Working with Greg
A guide to working with me.
Note: I rewrite this post every few months to ensure it accurately reflects me and how I’m working with others.
User Guide FAQ
What is the purpose of this user guide?
This guide is meant to detail how I function so that anyone can successfully collaborate with me. I believe communication is the bedrock to any relationship, whether personal or professional, and this guide is meant to provide the tools to build a strong foundation with me.
How do I use the guide?
If I’ve shared this guide with you then you’re someone with whom I would like to collaborate. I would greatly appreciate you reading through the full guide, sharing any clarifying questions you may have with me, and making an effort to keep the information contained in this guide top of mind when we are working together.
What if you act contrary to what’s in the guide?
Please let me know! Whether it be in public or private, I’d like to know immediately. I am dedicated to following the principals I’ve outlined here and welcome direct feedback.
What if I have a user guide?
Please send it to me! I’m committed to learning how best to work with you.
🎙How I Communicate
I adhere to three main communication principals:
Clarify Details
I try to never assume what your statement or questions mean. I ask clarifying questions (sometimes ad nauseam) to ensure I understand your perspective, goal, and request.
Speak with Purpose
I avoid speaking needlessly. I listen and only share feedback if I believe it provides value. Please do not be offended if I remain silent during a meeting or conversation. I’m listening, processing, and hunting for value to add. If I can’t provide value I will not disrupt the flow of conversation.
Provide Context
I aim to provide as much context to my feedback and dedicate time to elaborating my thought process. My goal is that this transparency invites critique and conversation.
Providing and receiving feedback is an extremely common and critical aspect of communication. I follow a single framework for each scenario:
Providing Feedback
I follow the S.B.I. framework. I first describe the situation by clearly explaining what I noticed and how I interpreted it. Next, I’ll reflect on the observed behavior and identify what impact I believe it had. I will only share this feedback privately and in person unless explicitly instructed otherwise.
Note: I preface feedback by stating my intentions. I acknowledge that my interpretation of events can be incorrect.
Receiving Feedback
I also prefer receiving feedback via the S.B.I framework. Please prioritize sharing feedback immediately versus waiting to convene privately.
📞 Communication Preferences
I acknowledge that context typically dictates the conversation medium. Regardless, I have a communication preference hierarchy for professional interactions and associated expectations.
Communication methods in order of preference and effectiveness:
Disclaimer: Face-to-face communication is preferred in all instances. Regardless of the topic, question or piece of feedback I highly encourage in-person collaboration. While the most resource intensive, I strongly believe that face-to-face meetings are worth the cost they incur.
I prefer email over all other forms of communication. Email allows me the space to properly consume information, research, and prepare a thoughtful answer. If you’re sharing a complex thought, question or request please utilize email.
Note: Please explicitly highlight requests, timelines or response requirements.
Phone Call
Phone calls optimize for speed. You can expect that I’m multitasking when on a phone call so I would appreciate a follow up note that includes a decision summary and next steps. I would extend that courtesy to you as well.
Text Message
Please utilize text messaging sparingly. I delete most of my text messages daily so your message will have a short lifespan. I prefer to utilize text messages as a means to reach a quick decision, ex: “tacos or pizza?” not “what should we add to slide 10?”.
Real Time Messaging
Unfortunately, real time messaging services such as Slack are my least effective mode of conversation. Perhaps an unpopular opinion. I treat them identically to text messages, however, they don’t earn my immediate attention due to the firehouse nature of the communication format. Utilize RTM as a means to reach a quick decision.
Note: I apply the same rules and expectations when communicating with others unless explicitly instructed otherwise. Have a guide? Please share with me.
🗓 Meetings
I enjoy a good meeting! There’s nothing like sitting down and talking things through. However, I request those that are asking me to join a meeting to complete a few bits of homework to ensure our time spent together is successful.
Each meeting should have a Purpose, Agenda, and an Outcome.
Purpose
Describe why we are meeting. Include any background information that will help me (or any other participant) participate effectively. Usually, this takes the form of a very brief paragraph.
Agenda
Bullet out the things we’re going to discuss. Specifically, highlight any key questions you want to dig into or decisions you’d like to reach. This is the most important part of the meeting invite. This tells me what we need to achieve for our meeting to be successful.
Note: Please directly assign reading or homework to me as it relates to the agenda as needed.
Outcome
Bullet out the things you want to leave the meeting with. We’ll review this list before closing the meeting to ensure we’ve been successful.
Meetings FAQ:
What if I invite you to a meeting that doesn’t have a P.A.O.?
I will most likely (politely) decline the meeting and request one.
What if it’s a random meeting that popped out of nowhere?
No big deal. Let’s do it.
What about meeting length?
Your call. However, I’ve found with a strong P.A.O. meetings are typically short.
What about meeting notes?
I document each meeting I attend. Sharing notes will help us stay aligned. Notes are not a requirement for me but I’ve never seen an instance where documenting and sharing notes has hurt the collaboration process.
⚙️ How I Process Information
Headlines:
- I learn by reading and writing and not by listening.
- I may ask to record our conversation so I can transcribe it (writing).
- Feel free to deny my recording request! It can be an uncomfortable thing and I totally get it. Prepare for frequent conversation breaks.
A bit more detail…
I learn by reading and writing. I struggle to write and process information at the same time. If you see me writing or taking notes it’s wise to give me a second so I can give you my undivided attention. I’ll ask to pause the conversation too.
To compensate for my poor auditory processing ability, I may ask if I can record our meeting or discussion so I can transcribe it at a later time. I will always ask for your permission and I never share recordings. Please feel free to decline my offer — I take no offense. Being recorded can be uncomfortable. In that scenario, please expect me to halt the conversation so I can document key ideas.
😣 My Weaknesses
- I’m not a gifted mathematician. Please expect to calculate the tip at lunch.
- I lose interest if I don’t understand the “why”.
- I can challenge unformed thoughts too early.
- I prioritize investing my time into people who have a vision.
- I struggle to balance work and life.
- I default to trusting frameworks too easily.
- I’m the kind of person to write a manual ;)
😁 My Strengths
- I’m a gifted brainstormer.
- I’m extremely organized.
- I can easily dismantle a complex idea into smaller components.
- I’m able to clearly communicate in most settings.
- I can be relied on to deliver work and will set expectations appropriately.
- I have a process for mostly anything (the flip side of one of my weaknesses).
- I have high EQ.
That’s it! Thank you for reading.
Have a guide of your own? Please share it with me. I’d love to know how best to collaborate with you.
