February 15th, 2018

“What can I do to help you get there and make a decision?” - good savvy exec level question I have heard a few times in the recruiting dance of “we both like each other but there isn't an apparent mutual green light”. Cuts through all the noise and really helps opens up the floor for an actionable next step.

When do you know you're in it? Almost everyone can give words to living and breathing a company, space, or role. But what are some indicators you are actually in it as deeply as you say you were. Last summer and fall of '17 I was in ML/DL...and really felt it. It was invigorating because as with anything, once you hit a certain level of fluency, it gets even more addicting as the knowledge, network, and intuition compounds.

• Am I able to quickly distill headlines into the actual development? Can I understand when something isn't actually as a big of a deal as it seems to be?
• Can I teach this and explain core concepts to a variety of individuals (mom, business minded exec, technical product manager, biz ops, engineer, member of the press)?
• Am I seeing things that others aren't? What is becoming obvious to me that isn't to others who are relying on random conversations and headlines?
• When I meet with individuals who really know their shit about the space (PhD research, longtime founder), do I step on landmines in conversation by asking dumb questions or confusing fundamental concepts? Better yet, can I ask them second level questions that actually require them to think?
• In conversation, are you familiar with the majority of referenced individuals, technologies, and organizations?
• If the subject matter is complex, do I have my own way of understanding the atomic units and methods via analogy/metaphor/visual?
• Do I understand what I do not know yet? Do I understand what wouldn't be valuable to try and explore? Do I understand what I need in the short to midterm to further advance in my own role?
• Can I understand the class of tool or service? ie If they don't use ABC product, they'll most likely be choosing from these other three.
• Do I have sense of the competitive landscape and have grounded predictions or observations as who is moving where? Do I have a rough understanding of what really is a differentiatior?
• Is the language I use to describe a complex or misunderstood concept consistently being remixed and tested to see what is most effective? Are they silently nodding with glazed over eyes or leaning in with an oo00 ah trying to address the current point with a finished statement or advancing question?
• Do I know the open questions in my field? Can I describe the top of mind themes that have many different teams across the space thinking about?

thoughts on leadership. behaviors and ways of operating where i've excelled: no task too small, asking for candid feedback, understanding and acting on the need to provide context for decisions, saying i don't know, framing the role as helping a team of people win, finding out someone's personal goal as it relates to learning and growth, asking questions that get at the root objective, striving for being intellectually honest, giving a shit, speaking the truth, we vs I - shining the light, remembering human incentives. ways i've come up short: communicating what i am working on, understanding an individual's preferred communication style, proactively sharing my communication style, body language, navigating lost confidence in other leaders, being patient enough to build a compelling case for change, accepting the fact i am not in full control, coldly limiting communication with individuals i haven't personally respected.