July 7, 2026

One thing I’ve noticed in almost every workplace is that nobody ever really defines how they’re going to work together. You show up, you figure it out, and somewhere along the way things fall through the cracks. Deadlines get missed. Messages go unanswered. Work lands on someone’s desk at 4 PM with a “need this by end of day” attached.

I think that’s a fixable problem. I recently came across a concept called a Manual of Me, a personal user manual that helps others understand how to work best with you. It covers your working preferences, motivations, and needs so that everyone on a team can actually collaborate well. The idea clicked immediately.

Over the years I’ve developed a set of rules and habits that I’ve found help teams move faster, communicate better, and do their best work. This is my version of that manual. It’s not a rigid code of conduct or something I expect everyone who works with me to follow. Very often as a consultant I’m not in the driver’s seat so I don’t get to define how we work, but instead jump in and support where I can and add value along the way. I understand that every team is different and the magic is made in finding a style that works for all. Think of it more as a roadmap: here’s how I operate, here’s what I’ve found works, and here’s what you can expect from me.

No Same-Day Work

If you talk to anyone who has their stuff together, nobody walks into the office at 9 AM and thinks “what should I be doing today?” High performers have a plan. Most folks know by EOD Monday what is in store for them on Tuesday.

The rule I try to install for myself and for teams is simple: no same-day work. If I give you something on Monday, the expectation is it gets handled on Tuesday. Unless it’s a true hair-on-fire emergency, same-day asks aren’t fair to anyone. They pull people away from the work they already had planned, and they signal that your time doesn’t matter. I am certainly guilty of handing out same day tasks to the teams I work with but whenever possible I try to avoid them.

You might be thinking “my work is too hectic, I need this done ASAP and can’t wait until tomorrow”. If you are reading this on Linkedin or my blog you probably send emails for a living; you absolutely can do this. If it feels daunting or insurmountable perhaps start with a “by EOD” ask given first thing in the morning. The difference between “I need it NOW” and “before you sign out” makes for a happier team I promise.

Think of it like a service level agreement, or SLA: we both agree that turnaround happens within 24 hours. That gives everyone lead time, reduces stress, and makes it much easier to prioritize what’s actually urgent versus what just feels urgent.

No Same day work goes in both directions. If you hand out a task, and you expect it to be done by next day. But if your approaching a deadline I think the same should apply. If your big presentation is friday at Noon, it seems like a waste to be working on it Friday morning. Whenever possible, setting a target to finish something the day before will make for a smoother delivery.

Will there be times where something needs to be done immediately or right before the big meeting? Absolutely. No same day work just creates a little buffer in between to help things go smoothly

Sure there are exceptions to every rule, but having a baseline expectation of when things will get done helps the trains run on time.

Define The Supply Chain of Work

Here’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough: how does something make its way from the junior team member’s desk all the way to the CEO. In consulting, if the partner needs something on Friday, the senior manager has to finish by Thursday, which makes the manager needs target Wednesday, the senior consultant needs it Tuesday, and the staff consultant needs to start on Monday. The most successful teams I have been part of are keenly able to define what is due from whom by when. Without this definition, I walk away thinking the thing is due friday and my boss is expecting it tuesday.

We have a rigorously defined supply chain from getting a widget produced on an assembly line; there should be a corollary for the world of emails powerpoints and ones and zeros.

I call this the supply chain of knowledge work. Work doesn’t just appear. It moves through a series of hands before it reaches the top, and if nobody defines that chain, everything gets compressed at the end. I always try to give clear deadlines and work backwards from them, because that’s the only way the whole chain functions the way it should.

Even if you don’t have visibility into the entire chain; it helps the team to understand how they fit into the bigger picture.

Communications Hierarchy

I’ll be honest: I’m not a fan of Slack or Teams. The ability to ping someone at any moment and pull them out of their focus is one of the biggest productivity killers in modern knowledge work. Johann Hari calls it Stolen focus and six months after starting his book I can’t stop thinking about it.

If you haven’t yet read Mr. Beast’s primer on how to succeed at his company; I highly recommend it.

One bit that resonated with me is always using the highest form of communication. The idea is quite straightforward: the lower the form of communication, the more room there is for misunderstanding. Over text, you can’t read someone’s tone or body language. A five-minute call almost always beats a twenty-message thread. And if the stakes are high enough, nothing beats a face-to-face conversation. Match the complexity of what you’re communicating to the medium you’re using.

Here’s my hierarchy

• Instant message (Slack, Teams, text): Same-day stuff only. If you’re messaging me, it means it needs to happen today.
• Email: Everything else. Email is asynchronous by design. It lets people respond on their own schedule without derailing their day.
• Video or phone: For anything complex, nuanced, or where tone matters.

The magic here is in the nuance, sometimes a quick slack avoids a meeting down the road. The point is to be thoughtful and squash ambiguity where possible while being mindful about pulling others out of their focus. A very delicate task in 2026!

Don’t Pitch Problems Without Solutions

Danny Zuker, executive producer of Modern Family said this to our graduating class and I will never forget it. We all have problems and for most things there are solutions and the obvious challenge is navigating the space between. It seems only natural to go into analysis paralysis mode, especially in the face of large problems; but I really appreciate when issues are accompanied by an initial version of a solution. I have limited tolerance for hearing complaints if they are without a plan of action. I have all the time in the world for people working to better their situations

This is one of my biggest ones. If someone comes to me and says “I don’t know what to do,” it puts the entire burden of thinking on me. But if they come to me with a first version, even a rough one, everything moves faster.

Very recently, I got handed an ask that I thought was a waste and I was annoyed. A few minutes later I called a leader on my team and spent a chunk of the time lamenting. He quickly told me “that just sounds like a lot of complaining and not what we are paid to do”. Not my finest moment but a good nudge and reminder to always come with a solution and not just a problem.

The idea is simple: always bring an initial take. It doesn’t have to be perfect. A minimum viable product, a rough draft, a basic wireframe. Something. Because when there’s something to react to, feedback becomes directional. “That’s good, change this, not that.” Without it, we’re just going in circles.

I apply this to myself too. I’m always going to try to give you a first version of something, even if it’s not fully baked. It shows respect for your time and moves the work forward.

Keep the Right Grip

I’m a big fan of the Acquired podcast and recently they were talking about playing with the appropriate grip for the task at hand. I heard a metaphor on a podcast once that stuck with me: the idea of holding something with the right level of grip.

Too tight, and you’re over-managing. You’re pinging people every five minutes, second-guessing every decision, and creating anxiety instead of momentum. Too loose, and you’re ghosting people who need feedback. They don’t know where they stand, and the work drifts.

The right grip looks like a standing cadence. A regular check-in, same time every week, where both people show up and know what to expect. It doesn’t have to be long. It just has to be consistent. That predictability is what lets people do their best work between check-ins.

Conclusion

None of this is about rigidity. I’m flexible, and I know every team and situation is different. But I’ve found that when people define how they’re going to work together upfront, things just go better. Less confusion, less dropped balls, fewer late-night scrambles.

To recap, here’s how I like to operate:

• No same-day work unless it’s truly urgent
• Map out the supply chain of a project and work backwards from the deadline(s)
• Use the right communication channel for the right kind of message
• Always bring a first version before asking for direction
• Stay consistent, not overbearing, not absent

The concept of a Manual of Me exists for exactly this reason: the more clearly you can communicate how you work, the better everyone around you can show up for you. If any of this resonates, I’d encourage you to build your own.

What would yours say?