Iām generally very laid back about most things in life, but donāt confuse being laid back as a lack of caring
My mind is pretty much always āonā about how things can be improved / new ideas
Iām pretty obsessed about health & science - and take a critical view of pretty much everything out there these days (at least I think I do)
Iām an incredibly strong believer in immersing yourself in the details of science and physiology - rather than the face value of published scientific papers - in order to come to a critical viewpoint on nutrition and public health
As Marcia Angell, long-time editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, recently said: āIt is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgement of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines"
Iām definitely more on the more rational/objective/unemotional side of the spectrum
While being quite laid back, I do also like to be efficient about things - as such, I can get inpatient if things take too long, or if they are particularly inefficient
If shit goes wrong, my response will always be: āok, how do we fix it?ā
Iād rather sit in the background rather than the limelight
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šØāš» How to work with me
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Management style
Iām relatively hands-off with management - so I will give you a lot of autonomy to get stuff done. With this, there is a level of trust that you will deliver / not drop the ball, and the only times that Iāll start managing more actively is if Iām not confident stuff is being done properly.
I will never get angry at anything - particularly if stuff fails or you make a mistake. Itās really important that we have an environment in Second Nature where people can fail, as not all risks will work. The only time when I will start to get slightly annoyed (in my head) is if the same mistake is made repeatedly, or if we agree on something to be done and then I donāt hear anything back on it.
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Communication
If you need something from me (i.e. an action) - please email it through. I use my inbox like my to-do list, so if itās there then it wonāt get missed. If you ask for something via Slack then thereās a chance I can miss it. Slack is better for quick questions on things, rather than actions.
Regular updates via email on projects you are working on are very helpful - please CC me on majority/all emails for projects that Iām involved in. Iād rather you over-CC rather than under-CC. I can always tell you to stop if youāre doing it too much :)
End of week updates are the best thing
If youāve been too busy to do something - please just let me know (Slack/Email). I will never have a problem with that! I only find it annoying when I donāt hear back about something and I found out it hasnāt been done, as then I will feel I need to chase everything from you.
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š¬š§ Things to not read in to
If I challenge you on anything science/health/nutrition related - itās nothing personal, just a continued goal of getting closer towards āthe truthā
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š Things that make me happy
Hustle / proactiveness / getting shit done
Smart logic & rationale
When you take a step back and think about what a particular bit of data / analysis / insight means for the bigger picture of the company
Taking a āfirst principlesā approach to solving or deconstructing complex problems
Being challenged and told Iām wrong (as long as itās constructive criticism)
Biohacking
To steal the following from Chris (we are both sticklers for email and love regular updates):
Replying to emails (especially external) promptly and professionally. Email is a bit of an art and it does genuinely take a bit of practice to get good at this.
Sending me summary updates on how things are going (e.g. internal and external projects, client relationships, and contracts).
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š Things that will not make me happy
Being sent things to review which isnāt finished or has a lot of mistakes - I always have 10-30 things on my to-do list, so having to spend 30-60 mins to sense check work which has mistakes is supppppeeerrrr annoying
If there are mistakes in one part, then it makes me think I have to check everything (sadly no way of getting around that)
Also stuff that hasnāt been āsense checkedā - particularly numbers i.e. does the key number/conclusion actually make sense in the bigger picture
Totally fine to send me stuff that isnāt finished as long as you heavily caveat that e.g. āhey - just worked on a very rough draft on this, would be good to get high level thoughts on whether this is the right directionā
Lack of critical thinking + objectiveness
Stubbornness
Narrow mindedness
Spelling mistakes, bad grammar, bad sentence structure
Lack of consistency in powerpoint presentations / word docs (e.g. layout, fonts, sizing, alignment, etc)
Bad email structure
Asking for things before trying to spend 5 mins solving it yourself / Googling
Likewise, spending 15+ mins on something and then not asking for help - please ask me for help if youāve spent more than 15 minutes on something and arenāt sure!
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š Stuff I recommend
Getting into a very strict habit of triple checking your work (and I do literally mean triple checking) - itās not an exaggeration. I still triple check every email I write.
for emails: write it, re-read it that it makes sense, then either give it 5 minutes and re-read it again then
for more important written content, itās often better to sleep on stuff and do the final check first thing in the morning
for excel modelling: always re-review with fresh eyes in the morning (e.g. does the data make sense? Are the formulas correct?)
Taking the time to prioritise your health (i.e. nutrition / sleep / exercise) - there are no shortcuts to being able to make sure you turn up every day at 90-100% of your best and not get ill or burn out
Find out what working routine works best for you (e.g. focusing on projects / writing tasks in the morning and turning off Slack; or going to coffee shops to do work)
Try the ketogenic diet for 5 days, and see if it works for you - Ā guide hereĀ ļ»æ
Having worked with me for ~6 years, Chris has picked up his own wisdom about how to work with me:
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Mike's preferred way of making decisions is to take in the information and then think on it for a day or so. If he doesn't speak up straight away, give him his space to reflect.
Have a critical view on everything with Mike - do not accept the status quo. Critical thinking is probably the trait he respects the most.
He cares a lot about the science & nutritional aspects of our programme and is very well read in them. That means you've got a high barrier if you want to challenge him. He won't mind you disagreeing, but you will have to have a decent rationale. Like me, he will enjoy being challenged, as long as you've thought things through.
Mike loves a long email. Oh, I could tell you stories of the emails. But there's a reason for this: Mike will prefer considered, rational thought - above something poorly thought through.
Communicating over instant messages, as with anyone, can lead to misreads. Schedule time with him if you'd like to discuss anything properly - or send an email, as above.
Mike is very much a fixer. He enjoys being a go-to person to help fix things and is very proactive. You can go to him with problems and he will help. I would caveat this with saying that he is often inundated with these requests, so taking the load off can help a lot.
Even if Mike isn't your line manager, you're still more than welcome to book in time to chat with him. Find out more here: Ā Founder Officer Hoursā Ā ļ»æ