A Culture Worth Building

Agency is not merely the capacity to choose. It is the ability to act with integrity in a world that pulls us in a hundred directions. It is not hustle. It is not optimization. And it is not simply freedom from constraint.

True agency means becoming the kind of person who can respond to what is real - who can perceive the good, choose it, and commit to it with unwavering purpose.

But we do not develop that capacity in isolation. Agency is forged in relationship - with others, with our environment, with the values that call forth something noble from within us.

This is not a place to construct personas or collect productivity hacks. This is a place to confront reality - to become more solid in the midst of the noise - and to do so in communion with others on the same profound journey.

We gather here not merely to learn but to practice the art of standing intentionally in tension. This requires courage from each of us - the courage to model authentic agency for one another, to step beyond the boundaries of our comfort, to act with generosity and hospitality even when it costs us something. 
What we practice here, we carry into the world. Every single day, we do something to transcend ourselves, to reach beyond the familiar territories of our own experience.

We will not just be learning. We will be building.

And not just skills or ideas - but culture.

Principles

Anti-mimetic, not anti-social.

We do not reject the crowd - we learn how not to be defined by it. 

We develop the discernment to distinguish between healthy influence and mindless imitation.

High-trust, low-status-anxiety

We cultivate relationships strong enough to hold honesty, disagreement, and growth. 

Status becomes irrelevant when we are committed to the flourishing of the whole.

Conviction without coercion

We bring strong metaphysical commitments while respecting the dignity of divergent perspectives. 

We aim for clarity, coherence, and charity in how we share our deepest beliefs.

Un-siloed souls

Athens, Jerusalem, and Silicon Valley can speak in the same room. 

We do not collapse differences - we learn from them. Wisdom emerges from the intersection of traditions, not their isolation.

Differentiation through communion

The goal is not simply to "be yourself." It is to become the kind of self who can enter into profound communion without losing your essential nature - to discover that true individuality emerges through generous engagement with others. We seek communion after differentiation.

Generosity as practice

We approach each interaction as an opportunity to give rather than to get. Generosity becomes both method and outcome - 

the way we engage and the culture we create.

Hospitality as foundation

We create space for others to become who they are meant to be. Hospitality means making room not just for bodies but for souls, ideas, 
and the full complexity of human experience.

What Does This Look Like in Practice?

Showing up and fulfilling commitments you’ve made to your team and group. If you will be late or can’t make a meeting, politely communicate why in an open and transparent manner.

Giving and accepting radical hospitality - and finding creative ways to do so. Celebrate success and acknowledge effort. 

Tension is not the enemy - it is often the birthplace of growth. Resist the urge to resolve it too quickly or to flee it altogether. Stand in it. And let others stand with you.

You're not here to persuade or perform - but to model and embody. Not to convert others, but to be changed yourself, and in doing so, invite others into the same possibility. Assume that you can learn something from every person, every conversation, you have. 

Enter into the mystery of what might happen to you over the course of 40 days if you truly commit.

It means no name-calling. Being honest. Listening charitably. Responding, not reacting. Refusing to gossip and breaking gossip triangles if they begin. 

Respect confidentiality. 

We should have a culture trust-worthy enough that if you share something you would like your cohort or the larger group not to share, just note that and trust that it will be respected. 

If any questions or concerns come up with another participant, address it with them directly first; let your facilitator know if that doesn’t bring a resolution. 

One area in particular where we can practice building a culture of trust and generosity is in the weekly opportunities to give and receive feedback in our group discussions and in the community forum, where you’ll be posting things multiple times per week. Remember that giving and receiving feedback well is a skill that can be learned, and you can use this workshop to develop it for yourself. 

You’ve received a copy of The Art of Feedback in your welcome box. We encourage you to read it and put its wisdom into practice during this course. 
You’re not exercising real agency if you’re not able to give and receive feedback well because feedback is ultimately just a reality to confront (whether the feedback is good or bad) and exercising agency in uncomfortable conditions - choosing how we deliver or receive things - is one of the most valuable skills you can ever develop in life. If we could sum up the form of feedback we hope to model in this course, it’s to inspire people to become who they are and to make charity the form of all feedback.

The habits we practice here shape more than just the next 40 days. They shape who we are becoming - and by extension, what we’re capable of building in the world. Culture isn’t created by slogans or structures. It’s created by people. It’s created by you.

This is the culture we are called to build together.

Welcome to Foundations of Agency.

Saturday Small Team Session Information

The small team experience is an important component of this workshop experience. You will meet in small teams during the larger sessions as well as on your own. On Saturdays, you will facilitate these sessions yourselves with your team.

The purpose of these is three-fold. First, we want you to have dedicated time to learn and grow with your peers. Second, we want to give you unfacilitated space to follow your interests, get deeper into the content, and get to know one another. Third and most importantly, this time can be used as a working session to work toward the completion of your Challenge, get critical peer feedback or support, and get it across the finish line for submission.

You will be in three different small teams during the workshop (we will switch once every two weeks) in order to give you an opportunity to get to know other participants better and work with them. By the end of FOA, you will have worked closely with many other talented professionals. 

How should we use our time? 

These sessions are intentionally open-ended. Think of them as a space to metabolize what you're learning: to process and test ideas in the presence of others, to speak something aloud that’s still taking shape, or to notice where someone else’s story unlocks something in your own.

You don’t necessarily need to lead a discussion in the traditional sense. Instead, bring curiosity and questions. 

You can also use these Saturday sessions as hack-a-thon style sessions to complete group work, if the Challenge calls for that - or you can simply talk through other ideas that came up for you during the week, including applying the core concepts to other areas in your life and asking for support or feedback. Think of these Saturday sessions as a time when you can explore and go deeper into what's animating you from the course, with other people.

Questions to get you started: 

What questions are you currently wrestling with in relation to the course material and the challenge? 

Where have the ideas from this week met you personally—your work, your context, your life? 

Is there a new insight you’re still trying to make sense of? A tension that won’t resolve?

What did I learn about myself this week?

These conversations are most valuable when grounded in something specific instead of general thoughts. 

If you’re wondering whether to prepare something, reflection notes or an in-progress challenge are a great place to start. 

You don’t need a specific script or agenda. You can use the questions above as a jumping off point. 

Saturday Team Session Logistics 

Your Saturday team session is your time to practice agency together. These are peer-led, flexible spaces to connect, reflect, and move your challenges forward.

• Choose a time that works. 

  We suggested Saturdays from 2–3:30 pm ET as a starting point. You’re welcome to reschedule if another time works better for your team. 
Some Challenges may ask you to complete part of the work before your session, but most will not. What matters most is coordinating so everyone can contribute fully.
• Set up your own meeting. 

  Coordinate with your team peers to schedule a video call on the platform of your choice (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.).
• Shape the time to fit your group. 

  You can meet for as long - or as briefly - as makes sense for your team. The goal is not to “get through an agenda” but to create space to metabolize what you’re learning, to speak aloud what’s still forming, and to notice what unlocks in conversation with your peers.