Toshita has led engineering across startups and large enterprises — two contexts where the urgent-vs-important tension plays out very differently. She breaks down the prioritisation frameworks she actually uses, how to protect strategic work when fires are burning, and what it takes to build a culture that sustains pressure without breaking morale.
What we covered
- prioritisation
- pressure management
- startup culture
What I took away
- Urgency culture is a symptom of poor planning, not a reflection of real complexity
- Leaders need to model the behaviour they want — react to everything urgently and your team will too
- Prioritisation frameworks only work if teams understand the reasoning, not just the output
- Positive culture under pressure requires visible calm from leadership