David Bland recently shared something that caught my attention: "how it started how's it going". That tiny line carries a whole story. It is a before-and-after snapshot, a progress report, and a prompt to reflect all at once.

When I see that phrase, I do not just think about glow-ups or highlight reels. I think about the real work in between: the messy middle, the decisions that compound, and the small experiments that gradually turn uncertainty into clarity. David's post is short, but it points to a powerful habit: regularly comparing where you began with where you are now.

In this article, I want to expand on what David is hinting at and turn it into a practical framework you can use for your own work and life.

Why "how it started" vs "how's it going" works

The format is effective because it forces contrast.

"How it started" anchors you in reality. It reminds you of constraints, assumptions, and the context you may have forgotten.
"How's it going" grounds you in evidence. Not hopes, not plans, but what is actually happening now.

Put together, they do something subtle: they interrupt the brain's tendency to rewrite history. We often remember the starting point as cleaner than it was, and the present as worse than it is. This simple check-in fights both distortions.

The real value of "how it started" is not nostalgia. It is accuracy.

The hidden lesson: progress is a decision-making system

David Bland is known for helping leaders make faster decisions by breaking down, sharing, and testing risk. That context matters here, because "how it started" vs "how's it going" is not just a vibe. It is a lightweight decision-making system.

If you treat your work like a system, you can ask:

What did we believe at the start?
What did we do based on those beliefs?
What evidence do we have now?
What should we change next?

That loop is how individuals improve and how teams mature. It is also how good content gets created: you post, you learn, you refine.

Turning the prompt into a repeatable practice

Here is a simple way to operationalize David's idea. I use this as a monthly check-in, but you can do it weekly or quarterly.

Step 1: Capture "how it started" in artifacts, not memory

At the beginning of a project, a role, a habit change, or a big decision, store a few concrete artifacts:

A screenshot of your baseline metrics (revenue, signups, weight, sleep hours, writing output)
A short note with your assumptions (what you think will work and why)
A list of constraints (time, budget, skills, team capacity)
A quick "definition of done" (what success would look like)

The point is not to document everything. The point is to leave yourself evidence.

A quick template

Write 5 sentences:

"I am starting with..."
"I believe..."
"I am worried about..."
"I will try..."
"Success would look like..."

This becomes your "how it started" anchor.

Step 2: Define "how's it going" with signals that cannot be faked

If you only track vanity signals, "how's it going" becomes a performance. Instead, choose leading and lagging indicators.

Examples:

For a product team: customer interviews completed (leading), activation rate (lagging)
For a writer: hours writing (leading), subscribers (lagging)
For health: workouts completed (leading), resting heart rate (lagging)

Then add one qualitative signal: what surprised you this week or month?

"How's it going" should be a mirror, not a marketing deck.

Step 3: Do a friction audit (the messy middle is the point)

Most transformations stall because friction is left unexamined. When you compare start vs now, look specifically for:

Where did things feel harder than expected?
What took longer than expected?
What created unnecessary rework?
What did you avoid because it felt uncomfortable?

Friction is not failure. Friction is information. It tells you where risk lives.

Step 4: Run small tests instead of big reinventions

If you connect David's short post with his broader work on testing risk, the next step is obvious: do not bet everything on a single dramatic change. Run small tests.

Try this cycle:

Extract: pull out the riskiest assumption (the one most likely to sink the outcome)
Map: list ways you could test it quickly and cheaply
Test: run the smallest experiment that produces a clear signal

Examples of small tests:

Before rebuilding a landing page, run 3 messaging variants as ads to see what resonates
Before hiring, do a paid trial project
Before committing to a habit, do a 7-day version and review the friction

This is how "how's it going" improves without requiring heroic willpower.

What a viral two-line post teaches about LinkedIn content

David's post also reveals something about LinkedIn content and why certain viral posts spread.

It works because it is:

Familiar: people recognize the meme format instantly
Open-ended: readers project their own story into it
Compressed: the message is easy to remember and reshare
Emotionally honest: it implies time passed and change happened

If you are thinking about content strategy, the takeaway is not "post memes." The takeaway is: reduce your idea to a simple contrast that invites reflection.

A practical content strategy riff

If you want to apply this style without copying it, try prompts like:

"What I assumed vs what I learned"
"The plan vs the reality"
"The metric I chased vs the metric that mattered"

These formats create a conversation because they do not pretend you had perfect information at the start.

The real transformation is the story you can now tell with evidence

The best part of "how it started how's it going" is not the punchline. It is the proof that you stayed in the game long enough to have a "going".

If you want to make this habit stick, schedule it:

Put a 20-minute recurring calendar block called "How it started vs how's it going"
Bring one artifact from the start and one artifact from now
Answer three questions:
- What improved?
- What stayed stubborn?
- What will I test next?

Progress does not always look dramatic, but it becomes undeniable when you collect snapshots over time.

Reflection is not slowing down. It is how you steer.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by David Bland, Author | Speaker | Creator of the EMT System (Extract-Map-Test) | Helping leaders make faster decisions by breaking down, sharing, and testing risk.. View the original LinkedIn post →