Coursedog's shared brain

The Brain is the source of truth for how we work at Coursedog.

The Brain is also a communication tool. We prefer sharing information widely via the Brain over sharing it in private messages. We are a 'brain-first' organization.

Why we like the Brain:

• Deliberateness. Documenting your work enables others to give input and forces you to think it through.
• Efficiency. Documenting things takes time, but there is a net gain from clarity, no duplication and fewer bottlenecks.
• Transparency.

How to use the Brain

How to

1. We search it for information we need (CMD + P).
2. We answer questions by documenting the answer in the brain and then sharing a link to the relevant block.
3. We gently refer others to it, when we know they can find their answers there.
4. We document answers in the right place when we find them or decide on them.
5. We suggest edits to it when we disagree. Diverging opinions on how something should be done is a chance for someone to learn something.
6. We use it as guardrails, not as handcuffs.
7. We encourage others to it to keep it relevant. "Could you link to the relevant part of the Brain?", "I think you might find that in the Brain", "Who adds this to the Brain?"
8. We screenshare from it. Rather than creating separate documents or presentations.
9. We share it with external people, like candidates or (prospective) partner institutions.