Welcome. Lend me your ear for a sec.
This is where all my “stuff” lives online—part manifesto, part portfolio, part safe haven for my full, unfiltered self.
I’ve built this space to hold everything I work on and everything I am: a misfit, a mission-driven disruptor, occasionally exhausting, always intense. I’m unapologetically human-first. I improve processes the way most people breathe: constantly, and sometimes loudly.
It’s not fancy, but like they say in the house-flipping world: it’s got good bones.
You’ll find my seven core beliefs just below, or to the left, depending on how your screen’s behaving. I try to live by them. I fail, too. But I never fake it.
I’ve never been great at “playing nicely,” and I don’t sugarcoat. If you know me, you already knew that. If you don’t, well, buckle up.
This is my personal domain. Nothing here reflects any employer, organization, or institution. No endorsements. Just me.
Here’s what I believe. Unapologetically.
1. I Was Wired for Clarity, Not Compliance.
I grew up being called the smart-ass, the know-it-all, the weird one. I wasn’t those things.
My brain doesn’t do small talk. It does systems. Solutions. Patterns. And bullshit detection at scale.
If that makes folks uncomfortable, that’s not my problem to solve.
2. Honesty Isn’t Rude, You’re Just Not Used to Hearing It From People Who See You Clearly.
I’ve had to sand down the parts of me that were sharp and honest to make others feel comfortable in their mediocrity.
I’ve been called intense, nosey, condescending. All because I noticed things and said them out loud.
Newsflash: It’s not superiority if you’re right and you’re trying to help.
I’m not here to make you feel good. I’m here to make things better.
3. Experience ≠ Qualification.
“Years in the field” means nothing if all you did was survive the status quo.
True qualification is built on hunger, humility, and the kind of passion that doesn’t clock out at 5pm.
If you’re not still learning, still adapting, still asking “how can I do this better?” then you’re not qualified. You’re just comfortable. And comfort doesn’t lead.
4. Everyone Is a Human First.
Not a title. Not a subordinate. Not a checkbox. A human.
If you can’t see the person in front of you, before you see their role, their diagnosis, their resume, or their mistake, then you shouldn’t be anywhere near leadership.
Human-first isn’t a philosophy. It’s a requirement. Especially for the people systems forget the fastest.
5. Leaders Aren’t Assigned. They’re Recognized.
I’ve seen too many “leaders” with no followers.
If no one seeks you out for clarity, for support, for direction…guess what? You’re not leading. You’re just in the way.
Leadership isn’t about tenure. It’s about gravity. If people orbit around you when shit gets hard, you’re it. And if they don’t, stop confusing your title with trust.
6. If You Think I’m “Too Much,” That’s Between You and Your Therapist.
What you’re really saying is: “I don’t know how to feel safe around someone who knows who they are.”
I’m intense because I care. I’m loud because silence is complicity. I’m honest because the world is choking on pleasantries and half-truths wrapped in puffpastry, stuffed with a sweet buttercream filling that you don’t realize is actually sour until it’s too late.
You can call it ego. I call it self-respect with receipts.
7. If You’re Not Trying to Make It Better, You Don’t Actually Care About It.
Everything: every system, every workflow, every culture, every damn meeting, can be improved.
Not because they’re all terrible, but because stagnation is the slow death of purpose.
If you don’t have the guts to question, revise, or rebuild what you inherited, then get out of the way.
You’re not protecting tradition, you’re hoarding dysfunction.
What Lives Here 🧠⚙️📡
You can link to each of these using the menu above.
👤 About Will
Learn about the bald, Autistic dude who brought you here. (No refunds. No apologies.)
✍️ Ten Four, Baldy
Will’s Substack for overthinkers, public servants, and neurospicy humans trying to make sense of systems that clearly weren’t built for us. Honest. Occasionally pissed off. Always real.
🧭 Human First 9-1-1
An evolving framework to rebuild emergency comms culture around people, not just protocols. Built as part of Will’s RPL project — but with way more heart than a PowerPoint.
📢 Training & Talks
View Will’s presentation portfolio who knows you may find something that makes you want to book him to speak. Especially if your conference needs more truth and fewer buzzwords.
📬 Contact
Ask a question. Send an invite. Tell Will he’s wrong (he probably knows). Just don’t be weird unless it’s the good kind.