# Ethos <div class="pills-container"> <span class="pill">Last Updated: July 1, 2026</span> </div> > [!INFO] This page is most useful for my current and future collaborators. ## The 7 things to know about me If you're not going to read the rest of this page, then at least read these 7 things. 1. **I work best with close guidance at the start, then with [[#How I work best|autonomy afterward]].** Early immersion matters to me so I can calibrate my goals and align with the bigger vision. Once the direction is clear to me, I operate well in high-trust collaborative environments, even asynchronously. 2. **[I think directionally.](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uwmFSaDMprsFkpWet/explore-more-a-bag-of-tricks-to-keep-your-life-on-the-rails)** I need to understand the "why" before the "how." I tend to [[#Mistakes I've made|stress-test assumptions]] and explore [counterfactuals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfactual_thinking) before settling on an intervention. I like to play [Devil's advocate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_advocate) to ensure that something is worth pursuing in the first place.[^1] 3. **I like being surrounded by sharp and mission-driven people.** I work best in environments where people care deeply about their work and their [[#What I care about|epistemics]]. 4. **I appreciate direct and no-fluff conversations.** I take [[#What I care about|honest feedback]], especially when well-reasoned, as a sign of care. Do not take care of my feelings for me, that's my job. I lose patience fast when someone talks around what they actually want to say. I'd rather they just say it. 5. **I think best in conversation.** If we're blocked, we should hop on a call and map it out live. If we're working asynchronously, let's think through the problem in a [[#How I work best|Google Doc]]. 6. **I stagnate in [[#What I care about|low-trust environments]].** If I feel like I have to posture and second-guess people's real incentives, it drains me. I work best with people who are direct and do not weaponize ambiguity. 7. **I think sacrificing integrity for [[#What I care about|optics]] is a form of failure.** I care about making differential progress in the work I do. I believe that [once a metric becomes the goal, it ceases to be a good metric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law). --- ## How I work best - I'm currently based in Metro Manila (UTC+8). - I prefer async for updates and sync for thinking, but I tend to adjust depending on what works for my collaborator. - I write and plan in Google Docs. - I like seeing the full context, not just tasks. - I build to stress-test systems in the real world. I care about fast iterations, real users, and whether tools hold up under live constraints. - I have ADHD, GAD, and Bipolar Disorder. I do my best work inside structures I didn't have to build alone. I stall predictably on open-ended solo tasks without hard edges around them. Heavy meeting weeks are a specific trigger too, not just unstructured time. When my calendar fills up with syncs, I stop wanting to work at all. If you're working with me, the kindest things you can do are **be specific about timelines, check in early rather than late, and protect my calendar during heavy weeks**. ## What I care about I'm skeptical of anything that tries to generalize a complex system. I think conventional wisdom is often wrong, and I'd rather be epistemically honest than agreeable. A few patterns I actively avoid: - I feel stagnant in teams that **never** give honest feedback, or take _too long_ to give it. - I don't fit well in environments where "alignment" means agreement, not depth. - I'm wary of "impact-washing" (i.e., people who claim to work on impactful problems but are really optimizing for personal leverage). ## Mistakes I've made I believe in learning in public. That's why I keep a changelog of the mistakes I've made in the past, so I can improve in the future. - I care about showing up for the people and problems in front of me. But **I often take on more than I can chew**, and this sometimes leads to late nights or quiet burnout. The people I wanted to help in the first place end up under-supported anyway. I've since learned that saying yes to everything eventually means that I'm not showing up well for anything. - I move quickly when I'm clear on my direction and that makes me effective. But **there were times I sprinted ahead thinking that everyone in my team was on the same page**. I later realized that others did not share my mental models or priorities, and they ended up feeling confused and upset. I've since learned that clarity takes more time than I think, especially when I'm working with a group. - I gravitate towards complex problems and deep thinking. But there have been times where **I spent too long polishing ideas that were fascinating but not directionally useful**. I've since learned that insight without traction is still one form of drift. - In the past, **I've stuck around in projects where there wasn't real alignment** and just hoped that clarity would emerge in time. But I realized that early misalignment is rarely temporary. - I've learned that **I can fill a week with real, legitimate work and still produce nothing I'm proud of.** About 45% of my time over the past few months has gone to meetings and coordination, which crowds out the protected thinking time I actually need. The output suffers even when the hours look fine. - I've learned that my bottleneck isn't capability, it's visibility. **I'm really _really_ bad at asking for help, and I sit on ideas until they feel ready before showing anyone**, so I end up iterating alone and getting feedback too late to matter. I'm fixing this by sharing work in progress and scoping ideas to prototype within 24 hours instead of waiting until they're polished. [^1]: I also learned this can get quite annoying; though I'd rather you tell me directly if this approach doesn't work for you. --- [CV](https://bit.ly/ld_cv) · [Substack](https://halfbakedtheories.substack.com/) · [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/llenzl/) · [GitHub](https://github.com/ramennaut) · [Feedback](https://www.admonymous.co/lenz)