Have you ever watched a great idea die in a meeting?

Have you ever slogged through a consulting project that promised transformation (or perhaps worse, where you promised transformation) – then changed nothing?

Have you ever looked around a room full of smart, well-paid adults and wondered why work still feels like 1995, but with faster Wi-Fi?

Same. Saaaaaame.

I wrote Hidden Patterns because most solutions aim at the symptoms – new org charts, pep talks, shinier collaboration apps – while the real trouble lives deeper, in the invisible routines that shape how we gather, decide, and learn. When you actually start changing those patterns, I've seen cultures flip almost overnight.

Below are three of my favorite patterns from the book. You can run any one of them before lunch tomorrow. No reorg required.

Distributed Management (14)

Break the manager role into bite-size tasks (getting things done, coaching, assignments, vision-setting, development) and hand each to the teammate best suited for it. That clears bottlenecks and spreads real authority.

To start, try listing every recurring manager task on a whiteboard. Let the team claim ownership where they have energy + competence. Capture the hand-offs in a Team Charter (43) or Logbook (57). Build on this pattern with Elections (15, rotate key tasks every 6–12 months), Colleague Letter of Understanding (40, document the new agreements), and Expanded Available Power (4, give task-owners budget/time to act).

Do the Right Thing (26)

Worry about doing things right only after you’re sure they’re the right things. Formalize how the team defines value, chooses work, and course-corrects.

Put this into play by running a 30-minute “Stop-Doing Sprint” where everyone writes each active project on a sticky, sorts them into Advances Purpose, Unsure, or Doesn’t, then redesigns at least one “Doesn’t” item on the spot, and gives every “Unsure” item a two-week value test. (If there's no value, kill the work.) Build on this pattern with Strategy Heuristic (29, create a one-sentence rule of thumb), Active Steering (27, revisit direction every two weeks), Structured Decision-Making (30, add clear go/stop criteria).

Length Limit (64)

Put an explicit expiry date on roles, processes, even goals. Regular renewal keeps things fresh and prevents zombie work.

Try this by picking one live commitment (say, the weekly status meeting) and giving it a sunset date: “we'll stop doing this meeting in 90 days unless we decide to keep going.” Note the date in the calendar now. From there, you might improve your practice with Retrospectives (66, schedule a look-back before each expiration), and Health Checks (59, monthly pulse to catch drift early), both of which build toward a mindset of Dissolvability (9, treating every team and project as temporary).

These are small moves. You might be doing some version of these already. But stack a few together and you will start to feel systemic progress. That’s the promise! Tweak the code, not the people, and watch work get good again.

What are those numbers?

This project was inspired by A Pattern Language, which names 253 patterns for redesigning the built environment around us. I started collecting my own pattern library circa 2013, and finally finished the collection at 75, ranging from deep foundations to the changeable aspects of our physical workspace.

If you're nodding along here, now’s the moment to add to cart at Amazon, Bookshop.org, wherever you buy your books. Direct from the publisher? Barnes & Noble? Hudson Booksellers? Yes, even Walmart.

Hidden Patterns

A book about fixing the invisible stuff that makes work suck. Not the obvious stuff like bad bosses or dumb policies, but the deeper patterns that slow teams down, kill good ideas, and waste everyone's time.

It gives you small moves that actually help work get better, no matter where you sit in the org.

Pre-Order on Amazon

A quick thing on pre-orders, for those of you who someday want to write a book: pre-orders are a cheat code. As I understand it, every copy you buy before launch rolls into week-one sales, which drives bestseller lists, unlocks bookstore placement, and convinces my publisher to keep the lights on for a second print run. You might even see this in an airport.

A little bribe for individual buyers

I’m printing a deck of 75 Practice Cards: one for each pattern, plus quick-start instructions. The first 100 people who DM or email me a pre-order receipt will get a set. One per human while supplies last.

"I work at a company. Can I buy in bulk? What do I get in exchange?"

That's amazing, too. Here's a link where you can do that, and a different offer. Email or DM me a receipt, and...

  • For any bulk buy (10+ copies through the link below) → I’ll host a private virtual workshop for your team.
  • For a big bulk buy, like... 500+ copies? (and you cover travel) → I’ll show up in person, sharpies and sticky notes in hand, and we’ll redesign your team/org/whatever, together using the cards.

Thanks, friends. For subscribing, and maybe even pre-ordering this thing!