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My user manual

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"One thing that you will notice about me is that I am open and true. This user manual is my approach to work laid bare which means I do not feel like an imposter! Please work with me to update my manual as I grow and improve."

Who I Am

.... In A Nutshell

First, let me share what I send to people who ask me to describe myself in just a few sentences:

Carl Partridge is an experienced CEO, Senior Executive and Entrepreneur who is dedicated to building tools, systems, and movements that empower people.

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While everything in the above introduction is true, here's how I would describe myself so you can really get a sense of my essence:

  • I'm am unapologetically quirky (probably undiagnosed ADD) and am obsessed with trying to make sense of the true purpose of an organisation, the people and the potential it holds. I am confident that there are better ways to do just about everything, and am dedicated to figuring out how to solve big problems and sharing my discoveries.

  • I believe in peoples potential.  You could say that I want to help people-who-want-to-help-people help people better.

  • I question everything. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate how things are. It is that I believe we must regularly turn a critical eye to culture and institutions and ponder how they can be shifted for the betterment of all.

How I Work

......Style

  • I see open offices as good for casual chit chat but not for deep work. I view social media and texting as flow state killers. So if you are wondering why I only come to the office a couple of times a week, it's so that I can stay in the flow and get a whole bunch of work done with our customers.

  • I have exceedingly high expectations for myself, even if I don't expect the same from others. That said, I do expect my teammates to put in serious work to understand who they are, where they can fit in, and increasingly show up in a way that delivers for the team and our stakeholders.

  • I not only put tremendous (positive) pressure on myself to deliver on everything I say I will, I challenge myself every week to do more (whether in output or quality) than I ever have before.

  • I light up when asked to figure out how to reverse engineer getting from point A to some better point B. I thrive in environments full of ambiguity and possibility, and am most energized and do my best work when I am trusted to connect dots/people/ideas/resources that translate challenges into opportunities. Anyone that knows me knows I devour reports, books, podcast, and YouTube videos, because I am always scanning for information to feed my mind ideas to translate into solutions.

  • I believe it's irresponsible to try to build and deliver a project without dedicating time to research, ideate, design, execute, and iterate.

  • I don't remember a day in 2019 or 2020 where I didn't think about how things could go wrong. And believe it or not, I see that as a superpower. Projects frequently fail due to insufficient time spent figuring out and planning around ways that the project could fail. Putting in this time upfront saves a team so much time doing damage control in the long run.

  • I try to do everything with purpose. I near-religiously think through and emphasize the why behind things, because it's so easy for anyone to spend a whole bunch of time doing what ultimately amounts to nothing. Root cause analysis rocks!

  • I pride myself in being able to think across the spectrum of high level to low level, and also execute on whatever needs to be done. I love white-boarding ideas and drafting huge visions for the future as much as I love designing the most minute details or just shutting up and getting things done.

  • I'm more than happy to be the first to "take a stab" at a project. I am quickly able to get the design of a project to the 70 or 80% point in the same time it takes for most teams to decide whether they want to start. And I tend not to ask much from others besides reasonably prompt feedback on that work.

  • I make it a point to seek out a diversity of opinions and to be inclusive of teammates who want to get involved. Also, if someone has an intention to weigh in on something, I appreciate it when they realize that it's most helpful when they weigh in earlier than later.

  • I really value taking the time to document mental models, team processes, good practices, and more. The only way a distributed team (and community!) can stay aligned and productive is if they share sources of truth that don't require water cooler conversation to surface.

What I Value

......In Teammates

  • Reliability: More than anything else, I value teammates who do what they say they will do.

  • Curiosity and creativity: I value teammates who are always learning, who try to come up with great ideas relevant to our goals, and who try to improve the way we do things.

  • Resourcefulness and proactivity: I value teammates who take on responsibility without others asking, and who find a way to get the job done, even under ample constraints.

  • Focus and efficiency: I value teammates who know how to prioritize what most needs to get done and finds ways to get these things done fast, cheaply, and with maximum "return on effort."

  • Communication: I value teammates who explain what they're doing and why they're doing it, and share as many updates on projects as needed for the rest of the team to stay in sync.

  • Commitment: I value teammates who will do whatever it takes to show up and deliver for the team, and are transparent when they can't.

What I Don't

......Have Patience For

  • I can't stand people who talk a big game but have little substance backing their eloquence or charm. I've been burned by / used by smooth talkers more than once.

  • I despise BS or people who refuse to budge just to make life difficult.

  • I am allergic to self-proclaimed experts who conflate the number of years they've spent in an industry with credibility or expertise.

  • I can't stand short-term thinking. Short-termism is a big reason we lots of organisations are in a mess.

  • I hate the bad kind of surprises, which explains why I am frequently thinking through how things can go wrong. If you make a mistake or something is heading off the rails, tell me before the crash. Failure is great (as long as you learn quickly); surprises are not.

  • I default to trust, but if my confidence is shaken, it’s hard to rebuild. The main way to lose my trust: not following through. Other ways: showing a lack of willingness to adapt/grow, showing a lack of commitment, or treating others with disrespect.

  • I don't take seriously ideas that are not backed with clear and thoughtful justification for why they deserve time or attention in a world where our time and attention is precious and scarce. I like to see what options have been considered and what the trade off is on the recommended way forward.

  • I have trouble tolerating entitlement. It's a privilege to do what we do, and it's our joyful responsibility to take our work seriously so we can deliver for our "customers."

  • I get really drained when asked to compromise my integrity for money or status.

  • I don't like it when people make assumptions about why I make the decisions I make, or take the stances that I take. I appreciate a challenge, but not in the form of accusations embedded with hidden premises.

The Best Way

......To Communicate With Me

  • If you have feedback for me, don't hesitate to call me or pull me aside and state candidly what you think I can do better.

  • Feel free to call me if we're not co-located and you think it's important that we talk.

  • I like getting feedback on documents in-document, because comments make more sense when they are posted next to what they are made about.

  • When answering a question of whether you can commit to something, don't tell me what I want to hear in the moment, tell me what is actually possible.

  • Tell me when you disagree with me; just come prepared to defend why.

  • Let me know as early as possible if you a task or project is going to slip.

  • Don't let my 193cm height and confidence deter you from speaking up.

How To Help

......Me

  • I move very quickly, and while I sometimes shoot out one-off update emails when I feel like it's necessary, I rely on recurring team meetings to share out progress to others. That said, if you're not in those meetings, or I forget to include you on something, don't assume I am trying to keep you out of the loop. Just ask me for an update.

  • I assume that people on our team can figure things out with a little bit of guidance. If you need more guidance or want to talk things through more in order to move forward, just tell me.

  • I get a little anxious being the only one in a meeting raising comments or concerns. Please show that you have my back if I am speaking an uncomfortable truth that resonates with you.

  • Like most people, I can't read your mind, especially when the team is entirely remote. If you have something you want to say, even if it's small, just text me to find a time to get on a call.

  • I struggle to find the happy medium between being too indirect and being too blunt with feedback. Please let me know when I have veered to one extreme or the other.

What People

....Misunderstand About Me

  • I'm an introvert (although you will think I am an extrovert) who loves being social, but only when I believe the time calls for it. Don't confuse my tendency to work alone in the office with trying to be distant. I just know how I need to work to get things done.

  • I speak with conviction, but I’m not set in my thinking. I'm open-minded and always delighted to be shown a better way. I make decisions quickly, but if you give me reasoning or data that points in another direction, I’ll happily change course.

  • I would consider myself a "framework" person. I consider myself someone who at least tries to have a deep understanding of human nature..

  • I do not consider myself a typical "CEO." I reject singular labels (could talk endlessly about this). I am ruthlessly logical but not out of touch with the emotions of myself and others. I am empathetic. I do not see the world through simple mental models, paradigms, frameworks,. My mindset can adapt to different situations easily.

  • I do not want to get involved in the projects owned by teammates who haven't asked for my input. But I can't help but notice easy opportunities for us to plan more before execution, and just want us all to work with a high return on investment per unit of time spent.

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