Transitioning from Senior to Staff or EM, I’ve made shorter weekend reading a habit. Articles that challenge assumptions, confirm direction, or fill in blind spots I didn’t know I had.

This weekend, Irina Stanescu’s piece from The Caring Techie newsletter on macro focus spoke to something I’ve been thinking about lately. Ambition and talent aren’t enough. There’s an ingredient most of us overlook: the discipline to stay committed to one direction long enough for it to actually work.

The core distinction

Here’s the distinction that stuck with me:

→ Micro-focus helps you climb the ladder efficiently.
→ Macro-focus ensures you’ve leaned it against the right wall.

The patterns

The patterns she describes felt uncomfortably familiar:

→ Lack of clarity — saying yes to things that seem interesting but don’t compound. The fix: define what success actually looks like day-to-day, not just the title.

→ Doing too many things at once — pursuing conflicting goals, constant context-switching. The fix: pick ONE primary focus for the next 3-6 months. Everything else is secondary.

→ Not doing enough — the gap between intention and action. The fix: do the math. At your current pace, when will you actually get there?

→ Not trusting the process — second-guessing the plan constantly. The fix: document your reasoning. Reference it when doubt creeps in.

→ Quitting too soon — expecting immediate results. The fix: set realistic timelines and stick to them. No impulse decisions.

Questions worth asking

What’s your ONE primary focus for the next 6 months? If you can’t answer in one sentence, that might be worth looking into first.

When you’ve transitioned roles, what helped you protect your focus and avoid overcorrecting too early?