The motivation behind this document is to explicitly define who I am and how I like to work. Its intended audience is for my colleagues, however I'm publishing here for anyone who is interested in learning more about me.
I am the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at GovAI.com as well as one of the co-founders. I've been working here since January 3rd, 2023.
My role will evolve as we scale the business, most of my day-to-day is spent on scoping product requirements and coding them together with the development team.
Beyond coding, I'm also responsible for all of our compliance and security programs (SOC 2, GDPR, PIPEDA, etc) and helping our customers with any security requirements (questionnaires, contracting, etc) that they may have during their onboarding process.
I have two young kids at home, so I'm aiming to work from 9am to 4pm with a brief lunch I eat at my desk (or with my wife when I'm working from home). I put a lot of effort into my personal routines so that I can be 100% present and focused on the task at hand (whether that's home or work).
Keeping Calendars Open
I try to avoid and delete recurring, that way I can be more flexible to jump on a call (when needed). Feel free to ping me for a huddle, however note that I'll only respond if I'm free and not 'in the zone'.
Ensure Meetings Have Clear Agendas and Take-Aways
It can be frustrating when we meet without clearly defined agendas of what we’re talking about, but the real kicker is when we don’t clarify the agreements of who is doing what before we leave. I try to lead by example but would also encourage everyone to slow things down in meetings, take clear and concise notes, and define action items before leaving.
Delay Sending Messages Outside of Working Hours
I do spend time on Sunday mornings reviewing the upcoming week and queuing things up in my GTD (Getting Things Done) system.
I’ve noticed that the odd time I send emails outside of regular work hours people tend to respond. As such, I try to schedule anything I've written to send during the next business day.
If you receive something from me after hours, I will explicitly call out of its warrants a response before the next working day [extremely rare], otherwise, feel free to wait. If everything is “urgent” then nothing is.
Above all else, I would say the quality I value most, and also pride myself in is Integrity. For me, I define integrity as, “doing the right thing, even when no-one is looking”. I’ve had some formative experience in my childhood that instilled this in me (happy to share the stories if you ask me directly).
Politics. More specifically the behaviour of pushing ideas and solutions because they’re your ideas versus seeking the best idea independent of who and where it came from. This behaviour can devolve and crush our culture. At the end of the day, we’re a team and it’s about the team's solution to delivering value to our customers.
"...be just as intentional about the positive elements as constructive ones when giving feedback."
- Randall Stutman: The Essence of Leadership [The Knowledge Project Ep. #96]
"...take a moment to understand if you're above the line (open to new ideas) or below the line (defensive, closed off) before you respond to that [email, slack message, pull-request, etc]."
- Jim Dethmer: Leading Above the Line [The Knowledge Project Ep. #60]
"...learn to leverage the toolbox that is your voice so you can communicate in a way that draws people in and makes them want to engage with you."
- Julian Treasure: Speaking so People Want to Listen [TED Talk]
"...now that you’re out of college, you won’t put enough really excellent stuff into your brain. [...] you might call [it] the “theory of maximum taste.” [...] exposure to genius has the power to expand your consciousness. If you spend a lot of time with genius, your mind will end up bigger and broader than if you spend your time only with run-of-the-mill stuff."
- A Commencement Address Too Honest to Deliver in Person
Getting Things Done, David Allen
I can’t say enough about this book. I’ve been on a journey (since 2015) of building my routines based on GTD. I could talk about this for hours on end, please feel free to book me for a coffee if you want to learn more!
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, Christopher McDougall
This is one of the few books that I’ve rapidly read cover-to-cover in a single sitting. This started my journey into barefoot/minimalist running.
Hop into Alumni Advice with Alex Millar - Mathematical Drive
August 3rd, 2022
I shared advice for high school and undergraduate students based on my experience as a UWaterloo BCS 11' graduate, including stories from my time at UWaterloo and tips for maximizing the university experience. I also discussed my journey to becoming co-founder and CTO of Bonfire Interactive.
The Business of Laravel
TBD Late December 2024
Will summarize once the episode is released...