I'm writing this for new teams and individuals I start working with. Our first conversations often revolve around the projects I'm involved in and the specifics of my craft. I'm trying to explain what we're creating and how we're doing it.

These discussions usually cover an overwhelming amount of information, too much for brief coffee catch-ups. I usually skip most information about my personal principles due to time constraints. As a result, people gradually learn about my working style during the following months.

If you're reading this, I aim to bypass this initial awkward phase, allowing you to understand more about what I expect from others and what you can expect from me. I'm far from perfect and I'm always working on getting better. 

If you have a similar document, feel free to share it with me :)

**System bias**

I greatly respect people who establish effective processes and strategies for their products. This includes companies succeeding at long-term planning and delivering interconnected systems. The same admiration extends to companies creating books/games/movies with universes whose lore remains relevant and evolves over decades. Creating those requires you to stay to think how your story will evolve and at least leave escape hatches for the future you if you need to change anything without breaking the lore.

My expertise lies in UI development, design systems and tooling. I've been working in this domain for a long time, often dealing with the aftermath of initial decisions and correcting my own mistakes. This experience made me biased towards treating many things around me as systems. While I acknowledge that not everything requires such approach, it's useful to consider whether something will need ongoing maintenance a year from now. If the answer is yes and there's no plan in place, it often leads to either a complete overhaul or an overpaid gradual migration. My goal is to preemptively avoid such errors.

**Controlled chaos**

Over the years, the principle of playing long-term games has become central to my approach, which requires extensive planning and time. My aim is to make system building more cost-effective and rapid without sacrificing their quality. Because of that, I often find myself in a state of "controlled chaos."

I typically manage several projects simultaneously, allowing me to switch between them based on my current mindset, much like choosing a book to read according to one's mood. This flexibility lets me focus on work that most effectively contributes to my or team's goals.

In my work environment, the pace is as crucial as the underlying processes. For that, I'm willing to wear many hats and bypass certain processes sometimes, Any approach or tool that saves time becomes an integral part of my workflow, even if it's not a standard practice within the team. Since some of these methods may not always be well-received, I use them independently. Sometimes, these methods prove beneficial for the entire team and I work on adopting it for our shared workflows.

**Transparency by default**

I firmly believe in transparency. I make every document I create accessible to the entire company, unless confidentiality is required. You can ask me anything, and I'll provide my honest opinion and all the information I have. This approach greatly simplifies interactions, ensuring everyone involved has the same understanding. If not, a single shared link can bring everyone up to speed.

Additionally, transparency has proven invaluable in mentoring. By consistently investing time in writing and maintaining openness, I encourage similar practices among colleagues.

**Fighting for simplicity**

I always begin my work with a blank canvas, considering the end-use of my solution. This mirrors the principle that "the best design is no design." In a similar vein, my philosophy for building systems is "the best API is no API." Ideally, a function should require no arguments.

This approach allows me to encapsulate much of the system's complexity, offering more flexibility, especially for future, unforeseen requirements. Even after finding a solution, I persistently question how it can be simplified, aiming to shift complexity away from the end-user.

Another perspective is that not all problems need a complex, systematic solution. Crafting simple solutions is also challenging, and sometimes the best approach is to just talk to someone or let the problem disappear after some time.

**Inbox zero everything**

I place greater trust in my software than in my memory, so I always write things down and care about keeping them up-to-date. It's essential for me to rely on my tools to swiftly access information, avoiding the need to burden my memory with unnecessary details.

I treat every information storage as an inbox. This includes my email, calendar, Notion, and other platforms. I instantly review all notifications, quickly decide what information to retain for future reference, and aggressively delete anything no longer needed. This system helps me stay organized and efficient.

**Notes**

* I'm an introvert when it comes to large gatherings of random people or people who don't have similar interests. But I do appreciate conversations with small groups of people, especially if I don't have to come up with a topic to discuss. This translates to work as well. I am more interested in deeper tactical discussions in smaller groups than in involving everyone into wider strategic sessions based purely on ideas.

* I spend a lot of time online and quickly respond to all notifications. That's not always good for me, but I still prefer working this way over having many things left unprocessed. This ultimately gives me peace of mind.

* I put a lot of effort into supporting other people as long I see them showing initiative. You can ask me for help and I’ll do my best, but if I see no effort in return – I will stop immediately.

* I'm a slow thinker. That makes it harder for me to work with people I've never worked with, but that's how I operate. The second meeting with me is usually better than the first one since I had time to think about what we've discussed.

* When a project needs me to play different roles – I will do it. People don't necessarily have to ask me about this. More importantly, I will do this if I see people not delivering the work. I care about the work done more than the processes and defined roles.

* Humor is the way I live and work. If you hear me joking left and right about you – know that I'm trusting you. I'm also in the same boat and ready to be on the receiving side of these jokes and laugh with the group.

* I like changing the surroundings and staying in a dynamic environment. That helps me feel the life through people around me even if I don’t interact with them. When I work, you can frequently find me at random outbreak zones or a coffee area.

Dmitry Belyaev

2023