Without cover
The moment you put your work in the open, you lose your armor.
No policy to hide behind. No process to cite. No credentials to point at.
Just the work. And the person receiving it.
That’s why it feels dangerous.
Because once it’s out there, you don’t get to negotiate the outcome. You don’t get to explain it into being right. You don’t get to say, “That’s not what I meant.”
The power shifts.
Not to you. To the work.
Most people spend their lives building cover. Extra framing. Careful wording. Distance that feels safe.
Not because they lack talent. Because being seen without protection is expensive.
Real contribution doesn’t arrive padded. It can’t be defended. Only accepted or ignored.
And that’s the gift.
If you’re not a little exposed, you didn’t actually give anything away.
And if you still have all your excuses intact, you didn’t ship the work that mattered.