17 August 2026
The second decision is the one that counts
Anyone can make one good choice. A system is what happens to the next fifty.
The first decision in a project is usually easy, because nothing depends on it yet. It is the second that sets the standard — it either agrees with the first or quietly contradicts it, and everything after follows whichever it chose.
This is why we spend longer than most on the early rounds. Not to get one screen right, but to find the rule the rest of them will obey.