Hello all! It takes time to understand new people, and I’m no different. This guide is to help you understand who I am and how I operate. It is and always will be a work in progress. You should assume what is written here is mostly correct. Feel free to test me and call me out when I diverge.

What I Value

Storytelling is Everything. This is woven into everything we create. Understand what you are communicating; otherwise, the story falls flat.

Focus is Prioritization. Being intentful with your time is critical to problem-solving. Get in the zone as much as possible. Eliminate distractions. Ruthlessly prioritize.

Safe Enough. Risk is required for progress. You are stronger when you plan for handling failures then assuming you can safely avoid them. You get to pick the top two priorities.

How I work

I think in systems. This means I see problems as a flow over multiple parts. Sometimes the flow is wrong, and sometimes the parts are wrong.

What we do is a combination of I, We, and It. How we are feeling, the relationships of those involved, and the work itself all interact day to day. In meetings, I may explicitly ask to check in on these.

Community and belonging have been a focus of mine throughout my career. People work best when they know those around them support them. Making space to experiment and leaving room for everyone to feel safe contributing is critical to our success.

Feedback is always encouraged. I welcome it. Please speak up about anything. If you don't feel comfortable speaking up about something, please give feedback on that discomfort.

I am intentful with my time. When time is set aside to focus or work, I mute all notifications to maintain that focus. This means I may not be immediately available or respond during and after work hours.

Problems are more important than solutions. Expect me to drill into the problem you are solving and why it is a priority before implementation details. It's far more important to solve the right problem with an acceptable solution than the wrong one well.

I teach by asking leading questions. Leaders are made by mentoring them to find their own way. This requires you to travel the journey to a solution, which may be different than my answer otherwise would have been!

Humans are the most expensive thing to change. Any migration, workflow change, or modification must consider the human impact.

Everything is an experiment. Projects, features, ideas—anything we do starts with a hypothesis that may be wrong. I will advocate for canceling things that aren’t working, regardless of the time spent on them. Sunk Costs are just lessons learned in how not to do something.

My brainstorming is done in the open. I may ask off-the-wall questions or present ideas that are half-baked (if that). This is exploratory, and I likely want your expertise and input to guide my thought process.

Continued learning is necessary for growth. This includes things that may not seem directly related to my work activities. You can only discover new solutions when you broaden your understanding of the world.

You can book any availability on my calendar. My focus time is blocked off. Open slots exist so you can take advantage of them if you want to do a face-to-face.

Meetings have a five-minute pre-break. When I own a meeting, it starts at xx:05 or xx:35. I know your previous meeting didn't end five minutes early like it was scheduled. When you are in an office, I know your last meeting room isn't the same as ours. A five-minute break is always built so you can come relaxed and refreshed so we can make the most of our synchronous time.

Known Failures

I can prematurely place too much trust in other’s abilities. This manifests in not providing enough proactive support and potentially putting people in situations where they need to stretch themselves more than expected.

My written communication is terse. It can be abrasive, even when that is not what I intended. When I'm slower to respond, I may be actively countering it.

I have a poor memory for people's names. If I forget your name, I am sorry. It's likely I can recite many other facts about you that still aren't useful in getting your attention or explaining to others who you are.