@brianwhaley/pixelated-components

BRIAN WHALEY - A README FILE

WHO AM I

I am currently the Vice President of Engineering responsible for the Digital Acquisitions team at American Express. The Digital Acquisitions team enable prospective and existing customers to apply for card and non-card products (loans, banking), get an instant decision on their application, and enable customer onboarding capabilities such as digital wallet integration.

Prior to American Express, I led global digital web development departments for healthcare, financial, telecommunications, and media companies. I bring with me expertise in Front End Development, Software Project Management, and Agile Methodologies. Some of my most recent projects outside AmEx include launching custom developerd marketing, e-commerce, and content management systems, focusing on SEO, Analytics, and User Experience.

I hold an MSIS degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, a Bachelor's degree in Art and Art History from Rutgers University, and held Certified Project Management Professional and Certified Scrum Master certifications. I served on the Advisory Board of the Design Thinking Certificate Program at Rutgers University. I currently mentor upper-class students as my high school alma mater, Rutgers Preparators School.

I live in Morristown, NJ with my wife of 22 years, Mary Ann. My hobbies include photography ( I have owned a camera since the age of 6), scuba diving (I have over 50 dives in my dive log, and have been down to 130 feet), and eading Sci Fi and Fantasy novels (one of my favorite authors is J. R. R. Tolkien).

WHY A README DOCUMENT?

The objective of my README is to share who I am, set some expectations, and share management styles. What I don't want this document to do is dictate how to work with me. I believe that good leaders adjust to the personality styles of the peopel working with them.

MY JOB

TALENT MANAGEMENT AND CULTURE SETTER

My primary function is to attract, hire, retain, and grow the best talent I can for our team. We need a diverse mix of backgrounds, interests, and experience. We need to work within a safe, transparent, and productive culture. Without the right people on teh team and culutre to work within, we cannot deliver our products effectively.

TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

Develop a technology roadmap, laying out the right architecure, andvancements, and improvements, to deliver our product with little friction, the best user experience, and fastest time to market.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM ME

• Focus on Servant Leadership
• Develop leadership at all levels in all roles, from the bottom up
• People over Process, as the Agile Manifesto recommends
• Give and receive Timely and Regular Feedback - recognition in public, feedback in private
• Innovate and deliver Continuous Improvement in everything we do - code, processes, policies, meetings, etc.
• Provide Transparency and candor wherever and whenever possible.
• A Bias toward Action
• I am following the Hybrid model, working from the office one day a week. Due to my long commute, I plan to be in the office at 9am, leaving at 5pm. When working from home, i will be avaliable on all channels (phone, text, email, slack, WebEx, etc.).
• I am a night owl, so I may be working later than you. I will try to scehdule emails and slack messages to be delivered during regular business hours. If i dont, you should not feel obligated to respond during non-business hours, unless it is related to a production issue.

WHAT I EXPECT FROM YOU

• I ask that you own your 1:1's. Schedule them frequent and recurring, without an end date. They are the most important meetings we will have together. Most of the schedule and agenda is up to you. But please keep in mind, this is not an project update.
• Provide feedback regularly - to your staff, your peers, and your leaders, and especially to me!
• Display honesty and transparency in all that you do.
• Focus on People First, Product Second, and Everything Else Next.
• Do your best work all the time.
• Try something new. Educate yourself.
• Dont be afraid to fail. Trying and failing should be celebrated.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help. But dont bring problems without ideas and solutions.
• Show you care. Emotions included.
• Exhibit leadership from your position. You don't need to be a manager to be a people leader.
• Display extreme ownership, with a bias toward action.
• Celebrate success, and continually point out things we can improve, in everything we do.

PERSONALITY TEST RESULTS

STRENGTHS FINDER RESULTS

• Strengths Themes and Domains

• Achiever (EXECUTING)
• Ideation (STRATEGIC THINKING)
• Positivity (RELATIONSHIP BUILDING)
• Woo (INFLUENCING)
• Learner (STRATEGIC THINKING)

MBTI RESULTS

• ENFP - Extrovert - Intuition - Feeling - Perceiving
• ENFP
• Personality Types

RESOURCES

• I primarily read Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Management books.
• The book I recommend most often to people at work is Turn The Ship Around by L. David Marquet. It is about leading from the bottom up, fostering individual contributors as leaders with high levels of ownership, and scaling these ideas across the organization. Just the kind of culture I try to foster in my organization.
• Here is my Goodreads book library for more information, or a collection of short YouTube Videos for the Cliffs Notes versions.
• I also like to get involved with Rands in Repose - a great leadership Slack Workspace for leaders.

FAVORITE QUOTE

"It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people to they can tell us what to do." - Steve Jobs - Inc.com