Frozen Lightning

Once you document a process, it's outdated—like trying to photograph lightning.

Documentation creates a false sense of control.

We think capturing the process means mastering it... 

but processes are living systems.

They evolve faster than we can describe them because they respond to unpredictable real-world conditions.

By the time you finish the manual, the system has changed.

What if we focus on better principles instead of better documentation?

Better mental models that apply across contexts. Better frameworks that bend but don’t break.

Documentation tells you what happened yesterday.

Principles guide your thinking about tomorrow.