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The Classic Build

An idea taken through five seasons, from possibility to shipped.

Last updated 2026-08-13

The Classic 5 lineup is Leefy's default shape for a project: five seasons, each with one job. This playbook names the job of each season so you always know what this season is for — and when it has earned its handoff.

Seasons are time, not structure: you do not move work between them, you advance the trunk when a season's outcome is banked and carry forward what is still alive.

  1. 1

    Ideate widely

    Grow

    Grow the possibility space: branches for every serious direction, buds for hunches. Prune late, not early. When the shape of the idea holds still, advance the trunk.

    You’re here when: The Ideation season is open and the tree is still mostly trunk.

  2. 2

    Validate the bet

    Decide

    Name the assumptions that would kill this if false, and settle them — research, conversations, small tests. Every settled question is a decision recorded, not a step performed. Advance when the bet is one you would take.

    You’re here when: The Validation season is open and open questions outnumber decisions.

  3. 3

    Plan the build

    Plan session

    Turn the validated idea into sequenced, sliceable work — a Plan session decomposes what you have grown into briefs you can hand off. Advance when the queue reads true.

    You’re here when: The Planning season is open and branches describe intent but not order.

  4. 4

    Architect the core

    Make it doable

    Make the structural pieces doable: the decisions that everything else leans on, broken into concrete, reviewable work. Advance when the load-bearing choices are made and written down.

    You’re here when: The Architecture season is open and foundational choices are still implicit.

  5. 5

    Implement in slices

    Code session

    Ship slice by slice through Code sessions: brief, run, harvest, bank. Fruit accumulates on the tree as proof of what is actually done.

    You’re here when: The Implementation season is open and there is planned work waiting to be built.