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Hi. I’m Roy.

February, 2018

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This is ...

A quick way to

Introduce me as a human

Answer some likely questions

Set expectations about what you can depend on from me as your coworker

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THIS SLIDE DECK IS DEPRECATED

My latest README will always be available at https://bit.ly/roy-latest-readme

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This isn’t …

Laying out

My expectations for you

My plans for our organization and its products

I just got here. I don’t know much yet

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Stuff to Know

  • I live in Pacifica with one spouse, two kids,
    • and three goats
    • and two cats
    • and a dog
  • I was Born and raised in Israel
    • Became a US citizen 5/18/2016
  • I like smoking (food), grilling, and baking*

Melody

Xander

(or Alexander when he’s in trouble)

Shannan

* Disclaimer: Cheesecake and flourless chocolate cake.

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Why Slack?

  • I first noticed Slack when it sent four Black women engineers to represent it at TC
  • Been talking with Slack people since March 2016 and loved every conversation
  • Slack’s got heart and cares about people
  • Diversity and inclusion are in Slack’s bones
  • This particular role was huge, and humbling, and exciting

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I Don't Believe in Personality Conflicts

​

We may have substantive disagreements

When it comes to adjusting to personalities, I strongly believe that the person in the more senior position is getting paid, partially, to adjust to the personality styles of the people reporting to them

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My Job

At minimum

  • Attract and retain world-class talent (that's you)
  • Set context

If I do something that negatively impacts my ability to retain you, you would be doing me a huge favor if you let me know about it, as soon as possible

If I do something that feels more like telling you how to do your job than setting context, you'd be doing me a huge favor if you let me know about it, as soon as possible

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On Feedback

  • I love feedback
  • Feedback is critical to my success here
  • Three dimensions are required for people to continue to give you feedback:
    • Safety should be high (no fear of retaliation)
    • Effort should be low (no rebuttals)
    • Benefit should be high (positive results)
  • Let me know if I don't do well on any of these three dimensions

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Want to Talk? Let's Talk

  • I’ve got a few things to do around here
  • Very few of them are more important than spending time talking with you if you want to talk with me
  • Feel entirely free to try to catch me ad-hoc via Slack or in person, or put time on my calendar to talk whenever you want
    • You may not find a slot on my calendar in any given day
    • If you want to talk, let's talk
    • Let me know via Slack or phone (415-763-5140) and I'll evict something

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Known Failure Modes

I've been accused of an extreme interpretation of "context not control"

I'm likely to be reticent to express opinions about what/how you should be doing (But I'll never demur in the face of a direct question or request for advice)

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One on Ones (1o1s)

  • 1o1s are for you
  • 1o1s are not for status updates unless you want to update status
  • I’d like to start with high frequency, high length
    • I’d like you to figure out when/if/how to taper back

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On Candor

  • This company may require me to not tell you about something
  • This company cannot require me to lie to you. I would not abide by such a requirement
  • I bias toward transparency and candor. You can ask anything. Most of the time, I'll answer. Rarely, I won't. I'm committed to never lying to you