Principles of Excellence
Last updated June 28, 2024
These are principles that I have found to be incredibly useful and strive to embody in the way I behave and interact at work everyday. I believe that following these principles will drive my company towards a more collaborative culture that efficiently generates alignment with a bias for action.
Assume Positive Intent
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/03/simple-workplace-principle-assume-positive-intent
Always assume other people have positive intent and are trying to do the right thing. Give people the benefit of the doubt. If both parties assume positive intent, it helps to build trust and makes it easier to find common ground and align.
Strong Opinions, Weakly Held
https://pivotal.substack.com/p/strong-opinions-weakly-held
Put a stake in the ground! Don’t be afraid to state an opinion or propose a path forward. Some may disagree or new learning may eventually prove you wrong, and that’s great. It generates discussion that might not have happened otherwise, and biases the team for action and learning.
Epistemic Legibility
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jbE85wCkRr9z7tqmD/epistemic-legibility
TL;DR: Being easy to argue with is a virtue, separate from being correct.
Make it clear what reasoning backs up your assertions and conclusions, and present those clearly so others can understand where you’re coming from and point out any places they disagree. This makes it easier for others to either find flaws in your reasoning - leading to discussion that will improve the overall solution - or be won over to your perspective because they can easily see the value of it.
Disagree and Commit
Normalizing disagreement is a good thing. It allows folks to raise their concerns without fear of reprisal. Once concerns have been expressed and heard, the team needs to be able to move forward and deliver something rather than talking in circles: decide on a plan, commit to it, and follow through, even if some still may disagree.