Luke Matthews

Co-Founder | Lifestyle Blogger |  Content Marketer | Storyteller 

I teach you how to write with AI (and win LinkedIn)

You feel it. The "Dead Internet" is real. So much content on LinkedIn is an empty AI echo chamber. 

The gurus post get rich quick schemes, the influencers post "look-at-me" selfies and the AI bros tell you how to fire your team and make 500k MRR in seaconds... 

You can rage against all this chaos and fight the machine OR u can learn to command it.

I teach rebels a two-part strategy:

1.  𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝘄: Use your unfiltered human voice to build an audience that converts.

2.  𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲: Use Agentic AI workflows to scale your marketing ops (as securely as possible).

Humanity is your product. 
Privacy is your shield. 
AI is your weapon.

AI isn't your enemy. The gurus and corporate overlords are...Learn to command AI and connect with your target audience and follow an OG who's been doing content marketing since the dawn of time (2016)....

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿?

Follow me and subscribe to my email list. You can subscribe by clicking any link in my profile as they all go to my newsletter on Substack. 

-----

A𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁?

Email me at luke@wizardofoddmarketing.com

Founder - Lead Wizard & Ghostwriter

Linkedin & Twitter Ghostwriting Services for CEOs, Influencers, and Tech companies. 
Reach your audience with a sprinkle of magic, the power of explosive copywriting, and let the WIZARD OF odd MARKETING help make your biz a LOT  less boring.

Alright LinkedIn, let's be real for a second.

I know you're terrified... You see everyone else using AI and you either think:

A) "This is the end of human connection.... Soooo I'm going to write everything by hand in a candle-lit room!"

B) "I must prompt everything! I will become a GPT-powered content machine!"

Black and white thinking is just as lazy as the AI slop ur favorite influencer just posted. 

100% human get's u left behind.
100% AI get's u sounding like a robot.

The winning strategy is to be both human & AI. 

It's not that deep.

Use AI to handle the boring back end stuff.
Use your humanity to connect with your audience.

Easy peasy... 

Personally I've always enjoyed writing unhinged AND automating the back end like a nerd.

No need to pick a side.. 

Use AI AND be so human it stands out.

👊

𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲?

Join me on Substack for daily unhinged writing + bi-weekly newsletters for rebels.. https://lnkd.in/eagxG_7k

I got 99 problems and a LinkedIn ain’t one.

The 2026 LinkedIn algorithm favors written content.

But NOT AI slop... You must write SO human it hurts..... 

These writing staples used to work:

-Short sentences like this.
-Ridiculous post hooks.
-The rule of three.
-[this] vs [that] + [philosophical power statement'
-Open loops.
-Listicles...

But AI is good enough that you can feed it the above principles and it will do a decent job writing words and FEEL LIKE CHATGPT WROTE IT AND YOU WILL GET NO CLIENTS.........

Sorry folks but you got to write for yourself.

Writing in 2026 still requires you to learn techniques. 

But now it demands a secondary layer to feel human.... 

You need to add these to your skillset: 

-Chunky paragraphs. 
-Written technical knowledge of your industry.
-Humorous and cultural pieces. 
-The art of writing to specific pain points.
-Spelling mistakes n choppy sentences..
-The courage to say what others wont with some spice...

You don't need hot selfies.

But look ur words can't be mid any longer....

PS Yes I made this infographic with AI. Did it trigger u?

(I'm all for creating media with AI just no words lol)

How to create an elite infographic with AI.

Step 1: Turn the ON Switch on in your brain...

(yes you still need your wits to create with AI)

Step 2: Use the Artlist All-in-One AI Toolkit.
Step 3: Select Nano-Banana 2 (now on Artlist)
Step 4: Use my prompt.... 

Comment ELITE to get it and you can stop reading.

OR....

Read on and follow my actual 4-step framework for commanding the AI to work some magic because you know that AI s an illiterate artist that struggles with detail UNLESS you tell it exactly what to do and use the right model. 

That's why Nano Banana 2 is elite.

I used it to create this infographic within my work sandbox.

It's an elite text-to-image and image-to-image model where outputs are more accurate, detailed, and repeatable across generations. It keeps the speed the Nano Banana family is known for but improves the quality. Ideal for ad variations, social content, and video frames at scale. 

I mostly use it for infographics and ads. 

Anywhoodles....... here's the real 4 step guide: 

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲.

Don’t say “make an infographic.” Say “make a professional infographic in a clean, magazine editorial style with a warm cream paper background and a sage green color palette.” Define the entire visual language from the start.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁.

Don’t let the AI guess the structure. Tell it exactly what you want. “Create a 4:5 aspect ratio image with a main title at the top, two cards in the middle, and a four-column feature section below.” You are the architect.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗗𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁.

Never let the AI write your copy. It’s an image generator, not a copywriter. Put every single word you want it to render in quotes. Titles. Body text. Labels. Everything.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀.

Be ruthlessly specific. Specify the fonts. List the exact color hex codes. Describe the icon style (“simple, hand-drawn doodle line art”). The more details you lock in, the fewer mistakes the AI can make.

Once again if you want my prompt comment ELITE but don't just copy me. 

Study it. See how it works.
Then, make it your own.

PS Who read the whole post? Your the best if you did.

--

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗶𝘁?

Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/ejKNGHgQ

The gurus took over LinkedIn. 

If you detest “how to get rich” posts.
If you detest “I made 50k MRR” posts..
If you detest “I have 500k followers” posts…

Do what I do...

Be ruthless. Mute, unfollow & block these grifting gurus.

And go where you are treated best...

I've been banned over 10x and have found battling the AI slop, endless grifting and platform indifference tiring..

So I post 1 or 2x a week and run ads.

I speak my mind on Substack and find my tribe of rebels there.

LinkedIn may be 69% dead... 

But the thinkers, builders & genuine souls are still building and fighting for their corner of the internet...

It's just not here.

🤷

3 years ago I booked a one way ticket to Mars.

I’d never been, didn’t speak Martian, didn’t know anyone……………..

Blah blah blah..... BLAH!

Every story like this now follows the same script. 

<Insert hero’s journey back story here>

<Insert relatable sob story struggles here>

<Insert comeback arc here>

<Insert generic encouragement here>

<Insert call to action to my program to teach u too>

Marketers and influencers somehow have ruined good storytelling too and the modern internet really is unbearable.....

But also... I... did... actually do this. 

I eat $500 steak for breakfast.

It changed EVERYTHING SO BUY MY COURSE OK......

<insert pattern interrupt here>

Ha ha ha ha....

I just can’t follow the script… 

Aight im done.

PS Who misses stories with no sell at the end?

--

So.. This is the perfect time to sell!!!

<insert not so surprising double plot twist here>

Yes. You've been had and I know you aren't mad about it.

So look.. Join my free community of rebels over on Substack. I rant about the creator economy and share daily icebreaker questions to help you meet humans....

Join us here: https://lnkd.in/dB96mKfP

I don't write with AI. But I do create media.

With Artlist I get access to the leading models like Kling 2.6 Pro, Sora 2 and new models like Seedance 2.0....

I use an isolated work sandbox when accessing Artlist to create infographics, PDFs and elite videos. 

(to keep my data as secure as possible) 

Cheers to Artlist for sponsoring this post.

They keep adding great AI models to the Artlist all in one AI Toolkit and Seedance 2.0 is coming soon....

You'll get features like:

𝗧𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱: Tag anything to build via 1 prompt.

𝗙𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄: Generate seamless, one-take sequences with perfect cinematic continuity.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗽: Combine up to 12 assets like text, images, video, and audio all at once.

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝘀: Auto-generate sound effects and music that sync perfectly to the on-screen action.

𝗣𝗿𝗼-𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹: Swap characters, delete clips, or extend your footage from any frame.

Learn more about Seedance 2.0 here..
↳ https://lnkd.in/d5V-_QmV

Wild what can be done now with AI as a solo creator...

--

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗶𝘁?

Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eFgDmM6u

PS Is it just me or does anyone feel the struggle to keep up with AI right now..... lol

This video was made using Seedance 2.0, coming soon to Artlist.

Brand partnership • I got 99 problems and a LinkedIn ain’t one.

I am tired of greedy SaaS tools. 

So I use AI to build and exit the subscription economy....

I was fueled (as always) by hate. 

HATRED of these 7 things SaaS tools do.....

1. Requires my payment info for a free trial. 
2. Charges via token based subscriptions. 
3. Sells my data to third-party tools.
4. Has NO option to delete the account in dashboard.
5. Has NO option to request data deletion in dashboard. 
6. Has NO sign of a support email anywhere.
7. The chat support AI is awful & poorly programmed. 

Last summer I cut my $500 tool stack down to $25 and left Google, Meta, OpenAI and quit a billion AI tool subscriptions. 

Data privacy was my driver. 
AI innovation means I can build any tool myself.
Being a nerd makes it all a bit easier.

The process though?

Time consuming, annoying and frustrating. 

Anyone else HATE the data collection, surveillance state we have to deal with?

PS I write about this on Substack.

Join me if you like rants, local AI and data privacy.

Sub here: https://lnkd.in/eagxG_7k

I'm a Canadian who grew up playing hockey and I couldn't be more pleased that team USA won the gold........

Hockey players are the toughest of all sports. 

Hockey players fight, throw big hits and take pucks to the teeth, get up keep playing and score the game winning goal like Jack Hughes...

Aaaaand then go celly with the prez & handle the media with class....

But you know behind closed doors they are laughing.

#goats

PS What's your favorite sport? 

Oh and yes... I left Canada ages ago. No regrets... :)

Building in public is cooked. 
Building your personal brand don't matter.
Sorry but nobody cares (here's how to fix that)

The old formula on LinkedIn is dead.

The guru who peaked in 2022 is still selling:

1. Overshare your hero story. 
2. Build fake likability by commenting all day.
3. Share everything for free in ur niche....
4. Monetize "your community" like them. 

But it is NOT working for you. 

So your content gets more desperate. 

Clickbait, hot selfies, "fake kindness posts"... 

And deep down u feel like a loser.

Well the truth is that the old model is for losers because it just simply don't work anymore and it shows u are still listening to an influencer who's so detached from reality they don't realized it....

Time to grow up.

Here's the new way for 2026.

No hero story > Replace w bold takes on ur industry
No safe AI comments > Comment unhinged
No sharing all for free > Gate your best content
Comment all day > Run thought leader ad$ instead

It's pay to play on LinkedIn now folks.

So don't waste all day here.

Sincerely a guy who used to spend 8+ hours a day "building community" and sharing his story.

If it's dead for me and my 189k followers?

It's certainly dead for you.

--

𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝟬 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀?

Comment...... 

Lol I ain't doin that. 

But you can sub to my newsletter and find a way out of your digital rat race here: https://lnkd.in/eagxG_7k

Vibe coding is great for shipping apps.

But shipping a product people want to buy is the hard part....  

(you need an audience to sell too)

Vibe coding used to be a grifters dream. 

Sell the hope of making a product easy and making money fast BUT that's not the reality. It takes time to build a product and a business. 

The good news is.... AI can now help make technical part easy.

Replit lets me build the tool I wish existed when I was cleaning up my own digital life.

The tool I used to clean my digital footprint was great for a deep clean. But there was no simple, free way to just 𝘴𝘦𝘦 how much of my data I was exposing. I wanted a tool that made people aware of what the current risk was for their social media accounts and let them start cleaning up slowly.

So I built Privacy Guard using Replit which helps make building a mobile app and getting into the App Stores simple.

The traditional barriers of mobile development are handled by the AI.

This is how easy it is:

1. Start with a prompt of your tool/app idea.
2. Describe how the mobile app works.
3. Wait for AI to build a version 1.0.
4. Test and refine with reprompts.
5. Publish to the app store.

Yes, yes this is indeed a sponsored post by Replit.

But I actually did build my own mobile app.

Check out version 1.0 of "Privacy Guard" a social media privacy audit to help you see exactly what sensitive information you're exposing publicly. 

The tool only analyzes publicly visible content.
It processes your data and discards it. 
Nothing is stored on servers. 

Want a free privacy audit of your social media accounts? 

Comment "𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗧" and I'll send you the link. 

--

Build your own mobile app on Replit here:
>> https://lnkd.in/dATV8HUV

Unhinged comments > value driven posts.

This is the sad reality of LinkedIn in 2026...... 

I regularly get 20k+ impressions on my comments and I struggle to reach 20k impressions on my posts. 

Why is it so easy to get reach on comments?

1. Everyone uses AI bots or virtual assistants. 
2. As a result the comments are safe and boring. 
3. I risk being offensive with my comments. 
4. Most of you don't have any nuts. 

So why is it so hard to get reach on value driven posts?

1. The average user's brain is dead. 
2. LinkedIn wants you to pay for thought leader ads.
3. People consume fear (c)orn.  
4. The demographic of the average user has changed since 2021....

I could go on but I'd risk too much truth telling.

My current blueprint?

Comment unhinged.
Post for my niche. 
Run thought leader ads. 

There's no point obsessing over content any more. Just run ads and comment your actual thoughts.

Agree?

--

𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀?

Join my newsletter and stay ahead of the game... Insights into which AI to use, how to sell and win in the current creator economy.

Sub here: https://lnkd.in/eagxG_7k

This weekend I was building a home server.....

But I lost power, my AC unit broke and my neighbor partied until the sun didn't shine...

So I had to bail on my plans... 

I'm switching my windows pc... a GMKtec Evo X2 into a Linux distro to self host my own local AI, a calendar booking system, a book/music library and well I'd go on but I lost all of you. 

I nerd out on local AI and value privacy.

If u made it this far this post has no lesson. No leadership tip.

Just simply a weekend spent sweating my nuts off...

(and laughing at my choice of country)  

I did however decide on a Linux distro and created a step-by-step plan to follow. 

So cheers eh.....

--

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀? 

Join me on Substack for nerdy posts about AI, funny rants + bi-weekly newsletters for rebels..

Join here: https://lnkd.in/eagxG_7k

Your AI agent is slow and doesn't do what you want.

You write a prompt.... 
You wait. 
You watch it build one thing at a time while your ideas pile up faster than it can execute.

You blame AI but the issue is selecting the wrong tool...

Most AI agents work sequentially. One task at a time. You can't design while it builds. You can't test while it deploys. 

You just prompt and... wait. And prompt.... and WAIT...

Replit Agent 4 is different.

It's the first agent I've used where you can plan, design, and build at the same time. No waiting on one task to finish before starting the next.

→ Run multiple agents in parallel.
→ Design on an infinite canvas 
→ and apply it directly to your app.

You can ship web apps, mobile apps, slide decks, and dashboards from one project.

It's creativity-first and the AI agent handles execution while you stay in your flow state.  

Try it here: https://lnkd.in/ecZX3z4S

I am learning and testing the new agent in Replit using my public work sandbox setup...

Cheers to Replit for sponsoring this post.

PS Do you think AI agents are a fad or actually useful?

Social media is dying cz u get offended too easily.

The smart marketing play is rage bait OR.... 

Writing vanilla niche content about your business. 

I struggle to simply do this. 

But on LinkedIn?

No big account like mine gets away with real thoughts on trending topics.... You'd have to go to X to speak freely. Soooo that is why LinkedIn is run by robots, virtual assistants and paid ads. 

Sometimes I get sloppy and leak a rant and remember why I got banned 10+ times on this platform.

People love to shoot the messenger here. 

So long live soulless vanilla AI slop!!

Is social media cooked chat?

--

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀? 

Join me on Substack where we can all rant freely and laugh at AI slop....

Join here: https://lnkd.in/eagxG_7k

I teach the art of raw writing & the science of private AI.

Today I resubscribed to ChatGPT Pro.

Sam Altman's brave vision for a greater future is worth aligning with... and lets be honest... you just have to pay attention to the greatest country on earth choosing OpenAI as it's AI tool of choice.

I can't wait to build more tools with Codex!!

So that's why....

........................................................

Well.... 

So the truth is.... 

I didn't resubscribe today. 

I deleted my ChatGPT a long time ago.

I don't use Claude or Google Gemini either..

All the companies steal your data, sell it to third parties and yes build mass surveillance networks. 

Tℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑏𝑜𝑥 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑒𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡..

Or....

Learn local AI. 

Think Open Claw without the poor security and AI bro hype...

Why local?

Local AI runs on ur device.
It is cheaper and more private. 

ORRRRR you know forget all that.. 

Just cancel ChatGPT... 
Virtue signal. 
Be a hero. 

Use Claude and keep handing over your data and trust that they'll keep it safe for you... 

(oops)

Build right. Hire right. Rebel forever.

I'm a fractional Head of Talent for Series A-C startups and defense contractors. I build recruiting infrastructure companies own forever, ATS workflows, sourcing frameworks, scorecards, pipelines; then close critical hires in under 30 days.

My path wasn't traditional: TGI Fridays → booking bands → managing tours → 14 years in recruiting. It taught me to spot talent fast, sell with conviction, and treat every search like representation. I operate like an agent, take care of both sides, protect the brand, close the deal.

Currently: Fractional Head of Talent at EarthDaily Federal (geospatial intelligence, defense). Board member at Underground Admins.

Author: Head and Heart: Winning the AI Recruiting War

richie@rebeltalentsystems.com | rebeltalentsystems.com

Richie Lampani

REMOTE GovCon Sales roles - 3 total. Get some. Share. Tag people. 

EarthDaily Federal is beginning to stand up two critical growth functions.

These are not experimental seats. These are structure, leverage, and execution roles.

Director of Strategic Partnerships
Owns the partner ecosystem end to end. Identification, alignment, structuring, and clean handoff into delivery.

No logo collecting.

No “strategic conversations” that die in contracting.

These partnerships have to convert into real work and survive legal, finance, and delivery.

Director of Sales Execution (Deal Closer)

Late-stage execution only. This is not pipeline generation.

You take approved opportunities and move them across the line. Pricing, OTAs, SOWs, MSAs, internal approvals, timelines, and a clean handoff to delivery. Precision matters.

Both roles report into growth leadership.

Real authority. Real accountability.

I’m starting exploratory conversations now. No hard hiring timeline yet. Likely next quarter. This is mutual fact-finding for both sides.
_____________________________________________________________________
Separate search. Discreet client via Underground Admins.

Head of Defense Sales
This one is live and interviewing immediately.

Series B. Commercially proven. Highly respected in the data encryption space. Now building their DoD function the right way.

This is a build-from-zero mandate.

You own defense GTM, pipeline creation, partner strategy, and closing. You are building the motion, not inheriting one. Strategy, capture, relationships, and execution all sit with you.

Senior IC to start, with a clear path to building the team.

Strong base (~$200k) plus meaningful upside.

Remote-friendly, preference for defense hubs.

If you’ve actually built and closed in DoD and want to stand something up properly, this is a serious opportunity.

All three roles require deep networks selling software or adjacent tech into DoD.

US citizenship required. Clearance history strongly preferred.
If you’re a fit, DM me.
If you know someone who is, make the introduction.
Sorry agencies I'm all good on the help on these. No 3rd or 4th parties.

Fractional Head of Talent | Series A-C Startups & Defense | Author & Talent Strategist

I once got fired from a job I didn't even like for being “maniacal.”


Not late.

Not incompetent.

Not toxic.

Maniacal.

Translation: I moved too fast, asked too many hard questions, and kept fixing things no one had formally scheduled to be fixed.

In my defense, there were problems.

In their defense, I probably looked like a caffeinated consultant who had just discovered Slack.

There is such a thing as being overqualified.

There is also such a thing as being three steps ahead of an organization that is still debating step one.

And yes, there is such a thing as needing to dial it down from “operational reformer” to “employed adult.”

Here is the part no one tells you:
Sometimes you are not wrong about the work.
You are just wrong for the room.

If you are in a place where:
Hard questions get labeled “maniacal.”
Fixing obvious problems is treated like a threat.
Speed is praised in decks and punished in practice.
You are not a culture fit.
You are a future fit, trapped in a past tense company.

So before you internalize that feedback as “too intense” or “too much,” ask a better question:
Is the problem my ambition, or is the problem that this room was never built to hold it?

Because sometimes you are wrong.
Sometimes you do need to slow down, listen more, and stop trying to refactor the entire org chart in week three.

And sometimes you are right, you are early, and you are still extremely annoying about it.

But if you keep getting punished for seeing what is obviously broken, the lesson is not “stop seeing.”

The lesson is “find a better room, or at least one that understands your brand of crazy"

I learned a bit of both and have not considered working for Outback Steakhouse since. Nor will I again.

Fractional Head of Talent | Series A-C Startups & Defense | Author & Talent Strategist | Former TGI Fridays Flair Champ

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Luke Matthews's LinkedIn Performance

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