What I’ve noticed about erosion—literal and figurative—is that it happens slowly…until it doesn’t. At first, the slow creep lulls you to sleep. You put it off for another day, another week, another month. And then one morning you wake up and there's a gaping hole where solid ground once stood.
Yes, I’m talking about actual soil erosion. But I’m also talking about product culture—and the hard conversations we avoid. There’s a Jeff Bezos quote about how most stress comes from the procrastination of a hard thing. That’s the erosion I’m getting at.
Stress doesn't come from hard work.Stress primarily comes from not taking action over something that you can have some control over. - Bezos
It might look like that employee who dominates every meeting, can’t read a room, and drinks too much at every company outing. You avoid the conversation. You rationalize. And then one day, the culture is off and you’re wondering how it got this bad.
Or maybe it’s a customer whose feedback doesn’t reflect your broader user base. You know their input is an outlier, but they’re loud and consistent—so you begin to shape your product around their needs.
Months later, the product feels unfocused, because you prioritized one squeaky wheel over the silent majority.
That’s erosion.
The problem with erosion is that by the time you feel the consequences, the damage is already done. The timeline to act was weeks—or months—ago.
Where I live, we combat erosion with rocks and stones, reinforcing weak spots to keep the soil in place.
These physical reinforcements have their metaphorical counterparts: clear cultural values, consistent check-ins, and a leadership team with the backbone to call out misalignment early and often.
It’s never convenient to address erosion. It means confronting issues head-on. It means awkward conversations and uncertain outcomes. But those are small prices to pay compared to the cost of inaction.
The fix isn’t cruelty—it’s speed plus grace.
If something feels off, say something. Reinforce your foundation before the collapse. Because once erosion becomes visible, it’s already won.
