This document is my attempt to capture how best to work with me. I imagine it will undergo a multitude of changes as the years pass and it should be considered a work in progress, much like myself. A few things before I begin:
- I go by Forni. In all honesty, I can't recall the origin of the nickname, but it sure stuck.
- I've been accurately described as an introvert masquerading as an extrovert.
- I try to be as open and transparent as humanly possible and appreciate those who reciprocate.
- I'm big on feedback and ask that you provide it early and often. I will be.
- I appreciate a sense of humor so long as it comes with an understanding of when to be serious.
- I measure my life in terms of the relationships I’ve fostered and hope to spend quality time getting to know everyone I work with, regardless of role.
- I find peace in the outdoors and regularly completely disconnect.
- I use the 24-hour clock. It can be confusing, I know and I'm sorry.
I've found that I really enjoy the early hours of the morning, both for exercise and work. It's during this time that I usually follow up on the prior day's activities or attend to initiatives that are best handled heads down.
Most of my days are consumed with meetings. I try my best to catch up on Slack and email between meetings though often times the meetings are back-to-back.
This time is usually spent catching up on the day and addressing any quick asks or anything that requires my immediate attention. I'm also happy to take calls in the early evening as I wind down.
I believe very strongly in a healthy work/life balance and as such have become strict about enforcing offline hours. Unless absolutely necessary, my laptop is shut during these hours and I'm off pursuing one of my many other interests or catching up with friends.
I have found that communication is at the core of all relationships, be they friendly, professional or otherwise. My philosophy on communication can be summed up in a word: succinct. I aim to convey my point as quickly and concisely as possible and I ask that you do the same.
- Text/Page (Immediate)
In my world, a work text, or worse a page, means there is something going horribly wrong and I need to take action immediately lest the whole world implode. This form of communication is to be used sparingly and with great gravitas.
- Slack (DM) (Near-Term)
If you've got a quick ask for me or want to run something by me that needs attention in the next few days, feel free to shoot me a DM. Try to keep the message to a few sentences that expound on what you need and when you need it. I'll do my best to acknowledge your message in a timely manner and let you know when I'll follow up.
- Email (Long-Term)
I aim for a zero inbox and as such anything that gets sent to my email will get addressed, it's just a matter of when. If you haven't received a response in over a week, feel free to give me a nudge.
As my career has progressed the demand for my attention had increased dramatically. This demand primarily includes reviewing work generated by others. In order for me to be most effective I ask that when you request work from me you keep the following in mind:
- Provide the Context
The more context the better with respect to why you need a review from me, for what areas you would like me to provide feedback and by when this review needs to be completed. These bits of information are invaluable in helping me priortize my days.
- Two (2) Reviews Maximum
I am more than happy to review documents for technical proficiency and adherence to the principles of our company. However, in order to avoid getting stuck in an endless review cycle I will only review a document a maximum of two times.
Culture is constantly on my mind, and as such I do my best to protect, preserve and improve it. I spend an inordinate amount of time reading and thinking about what makes a good culture and what we, as a company, should espouse. A wise person once told me "unless you define your culture, someone else will do it for you" and that resonated with me and prompted me to take a stab at outlining a bit of it here.
Communicate directly, concisely and above all honestly. This is especially important when the topic is difficult or uncomfortable.
Work tirelessly to ensure deliverables are of the utmost quality and empower our customers to be successful. Extend this same care to everyone, in and out of the workplace.
Be bold in experimenting with novel ways to better serve customers, community and the company. Evaluate results quickly, adopting beneficial ideas while noting and abandoning unsuccessful pursuits.
Take great pride in building and bolstering all facets of their community. We will only be successful if we empower our community to be successful, both technical and social.
Work hard to own their domain, mastering all aspects of their role as well as the product as a whole. In this vein, we educate our customers with sincerity since we eat our own dog food and practice what we preach.
Use your skill and judgement to make the right decisions, even if those decisions may be unpopular. Own those decisions, actions, and more importantly, the outcomes.
Use the right resources for the task at hand. Both excess and deficiency are frowned upon equally and should be avoided at all costs.
I believe very strongly in hiring smart people and removing obstacles from their way so that they may be their most effective. If there is something in your way, bring it to me, but bring it to me with a proposed solution. That shows me that you've done the footwork of thinking through how to solve it on your own, and gives us a foundation for solving the issue.
I love to weigh-in on design, architecture and implemenation, often playing devil's advocate to make sure we're properly evaluating the trade offs. Don't take it pesonally, I'm just making sure we've thought things through. Once a solution is decided upon, I'm happy to take more of a backseat and let you do your best work, checking in on occasion to see if I can be of assistance.
I studied Applied Math/Computer Science in school, so as you can imagine, I'm largely data-driven. There's nothing like a good metric and I absolutely love to measure things so we know where we're succeeding and where we need a little help.
When discussing strategy I like to start with where I (we) want to be in X days/weeks/months/years and work backward from there. I'm happy to discuss the day-to-day, but only in how it contributes toward our long term goals and vision.
NOTE I'm prone to overcommitting myself when it comes to meeting with people. While I love spending time with each of you, that's time that I'm not spending on strategy, and that's a problem for you, me and the company. If you see me trending this way, let me know immediately.
1:1s are your time to discuss (almost) anything you want to with me. If I have anything to bring up, I'll usually reserve the last 5 minutes or so to address my topic(s) and I'll let you know well in advance. Some possible topics of conversation are:
- Personal issues, if there is something going on in your life
- Air concerns you may have about me, yourself or your team
- Discuss personal growth and career trajectory
- Discuss the bigger picture and the vision for the company
I schedule 1:1s at different frequencies for different lengths of time depending on how frequently I feel we need to chat. If you think we're meeting too frequently, not frequently enough or not for long enough, let me know and I'll adjust appropriately. Outside of our normally scheduled 1:1s you are always welcome to bring something up out of band.
I have found that social media does not serve me and as a result I have removed myself from most social networks. I have maintained a few sites which I find useful or necessary (or so I'm told).
I'm really excited to be working with you! I hope this has been helpful in getting a bit more of an understanding as to how I operate. As I mentioned, this is by no means exhaustive and should be considered a living document. In that vein, I invite you to contribute to this document by providing me with feedback and helping me become better in all facets of the job. Cheers!