# GregHeidorn's Manager Readme

**CTO at Cars.com**

_This document only applies to me and in no way should be considered to apply to any other team or manager at Cars.com._

# Hello!

I'm Greg and this is my Manager README.   After reading this, you should have a better sense of what it is like to work with me.  I believe that understanding each other will be the best foundation for our success together.

If you have a README, I'd love to read it.  If not, I highly suggest you take the time to write one.  I can even help you, if you like.

Like all humans, this document will grow and improve over time.  Let me know where it can improve!

# My role

As CTO of Cars.com, I'm measured by how I care for people, how healthy and productive our teams are, the technical thought leadership I bring to our Platform, and how I work across the organization to deliver value from our Platform.  I am in service to our People, our Teams, and our Company, and I will do whatever possible to make each as successful as possible.

**_People_**

- **I want you to succeed.**   Success means different things for different people.  I want to learn about your version of success and help you achieve it.
- **I want you to be happy.**   You should come to work with a some level of interest, excitement and engagement.  If you're not, let's talk so we can find that path together.  
- **I want you to be productive.**   You should have the right tools, information, and support to do your job.  Part of my job is to enable these things for you.

**_Technology_**

- **It's my job to create a Technology vision that supports our Business Strategy.**
- **I aim to create an Operating Model from which our Technology organization can run itself.**
- **I want to develop a service-oriented culture where Technology is solving problems proactively across the business.**  
- **I will not seek to dictate decisions, but I will make them when necessary.**
- **I look forward to many healthy debates on Technology and that we **** become great at discussion and writing to communicate our thoughts**.

**_Organization_**

- **I am in service of our Company.**   I will make decisions that will start with the best interests of the company in mind.  
- **I believe in transparency everywhere.**   I will share with you everything I can that is not protected by some reasonable law.  I will share everything we do with the Organization.  
- **I am in service of our Customers.**   Internal and External.  We should strive to put Customer Service first and foremost in the work that we do.  
- **I am in service of our Teams.**   I will support and defend our Teams' ability to do great Engineering, with reasonable plans, and reasonable expectations of delivery.

# What you can expect of me

- **Be there for you.**   If you need to talk, ask a question, or raise an issue, know that I am here to listen first.  Then, depending on what you need, I can act.  But sometimes, just listening is all that is needed - and I promise to start there.
- **Provide perspective.**   Part of my job is to translate the goals of our Executives into goals for our teams, as well as work across other departments to understand their goals.  I will do my best to provide you with the context you need to do your job.
- **Motivate and Support.**   We will work together to set a path that motivates you, and if you struggle, I will be there to support you. 
- **Celebrate.**   I will make sure you are recognized and rewarded for your efforts.  Recognition is not a driver of mine, so sometimes, I may struggle to keep pace with formal, public recognition.  Do not confuse that with Reward -- I endeavor to always be thinking about how to reward individuals and teams.
- **Work alongside you.**   While I no longer ship code to production, I have no problem picking up any task to help the team.  I will write and review documents, attend any team or project meetings when requested, and I absolutely lurk in Slack in as many channels as I can to provide support and expedite the flow of information.

# What I expect of you

- **Be a good human.**   "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
- **Write, Talk, Share.**   Be known to me and your teammates.  The more we all communicate, the better we know each other and the easier it is to work together.
- **Feel safe challenging me.**   Whether you are an Engineer 1, Principal, or a Senior Manager, we should have a relationship where you can point out where I am wrong, or suggest an alternative.
- **Do your homework.**   This applies to technology, problem solving, and in-general.  Do proof-of-concepts.  Read and research things.  When asking questions, you can either "just get the fish" or "learn to fish".  I'll accept the extra time it takes for you to learn.
- **Push updates to me.**   Instead of  me asking you for updates, just send me them early and often - even if there's no material change.  If you are communicating well, you are likely maintaining that status push via our tools in Slack and Basecamp.
- **Point out my blind spots.**   I expect you to tell me if something is amiss.  Or if something should be done differently.  Or if I'm not living up to the story I've written here.

# How we will work together

## **1-on-1s**

- **We will have a scheduled 1-on-1 every week or every other week.**   I will make myself available to you for ad-hoc meetings whenever you'd like.
- **This is not a status meeting to talk about tasks.**   My hope is that we use it to discuss your professional development, issues on your mind, or where I can shade in context about things happening within the company.
- **I will ask you to do homework. ** We will share a Meeting Log where we can create durable, meaningful conversation and resolutions.  We will use it to track agenda items for us to discuss and as a place for us to write feedback in real-time, rather than waiting for a formal HR Check-In or Review.
- **We'll start with Zooms.**   But I like coffee.  And breakfast or lunch meetings.  Or a Happy Hour cocktail.  So, if it works out, let's do those.  I find those to be more meaningful ways to connect for 1-on-1s.

## My availability

I typically work anywhere between 7am - 6pm CST.  It flexes based on my children's activities.  I also hover on Slack and Email 24x7, except when on vacation.

- I work evenings and weekends when I am motivated to solve a problem or there is something important I need to catch up on.  **You may see notifications or Slacks from me during off-hours.  You can ignore them until the next business morning.**
- **I do not expect you to work evenings and weekends. ** _Except if you're on-call._
- **I enjoy working from home.**   Our commitment to a "Remote First" Technology organization motivates me to over-communicate, develop new ways to reach our teams, and proactively ensure my presence is felt via Slack, Documents, and Email.
- If you need to reach me:
  - **Real-time (Urgent):  **Text, then call.  
  - **Near-real-time (Normal):**  Slack.
  - **Async:**   Slack, Email
  - **I do not enjoy talking on the phone.**   Let's start with text.  If we need to call at that point, no problem.
  - **I will respond to Text and Slack as soon as I see it.**   I may not be able to solve the issue but will at least respond with when I can respond with focus.  

# Personality quirks

- I've done some personality tests.  

  - DiSC:  [Di](https://www.crystalknows.com/disc/di-id-personality-type)
  - 16Personalities:  [The Debater](https://www.16personalities.com/profiles/e5068cabd8eb2)
  - My drivers are Power and Achievement

- **I wholeheartedly believe that work ethic can smooth out gaps in skill.**   This will come out in my evaluation of people for roles and can cause disagreements.
- **I have no technology favorites.**   I will literally do whatever seems like the right tool for the job.  I can change on a dime.  This can be frustrating to people.
- **I give everyone the benefit of the doubt** to start our relationship, and then we go from there.
- **I sometimes context switch very quickly.**   I don't do a good job of letting people know I've moved on from a topic and am starting the next one.  This can be frustrating to people.
- **I highly prefer async (writing) communication to sync (meetings).**  Especially when we're trying to make decisions or set directions.
- Always have an Agenda in your meeting invite or provide context ahead of scheduling.  Time is so precious, let's not waste it in a meeting that could have been an Email/Slack/Google Document.