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A User Guide For Mack
A User Guide For Mack

Introduction

Hi, I can’t wait to work with you. There’s a reason we’ve crossed paths and I know that if we both put our minds together we can achieve great things. That being said, like Julie Z said, “we are different people shaped by different life experiences, and we probably have different preferences and styles for how we like to work.”

too⁠

am writing this user guide to give you a better handle on me and my unique values, quirks, and growth areas so that we can develop the strongest relationship possible. I encourage you to do the same and share your user guide with me as well.

How I view success:

Did I learn from this?

The only thing we can really control is our reactions to the world. I choose to always look at the positive and what could be gained at the end.

Does it sustainably scale?

If the process you’re putting in place isn’t sustainable over the long term, it’s not truly scaleable.

Dream Big, Start Small

If we don’t dream big enough, we’ll never stretch ourselves, but if we never start in the here and now, we’ll simply be dreamers

Simon S

talks about this⁠

⁠

Macro Patience, Micro Speed

Focus on the long term, while activating on the day-to-day

Nothing is somebody else’s problem

Gary V

talks about this⁠

⁠

How I communicate:

I love bullet points; they keep me grounded

I love whiteboards; they allow me to explore

I love post-its; they let me rearrange things

I prefer meetings in person; they allow me to empathize stronger

I simplify things; I have an understanding of coding logic, business precepts, and design principles. This lets me freely translate hard to grasp concepts into simple terms or explain the coding logic for an engineer to be able to design.

I think best walking and talking, I would love to have a walking meeting over coffee

However, I can ramble, if my point is not absolutely clear, please ask me to clarify or to be precise with action items

Since communication is both sending and receiving, I will continue to explain something until I feel you understand what I am talking about (head nods are fine!). All I need is an acknowledgment that you understand or hear me and I’ll move on.

I naturally am a talker, the only time I become quiet is if I feel I'm a competing voice. Feel free to call on me at these moments.

I always prefer email for asynchronous communication. Please use email if you’re describing an issue with a good deal with context (I love visuals). I respond to most things within 2 work days, so if I’ve been slow, re-ping me as I do sometimes miss things. If something is urgent or easy to respond to, feel free to message me over chat, and allow me the rest of the day to respond.

I think big-picture, if something doesn’t make sense to you please ask, you’re probably in my blindspot

Things I do that may annoy you or be misunderstood:

I don't like raising my voice, so it's easy for me to be drowned out in group calls.

I lose track of time if you get me talking. This’ll lead me to either:

Be late to our meeting

Keep you late for your next meeting

Do not feel bad on calling me out when this happens.

My brain goes a mile-a-minute and I can fail to take people through the logical journey that I jumped through. If you’re lost, please stop me and remind me to provide more context.

Being

an⁠

artist⁠

, I love ambiguity and going into the unknown. When I took StandOut 2.0 I was labeled as a

pioneer⁠

. I couldn’t agree more. This can be annoying to people who are more grounded and can make me look like an aloof dreamer.

I'm eternally optimistic and see constant potential in others, and sometimes that can be perceived as naive or lead me to over-extend

What gains and loses my trust:

The best way to win my trust is to care about the overall success of what we’re doing and be transparent about what you think is not working. I admire people who pivot quickly and adapt; always learning; and are fine with admitting challenges/weaknesses while not being bogged down by them.

You’ll lose my trust by hiding what you think from me or insisting we shouldn’t try.

Another thing that builds my trust is asking questions if you don’t understand something. I am impressed when someone comes to me immediately and asks me to explain things again. If I ever seem frustrated explaining, I’m frustrated at my inability to communicate successfully, not your ability to learn.

I build trust easily with those who dream big, who skew toward optimism instead of cynicism, and who manage to translate that optimism into actionable plans. People who are able to show me my blind spots and be optimistic I keep close by.

I value creating a respectful workplace, and I have little tolerance for people who are disrespectful to others.

It’s easier for me to build trust with you if you treat me like a human and a peer, versus someone you are trying to impress. I will trust you more if you give me good feedback, or if you challenge what I say in a thoughtful manner.

My strengths:

Decision-Maker (DM) Hunter: I’m great at finding and educating the right people to make impactful decisions. If you’re trying to solve something nuanced and complex, I’ll have a path forward.

Smooth operator: I perform well under pressure. I also see the special potential in everyone. This makes me effective at championing projects, leading meetings, and suggesting solutions.

Bootstrapping Pioneer: I gravitate towards the new and unknown. I see how things could be and will build mocks to pull people into my world. The energy I give off when I'm in this zone is infectious.

Deep Empath: I feel with people and pick up on non-verbal cues fairly well. It allows me to win peoples trust, as they know I care.

My growth areas:

Execution/follow-through: I'm great at idea generation but I could be tighter about diligently tracking execution and pushing on follow-through.

Overthinking: I can overthink things. If it seems like I’m splitting hairs, I probably am. Tell me to stop.

Getting in the weeds: I jump into the weeds instead of empowering those around me to do and learn.

Logistics:

My Ideal Workweek

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Screen Shot 2021-06-10 at 6.28.30 PM.png

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I do not work on Sundays, if you reach out to me on Sunday, I’ll respond on Monday.

I prefer having 1-1’s in person, team meetings are acceptable over VC

If I don’t think I can contribute or gain anything from a meeting, I will decline it. This doesn’t mean your meeting is bad, I just may not be the target audience for it. I’m cheering you on from the sidelines.

I’m a firm believer in the

two-pizza rule⁠

from Amazon