The National Football League (NFL) is referred to as a Copycat League—teams emulating tactics that previous championship teams deployed. What happens in the subsequent season, teams will copy that exact trend in hopes of emulating the success.

For example, many losing teams who didn't make the playoffs lure assistant coaches from the championship team, hoping they bring the same magic to their team. Talent utilization is another copycat trend: dual-thread quarterbacks who can pass/run like Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson and pass-catching tight ends like Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce. In basketball, Steph Curry invoked a copycat league of players who shoot way beyond the three-point line (with many failing to emulate him).

Working in tech is like playing in a Copycat League. Between the group texts of founders talking about what Elon is doing to everyone wanting Design Engineers, working in this craft has a lot of emulators. Instead of extreme spectrums, let's challenge ourselves by breaking down the properties. Let's reflect on why emulation happens and compromise is important, how having conviction is the foundational platform, and how you approach making progress.

Emulation and compromise are healthy

Many copiers in the Copycat League do find success. The reason people copy is there is evidence of results someone wants to emulate. First, identify where emulation is occurring as a change in the ecosystem. Let's use hypergrowth as an example. In my early days at two hyper-growth startups, both blitz-scaled during the favorable markets and opportunities. That strategy isn't as wise in the 2020s in the Tech Factory reset. It's easy to play armchair quarterback and say companies in that blitzscale era shouldn't have grown so fast. Everything is easy in hindsight. One could also argue the companies wouldn't have survived seizing product-market fit if they didn't scale.

This is an example of when applying emulation can be healthy. The Zen Buddhist story of the cup of tea is a great lesson about this:

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor’s cup full, and then kept pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself. “It’s overfull! No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” the master said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

To truly learn, one must first let go of preconceived notions and approach with an open mind. This is where your conviction comes in.

Conviction is everything

I've mentored and coached many leaders—both IC and managers varying from all experience levels. There are three things they need to have: ambition, influence, and conviction. Let's focus on conviction—the firmly held belief or opinion about something, often based on personal principles or moral certainty.

People who've worked with me constantly hear me express, "Strong opinion, strongly held"—a remix of Paul Saffo's, "Strong opinions, loosely held." I've adopted this since years ago a direct report once told me they wanted to know my point of view more—feedback I took to heart moving forward.

Your conviction is what you bring into your workplace, not what work tells you. I don't need a company value to tell me to prioritize craft or craft or tell me how to think of the importance of representation and equitability. What you do and prioritize will say more than any word.

Nobody has control over a company's actions. Your people need to know where you stand and not assume you're simply an NPC leader. All that said, my belief is conviction requires collective progress. I'd rather have suboptimal forward progress over holding conviction with no movement.

Conviction is your compass

Let your conviction guide you in a world of emulation and the Copycat League. Success breeds emulation (copycat), but your conviction and personal belief fuel innovation. What is emulated fluctuates, but what you establish as your foundation will be how people remember you. As Steve Rogers said in The Amazing Spider-Man #537 Civil War storyline:

“Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world — "No, you move."

Take time to reflect on what your personal credo is as you’ll need it to make decisions on your craft and career. Whatever it is, I hope you choose one thing to practice: conviction.

Hyperlinks + notes

A collection of references for this post, updates, and weekly reads.

• From a Flickering Screen to UX Mastery: Bob Baxley on the Childhood Spark That Fueled a Life in Design → Bob is one of my favorite people in design—a great interview to read

• Now on the personal blog: Your creative credo

• The AI Skill That Will Define Your PM Career in 2025 | Aman Khan (Arize)

• Where to donate to people who've lost their homes in the LA fires → A collection of GoFundMe campaigns¹