trends.
Build trust slowlyâbefore you go viral.
Itâs not about gaming the feed.
Itâs about owning your frequency.
Use the Data. Donât Let It Use You.
Iâm not anti-metric.
I love seeing what lands. I love iterating. I love insights.
But Iâve learned: when impressions become identity, you lose the plot.
You build content instead of conviction.
You chase reach instead of resonance.
You accumulate followers instead of allies.
Creative Optionality Is Real Optionality
The same way I donât want to be locked into one business model, I donât want to be locked into one version of my voice.
That means I:
- Post when I have something real to sayânot to maintain a streak
- Share without needing performance validation
- Zoom out and look for the arc, not the spike
In other words, I use LinkedIn.
But I donât let it use me.
Final Thought
Optionality isnât just for capital allocation or business design.
Itâs for creation. Identity. Communication. Self-expression.
Because when we let metrics override intuition, even a good post can feel like failure.
The future belongs to the people who can buildâand speakâfrom their center.
Iâm working on that.
If you are too, weâll probably cross paths.
đ Read the original: Optionality is the New Alpha â



