Working with Me

A guide to effective collaboration and communication with me in professional settings. Approaches I value or find effective.

As a Board/Advisor

• Be a support group, expert advisory group - I value council over commands
• Don't start by tell me what to do (most of the time) - Let me absorb information and reach conclusions. I don't respond well to direct authority
• I want to retain agency and hence control over decisions affecting my work

Getting Things Done

Framework for Success

• Specify Goals, Context, Timeline - Question if everything can be changed, tuned, optimized based on each parameter
• Priority - Clear prioritization helps focus
• Who is accountable - Ownership clarity prevents confusion
• Put it on the calendar - If it's important, schedule it

What I Value

Intellectual Approach

• Keeping the big picture in mind - Context matters for all decisions
• It's fine to not have enough details sometimes but focus on execution details we can control
• Spitballing ideas - Creative brainstorming and exploration
• The Why of everything - Understanding motivations and reasoning

Personal Values

• Direct and candid feedback - Honest communication builds trust
• Growth mindset - Continuous improvement orientation
• Intellectual honesty - Acknowledging what we don't know
• Intentionality - Deliberate choices over reactive responses
• Continuous learning - Always expanding knowledge and capability

Discussion Style

• Healthy debates - Constructive disagreement leads to better outcomes
• I'm fond of being devil's advocate - Testing ideas through opposition
• Munger's principle: "Don't have a solid opinion on something till you can know and understand the arguments for both sides" - The Work Required to Have an Opinion

Communication Preferences

Channels (in order of preference)

1. Slack - For quick coordination and updates
2. WhatsApp - For urgent or personal communication
3. Email - For formal documentation and external communication

When to Call

• When there's nuance and context that can get lost in writing
• Complex discussions requiring real-time clarification
• Sensitive topics needing immediate resolution

Personal Quirks

Communication Style

• In default mode I talk fast - Feel free to ask me to slow down
• I can go on for hours - If you need something resolved or just an answer, let me know. I appreciate people being on the same page about nuances and reasoning and sometimes it requires going into the details and repeating things unless we are aligned.

Cognitive Patterns

• My working memory can be finicky - If we are jumping topics and areas, I might remember or make connections that might not be on top of mind, so some specific names / terms might take time to retrive, I'll generally make a note and can share later when the term pops back in.

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