Context is king: or how to build someone else’s tribe by mistake

Here's the hidden cost of copying best practices: you don't just waste time—you attract the wrong people.

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The Spotify Trap

Spotify's squad model became legendary. Autonomous teams, minimal hierarchy, move fast. Companies everywhere copied it.

But here's what they missed: Spotify had mature products, experienced engineers, and clear domain boundaries. They could decentralize because they'd already built strong foundations.

Early-stage companies tried the same model and got chaos. Worse? They hired for Spotify's context, not their own reality.

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The Real Cost of Context-Blindness

When you optimize for someone else's playbook, you:

• Attract people who thrive in their environment, not yours
• Reject candidates who'd actually excel in your reality
• Build a team frustrated by the mismatch between promise and practice

You hire "autonomous self-starters" when you actually need "structured builders who create foundations."

You seek "disruptors" when you need "operators who can scale what exists."

You're building someone else's tribe.

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The Questions That Matter

Before adopting any framework—or writing any job description—ask:

‍What's our actual reality?

• Are we building foundations or scaling what exists?
• Do we need structure or do we need to break free from it?
• What phase are we genuinely in, not where we wish we were?

Who thrives in THIS environment?

• Not at Google. Not at Spotify. Here.
• What does success actually require in our day-to-day?
• What frustrates people who don't fit, and what energizes those who do?

What are we really optimizing for?

• If you're a 10-person startup acting like a 1,000-person scale-up, you'll hire people who expect the wrong things
• Your context determines who belongs

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The Connection

Remember: you're building a tribe. But whose tribe?

Context-blindness means you accidentally recruit for someone else's company. You write job posts that sound like Netflix, build processes that mimic Spotify, and wonder why people don't stick.

Your context isn't just about efficiency. It's about identity.

Know where you are. Build for your reality. Attract people who thrive in your tribe, not the one you read about.

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