README.txt
README.txt
Originally written on June 18, 2022.
Originally written on June 18, 2022.
Hi, I'm Sid — nice to meet you! 👋
README is a standard file included with most code libraries that documents how they work, how best to use them and so on. Since I've work with so many people, I figured I'd just put together one for myself too.
Work Ethos
What is working with me like? 🏢 💬 📅 🕟 🏖️ 📣
I prefer working from office whenever I can. It's exciting to observe what's brewing around the company and pick up new skills along the way.
My preferred place to talk shop is Slack, you can ping me 24/7. I try to respond quickly and keep work-convos off of other platforms (Email, Whatsapp, Twitter) as much as I can.
I often work on weekends. It is my choice, and I don't expect it from anyone else. If I ping you during then, don't feel compelled to answer until your next working day.
If for any reason I do urgently need you outside of your normal working hours, I will call on your phone or over Whatsapp. This will be extremely rare, if ever.
I prefer to work async and reserve sync-working for specific tasks. My default is to say "no" to meetings unless I see merit in attending or have significant value to add.
I run with my calendar public and highly respect everyone else that does so too. Have a question about anything on my cal? Ask. Most of my meetings aren't private/confidential.
If you ever need me please feel free to block my calendar without hesitation or permission. Let's skip the "what time works for you?" dance entirely, it's unproductive and we can always reschedule if the timing doesn't work out.
Sometimes I switch to "overdrive mode", usually in response to urgent, immovable deadlines or sensitive commitments that affect large parts of Headout/our customers. I barely talk, eat 3-4x my usual amount and am best left alone when this happens. Don't worry, it is rare and subsides once I get a grip on the situation.
I take vacations. You should, too! They're fun and rejuvenating.
I'm very deliberate about what I work on — preferring to exercise my choice/judgement instead of just reacting to instructions. Often, this involves choosing to NOT do something. For example, choosing to not optimize my code for just a prototype.
I'm heavily biased towards action, as actions speak louder than words. I commend and hold people who are go-getters in very high regard.
Leadership ≠ Management. Great leadership can come from anywhere, regardless of title. The best leaders know this and proactively lead themselves, and those around them.
Feedback
I'm ever evolving as a person and feedback goes a long way to help me.
I think more frequent course correction (via critical fb) and acceleration (via positive fb) in small amounts is far more effective than an unexpected surprise once a quarter.
I prefer to give and get feedback in small chunks every so often and not wait for a scheduled 1-on-1. If you'd like to share some, doing so in-person works best.
If you're not comfortable giving me feedback yourself, I'd love for you to give it to either Ramakrishna or Varun and they will relay it to me anonymously.
Similarly if you have feedback for someone at Headout, I encourage you to give it to them directly. If you're not comfortable doing so, let's chat. I will help you figure out a way to deliver it that makes you comfortable.
If you think feedback from me will help, all you have to do is ask.
Strengths
I do my best work when the goal is clear but I have the autonomy to figure out my own specifics of when and how to get there.
I hold a very high standard for myself, and for my team. I will go out of my way to raise the bar for craft and execution for everything I do. Tiny details matter to me.
I pride myself in inventing creatively simple solutions to complex problems. It could be a process, a tool or even a simple conversation. Small role, big impact.
Weaknesses
I'm a big believer in chasing your strengths as opposed to patching every weakness you have. But being aware of them and correcting as you go is a solid practise that will get you far.
I am an introvert, and I find prolonged exposure to other people exhausting. An outing with 2-4 folks is perfect, any more and you'll find me unusually quiet. I leave parties early.
Although I love starting new projects, I often lose interest when I can mentally see how the thing will finish. Working on being more disciplined in this area.
Feedback I share sometimes emerges more brash than I mean it to be. I'm working on improving this, if you see it happen please call it out.
Personal
Some random misc info. If you'd like to chat, any of the following will make for great topics.
I belong to India — no particular city, just the country. Thanks to my parents who both served in the military, I've been brought up across many places and unique cultures.
I love cats! Fostered and raised 10 kittens to adulthood till date. Scared of dogs though.
Sound design and music-making drew my interest in 2012. Co-founded a record label in 2015 with internet friends and released some cool music. Still dabble with my OP-1 today.
I hold a B.Design, not a B.Tech; contrary to popular belief. Was never a fan of academia and preferred to learn things on my own accord. I f?@k around and find out.
I often build things that sound nonsensical, but solve some random annoyance in my life. From an absurdly miniature PC to a standing desk with wheels that I can cart around.
I understand twice as many languages as I speak. Love leaving out the "how many" and "which ones" details as a fun mystery for everyone. Good luck!
I'm a fairly skilled home-chef and find more joy in cooking than eating.
Closing
Thanks for reading! I wrote the first version in June 2022 and decided to open source it now in April 2023. Hopefully this makes it easier for us to get to know each other.
I will reiterate that it is not a guide on "how to work". I do a ton of things wrong, but find it very rewarding to discover my ways of working that bring me joy — you might too.
This doc evolves as I become more aware about my own quirks. The sections for Strengths and Weaknesses are direct outcomes of my peer feedback. Grateful to everybody whose inputs helped put this together 🙏
Looking forward to do better. Cheers! 🥂
Hi, I'm Sid — nice to meet you! 👋
README is a standard file included with most code libraries that documents how they work, how best to use them and so on. Since I've work with so many people, I figured I'd just put together one for myself too.
Work Ethos
What is working with me like? 🏢 💬 📅 🕟 🏖️ 📣
I prefer working from office whenever I can. It's exciting to observe what's brewing around the company and pick up new skills along the way.
My preferred place to talk shop is Slack, you can ping me 24/7. I try to respond quickly and keep work-convos off of other platforms (Email, Whatsapp, Twitter) as much as I can.
I often work on weekends. It is my choice, and I don't expect it from anyone else. If I ping you during then, don't feel compelled to answer until your next working day.
If for any reason I do urgently need you outside of your normal working hours, I will call on your phone or over Whatsapp. This will be extremely rare, if ever.
I prefer to work async and reserve sync-working for specific tasks. My default is to say "no" to meetings unless I see merit in attending or have significant value to add.
I run with my calendar public and highly respect everyone else that does so too. Have a question about anything on my cal? Ask. Most of my meetings aren't private/confidential.
If you ever need me please feel free to block my calendar without hesitation or permission. Let's skip the "what time works for you?" dance entirely, it's unproductive and we can always reschedule if the timing doesn't work out.
Sometimes I switch to "overdrive mode", usually in response to urgent, immovable deadlines or sensitive commitments that affect large parts of Headout/our customers. I barely talk, eat 3-4x my usual amount and am best left alone when this happens. Don't worry, it is rare and subsides once I get a grip on the situation.
I take vacations. You should, too! They're fun and rejuvenating.
I'm very deliberate about what I work on — preferring to exercise my choice/judgement instead of just reacting to instructions. Often, this involves choosing to NOT do something. For example, choosing to not optimize my code for just a prototype.
I'm heavily biased towards action, as actions speak louder than words. I commend and hold people who are go-getters in very high regard.
Leadership ≠ Management. Great leadership can come from anywhere, regardless of title. The best leaders know this and proactively lead themselves, and those around them.
Feedback
I'm ever evolving as a person and feedback goes a long way to help me.
I think more frequent course correction (via critical fb) and acceleration (via positive fb) in small amounts is far more effective than an unexpected surprise once a quarter.
I prefer to give and get feedback in small chunks every so often and not wait for a scheduled 1-on-1. If you'd like to share some, doing so in-person works best.
If you're not comfortable giving me feedback yourself, I'd love for you to give it to either Ramakrishna or Varun and they will relay it to me anonymously.
Similarly if you have feedback for someone at Headout, I encourage you to give it to them directly. If you're not comfortable doing so, let's chat. I will help you figure out a way to deliver it that makes you comfortable.
If you think feedback from me will help, all you have to do is ask.
Strengths
I do my best work when the goal is clear but I have the autonomy to figure out my own specifics of when and how to get there.
I hold a very high standard for myself, and for my team. I will go out of my way to raise the bar for craft and execution for everything I do. Tiny details matter to me.
I pride myself in inventing creatively simple solutions to complex problems. It could be a process, a tool or even a simple conversation. Small role, big impact.
Weaknesses
I'm a big believer in chasing your strengths as opposed to patching every weakness you have. But being aware of them and correcting as you go is a solid practise that will get you far.
I am an introvert, and I find prolonged exposure to other people exhausting. An outing with 2-4 folks is perfect, any more and you'll find me unusually quiet. I leave parties early.
Although I love starting new projects, I often lose interest when I can mentally see how the thing will finish. Working on being more disciplined in this area.
Feedback I share sometimes emerges more brash than I mean it to be. I'm working on improving this, if you see it happen please call it out.
Personal
Some random misc info. If you'd like to chat, any of the following will make for great topics.
I belong to India — no particular city, just the country. Thanks to my parents who both served in the military, I've been brought up across many places and unique cultures.
I love cats! Fostered and raised 10 kittens to adulthood till date. Scared of dogs though.
Sound design and music-making drew my interest in 2012. Co-founded a record label in 2015 with internet friends and released some cool music. Still dabble with my OP-1 today.
I hold a B.Design, not a B.Tech; contrary to popular belief. Was never a fan of academia and preferred to learn things on my own accord. I f?@k around and find out.
I often build things that sound nonsensical, but solve some random annoyance in my life. From an absurdly miniature PC to a standing desk with wheels that I can cart around.
I understand twice as many languages as I speak. Love leaving out the "how many" and "which ones" details as a fun mystery for everyone. Good luck!
I'm a fairly skilled home-chef and find more joy in cooking than eating.
Closing
Thanks for reading! I wrote the first version in June 2022 and decided to open source it now in April 2023. Hopefully this makes it easier for us to get to know each other.
I will reiterate that it is not a guide on "how to work". I do a ton of things wrong, but find it very rewarding to discover my ways of working that bring me joy — you might too.
This doc evolves as I become more aware about my own quirks. The sections for Strengths and Weaknesses are direct outcomes of my peer feedback. Grateful to everybody whose inputs helped put this together 🙏
Looking forward to do better. Cheers! 🥂