My core values

This is a more detailed explanation of my core values, extracted from my Personal Manual. These values govern a lot of my behavior and help explain why I do things the way I do.

My core values are as follows:

Fairness

I believe our interactions should be fair and just. What is fair is context-dependent, but I would navigate such topics using the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, solicit other people’s opinions and pursue inclusiveness and diversity.
On a professional level, I’ll frame this within standards like the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, IEEE Code of Ethics and principles like blamelessness from the New View on human error.

Transparency

I greatly value transparency in my communication and interaction with others, as well as in decision-making processes.
I’m open by default, limiting information to a need-to-know basis only when it’s warranted.
Rest assured, despite preferring transparency, I know how to keep a secret. I have handled plenty of sensitive information, both in a business context as well as personal.

Personal well-being

Life is about more than work alone. In any work I do, as well as any work I place upon my co-workers, I heavily weigh our collective well-being.

Professionalism and Ownership

Our technology products touch thousands of people, which means that the quality our work will have a big impact on people’s lives. We should conduct ourselves professionally and strive for high standards, which is why I hold myself to the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and the IEEE Code of Ethics.
I also believe that achieving the above requires taking ownership over the projects and work that we do. Don’t give up when the going gets tough, see things through to the end, fight for the things you believe in. I want and expect you to hold me accountable for my work.

I love to learn new things and to share my own knowledge. Assuming you’ve done your own research first, you should never hesitate to reach out for help or advice from me.
This is also one of the reasons I started experimenting with a public Digital Garden.
I also believe people should be able to grow within their careers. It’s up to us managers to facilitate opportunities for this growth.

Continuous improvement

A continuation of the previous value, we never stop learning. While we shouldn’t get obsessed about this (it’s okay to sit back, relax and enjoy life as well) we should be careful not to accept the status quo as this will eventually lead to stagnation. Make it a habit to continually improve.