Emilia Patrick
@milliepatrick
Emilia Patrick
a cheat sheet for how to do great work.
printing this out and hanging it above my desk.
adapted from paul graham’s timeless essay by the same title.
tadzio dlugoleckisubstack.com‘How to do great work’ cheat sheet - Paul Graham
Research as a form of pattern recognition
Scenes are extended universes. They are localized hotspots of activity that aggregate loose networks of people. Scenes can be a subculture, a network of artists and creatives in a city, but they can also describe interconnected religious youth groups, university student life, an industry with a surplus of networking events, or your extremely... See more
Patrick Kho • Stop Looking for “Community”; Start Searching for a “Scene”
Scene > community
Second, consumer expectations shifted irreversibly.
People now expect brands to be useful , not just meaningful. A 2024 Edelman study found that 67% of consumers define brand trust primarily through “helping me solve problems” rather than “sharing my values”—a complete inversion from 2015 when values alignment dominated. Cultural resonance still... See more
People now expect brands to be useful , not just meaningful. A 2024 Edelman study found that 67% of consumers define brand trust primarily through “helping me solve problems” rather than “sharing my values”—a complete inversion from 2015 when values alignment dominated. Cultural resonance still... See more
Adrian Barrow • Your Brand Can't Message Its Way Into Culture Anymore.
Consumer - brand//brand-consumer
People now expect brands to be useful, not just meaningful
“They wield AI like a sixth sense while maintaining razor-sharp human judgment. Most importantly, they’re masters of synthesis – weaving together insights from multiple domains, perspectives, and tools to forge clarity from complexity and light new paths forward.”
Alexi Gunner • Research as a Form of Pattern Disruption
‘Synthesized strategist’
We’re listening in on drama and tracking emerging storylines, but that’s all secondary to the larger mission at hand. We’re making a scene . We’re creating a new world where, together, we can belong.
Patrick Kho • Stop Looking for “Community”; Start Searching for a “Scene”
maybe ‘looking’ for community isn’t the right response to the belonging crisis - we should be making a ‘scene’ together
From consuming the product to becoming the product.
substack.com
2026 and Consumer - brand//brand-consumer
how buying the product is no longer the end of the shopping journey; it’s the entry point. The real work happens afterwards, in how ownership is made visible, narrated, and put into circulation.