Mark's Personal Manual

Over the course of many years, experiences, and life events, I have been tweaking the manual of my life to work best for me and others engaging with me. It will continue to evolve over time, sometimes replacing parts that are no longer relevant, upgrades are definitely in effect, and some tending to ensure I am working well. This manual covers my basic operating constraints both from a working and personal Perspective. It is open for questions, discussion, and feedback for improvement.

What I believe

• Each individual is uniquely and wonderfully made by our Creator. Treat our fellow masterpieces with love and respect. Kindness is contagious.
• We all have failed in the past and will do so in the future. Show reflectiveness, repentance, and courage during the times of challenge. I keep in mind that there will be a moment of failure where I will need mercy and forgiveness.
• It is ok to not condone the behavior as long as you love the person.

Priorities

In order of precedence:

1. Aligning my life to my beliefs. Being grounded in my faith, keeps my life pointed in the right direction.
2. Taking care of myself. I actually find this one the hardest for me, but when it is going well, everything else falls into place.
3. My loved ones. I find joy in the process of pouring into my family. To be blessed in this area is an understatement.
4. My vocation. Sometimes I am challenged by others that work is higher on the priority list. This is only because of my approach of working with excellence and quality.

How to communicate

Modes of communication

• Email - Great way of sending information that doesn’t need an immediate response. From a work perspective, I push to answer within 1/2 business days. I fight hard not to be a slave to opening up my inbox. Dedicated time will be on my calendar for the opportunity to respond, once or twice a day at most. Personal email is usually only a couple of times a week, as most people use other means.
• Messaging apps (Teams / Slack) - The key term is asynchronous. Definitely more proactive on these to have conversations. I even enjoy chatting on them. I do set my presence to DND for my deep work times. If there chats that happen after hours, I will probably only get to them by the next available work time.
• Text Messages - Same as Messaging apps
• A phone call - If you need me immediately, this is the best way to get a hold of me. If I am preoccupied, I will acknowledge through text on when I can be available, but most times, I will take the call as I know that it is something that may be considered important.

Communications styles

I respond best to when conversations and communications are to the point. I have thick skin, prefer constructive criticism to help me improve and am appreciative when I can grow from a communication. Don’t sugar coat.

Communicate problems in a way that shows you have taken some form of action or have some next steps handy for discussion. Usually my plate is full of “challenges/issues/problems” that are being worked through. Having the opportunity to only explore narrowed solutions is awesome. Saves everyone time.

I like to use hypotheticals in conversations with others to draw out alternative solutions. My goal in communication many times is to drive it a learning and discovery experience for the participants.

My Schedule

I am always willing to make time for:

• Learning and growth opportunities
• Coffee of course
• Analysis / Reviews / Systems architectures

I may decline meetings if:

• No agenda is defined
• Others on my team are involved
• Same day or next day meetings are scheduled. Have the courtesy to plan ahead.

I try to make sure my calendar is published and available with the meeting details. I ask people when scheduling to evaluate trying to schedule over the top of my other meetings.

I have morning routines, evening routines, and schedule focused time for me to do deep work.

My EQ triggers

Happiness

• A smile from others
• Coffee with my wife
• Acknowledgement of great work
• Making others successful
• And a much longer list …

Frustration

• Pettiness
• Lack of respect to others
• Helplessness mentality
• Not having a people first mentality

Areas of Growth

• Listening without prepping the next thing I am going to counteract with
• Deferring decisions until I know the effort and time commitment
• Physical wellbeing. Eating right and exercise

Things I Like to Do and Why

• Learning something new every day. It keeps me realizing that I have so much to do.
• Eating great food. Who doesn’t like to do this?
• Invest in others. I believe the world becomes a better place if we can grow others and maybe have them avoid some of the mistakes we made in the past.

I will expand on this in the future, as I step into new work opportunities and engage in life generally. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions, think I should add something, or just with to say hi.