Building Bricks
Turn each present action into infrastructure for a defined future.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
Building Bricks treats long-term growth as a sequence of deliberate actions whose value may only become clear after they accumulate. Begin with a future direction, then evaluate present opportunities according to whether they add capability, relationships, experience, systems, or infrastructure that the future will require. A brick can be a speaking engagement, a new connection, a training investment, an experiment, or a repeatable operating system. The method does not require every action to produce an immediate return. Instead, quarterly reflection reveals how seemingly separate actions form a foundation. The mechanism is vision to aligned action to documented learning to compounding strategic capacity.
Origin
Jasmine Star used the brick metaphor to review the actions she took during the second quarter of 2024 while building toward business ambitions extending into 2025 and 2026.
Core principles
- 01Strong futures require strong foundations.
- 02Small strategic actions compound before the final result becomes visible.
- 03Each opportunity should connect to a longer-term direction.
- 04Progress can be real even when the finished outcome is not yet apparent.
How to run it
- 1
Define the future structure
Describe the business, role, network, or capability you ultimately want to build. Make the direction specific enough to judge whether current opportunities support it.
Pro tip Look beyond the current quarter and describe what the next several years may require.
Watch out A vague ambition makes almost any activity look strategically relevant.
- 2
Identify required foundations
List the relationships, skills, systems, evidence, and infrastructure that the future structure will need. Treat gaps in those areas as candidates for new bricks.
Pro tip Include capabilities that can be practiced before they are commercially necessary.
Watch out Do not confuse visible publicity with foundational capacity.
- 3
Choose the next aligned brick
Select a manageable action that creates one required asset or capability. Accept that its immediate return may be uncertain.
Pro tip Use commitments already on the calendar to create additional aligned opportunities.
Watch out Do not pursue an activity merely because it is impressive or available.
- 4
Extract the lesson
After the action, identify what it built and what it taught you. Capture both successful outcomes and operational warnings.
Pro tip Write a one-sentence answer to: “This brick represents what?”
Watch out A completed activity without reflection may not improve the next decision.
- 5
Review the quarter
Examine the accumulated bricks and determine whether they form a coherent foundation. Continue, adjust, or stop activities based on their relationship to the future vision.
Pro tip Review relationships, systems, skills, and infrastructure separately.
Watch out Do not judge every brick solely by immediate revenue.
In the wild
Star could have delivered a course bonus entirely through Zoom, but she believed live events would be part of her future. She rented a studio and treated the Visibility Intensive as a training ground, gaining production experience while still serving the existing audience.
→ One current deliverable also developed capabilities needed for a possible future live-event business.
After meeting investor Kim Perell during an earlier Miami trip, Star asked her to introduce local podcast guests for a return visit. Those introductions converted one relationship from the prior quarter into several interviews and a stronger East Coast network.
→ An earlier networking brick compounded into new content and relationships.
Common mistakes
Demanding an immediate payoff
A brick may create a relationship, skill, or option rather than instant revenue. Rejecting every action without a quick return prevents strategic assets from compounding.
Laying disconnected bricks
Activity alone does not create a foundation. Each brick should support a defined future capability, market, relationship, or system.
Ignoring operational lessons
A difficult event can still be valuable if its failures become due-diligence rules for the next event. Failing to capture those lessons wastes part of the investment.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for entrepreneurs and leaders pursuing a long-term direction whose payoff cannot yet be measured fully.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for urgent crises that require an immediate, comprehensive intervention rather than gradual accumulation.
From the transcript
“But oftentimes when you lay one brick at a time, you don't know what you're building.”
“But the only way you build what it is you want is by continuously laying them.”
“And so that's what I did.”
From the episode
Quarter 2 Review: The Actions I Took to Build My Future