How Obsession Evolves with Your Company

Being a founder isn’t a 9-to-5 job. It’s an around-the-clock obsession. The ideas follow us into the shower, the urgency keeps us up at night, and the questions about the future never stop coming. That intensity is a gift, but it’s one we have to learn to use wisely.

In the last article of the Obsession Series, I talked about flow and fight and why both are a necessary part of our process as founders. That cycle doesn’t go away as we grow, so we need to develop the emotional range to move through it and come out stronger on the other side.

Because here’s the thing: As our companies scale, the way our obsession operates has to evolve with it. What once drove clarity and momentum can easily become a source of confusion or friction. If we don’t learn to adjust how we show up, we risk becoming the obstacle to our own company’s growth.

So let's talk about how obsession manifests differently at each of the 5 Stages of Development — and what I’ve learned about keeping that intensity useful, aligned, and sustainable through every stage.

Stage 1: Obsession as Fuel

Stage 1 is about speed, focus, and survival — all with limited resources. The goal is to find product-market fit while everything feels like it’s on fire (or is about to be).

Our obsession becomes the accelerant. We can’t stop thinking about the problem. We dream about it, talk about it, test, break, and rebuild. That energy is what helps us attract early believers. But it also has the power to consume everything if we leave it unchecked.

In the early days of building, it’s easy to slip into hero-mode — doing everything ourselves because no one else moves as fast. Or confusing our stubbornness with clarity. A lot of founders make the mistake of getting too attached to the product before there’s real market demand.

But instead, what we need to do is slow down and channel our obsession the right way. To drive the story. To stay curious, not rigid. To experiment. The goal isn’t to control everything. We should use that early traction to attract others who believe as deeply as we do.

Stage 2: Obsession as Gravity

In Stage 2, the challenge shifts to turning chaos into repeatable value. We’re building systems, hiring the first real team, and trying to stabilize without losing momentum.

Here, obsession becomes gravity. It pulls people, ideas, and systems into orbit. We find ourselves deeply involved in everything — not out of ego, but because we care so much. The risk, of course, is that if we don’t begin translating our instincts into something others can follow, we become the bottleneck.

It’s common for founders to mistake sheer intensity for true effectiveness at this stage. Or to resist structure because it feels like we're diluting what makes our company special.

But what helps is learning to translate our obsession into systems and rituals that others can follow. To document our thinking so the team doesn’t have to guess. To bring in stabilizers — people who may not share the same obsessive edge, but know how to work with someone who does.

Stage 3: Obsession as Standard

By Stage 3, the company is finding its rhythm. We have teams, clear Strata (a hierarchy of competencies), and metrics. We’re no longer the ones doing everything — but we still feel everything.

At this point, obsession turns into standards. We notice when others want to cut corners. We feel when something is off in the brand, the voice, or the customer experience. That sensitivity is powerful, but it can just as easily work against us.

We may find ourselves trying to micromanage in the name of excellence. We may start tuning out leaders who don’t share our instincts. We may protect our Compelling Why so fiercely that we unintentionally stifle innovation.

The founders who succeed here are the ones who translate their standards into decision-making frameworks so others can carry the torch. Who coach instead of control. And who build leadership teams that can interpret their instincts and help articulate them for others.

Stage 4: Obsession as Culture

Stage 4 is all about operational excellence — growing both efficiency and effectiveness. Trust, autonomy, and cross-functional clarity between teams are the priority.

At this point, obsession shifts again. It’s no longer just about execution — it’s about culture. The real kind, not the perk-driven kind. We become more attuned to whether the purpose is alive in the work or just being performed.

In this stage, we need to be careful not to grow cynical or check out. We also don't want to disengage just because we trust our team (because it's my experience that's when things fall apart). This is when we should lean into storytelling to reinforce the company’s standards and beliefs. 

When obsession is channeled well, it becomes the backbone of our culture. If we create rituals that embed it into our systems without requiring our constant presence,  we create the space for our obsession to shape the edges of the culture while letting the center be carried by the team.

Stage 5: Obsession as Stewardship

By Stage 5, we’re still obsessed, but the nature of that obsession has changed. We think more about meaning than metrics. We worry about whether the company will stay true to its soul once we’re no longer in the room.

At this stage, our Work becomes stewardship. We’re no longer the operators or the bottlenecks. We’re the teachers, the philosophers, the builders of truth.

The risks are deeply personal. Too many founders avoid succession because it feels like loss. Others create founder dependency under the guise of protecting culture. And still others undervalue leaders who might carry the company further than we ever could. I get it, but waiting doesn’t make letting go easier.

What helps is investing in soul-aligned successors, not just skilled operators. Turning obsession into frameworks, beliefs, and practices the company can carry forward. And focusing on teaching the Why, not just the what.

When Obsession Matures

Early on, obsession is a fire. But fire without control burns things down.

What I’ve learned is that we need to temper our intensity without diminishing it. We need to build systems around our instincts. We need to coach others with clarity. We need to evolve as leaders with the company, becoming less about energy and more about essence.

That’s what it takes to build something productive, humane, and resilient. It’s also why we built Ninety — to give founders a platform that simplifies the hard work of shaping their obsession into systems, tools, and practices that help their vision scale.

In the next part of this series, I’ll explore how to build a team and a culture around the pursuit of mastery. We'll dive into how we can use our obsession to raise the standard without breaking our people.

At the end of the day, obsession isn’t something we outgrow — it’s something we learn to steward. The real test of a founder is whether we can shape that intensity into something that lasts well beyond us.