Work With Me

Manual for Working with Me

Introduction

Welcome to my “Work with Me” manual. My name is Kay Kozaronek, and I am a self-taught generalist dedicated to ensuring the safe development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). My diverse background spans machine learning research engineering, management consulting, and non-profit startup experience. Known for my clear communication, I excel in environments that value honest, frequent feedback.

Outside of work, I’m a triathlete, musician, reader, and humorist. The purpose of this page is to give potential co-founders and close professional contacts a sense of who I am, what I’m good at, my shortcomings, and how I like to work.

Summary

• Values: Independence, excellence, growth, ambition, fun, curiosity, risk-taking, education, order, responsibility, dependability, honesty, high work quality, speed, and openness to changing my mind.

• Work Style: I thrive in structured environments, impose structure on myself, and maintain a strict schedule with clear work-life boundaries. I highly value deep work and uninterrupted focus.

• Communication: I’m a direct communicator who values honest, frequent feedback. I read messages promptly but may take a few days to respond. I prefer in person conversation > calls > messages.

• Collaboration: I seek collaborators who are smart, dedicated, open-minded, fast, diligent, enthusiastic, and who hold me accountable to high standards. I value humor and the ability to joke around at work.

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Quirks

Strengths

• Leadership and Organization: I excel at bringing people together, organizing around shared goals, and mobilizing resources to achieve and exceed expectations.

• Strategic Planning: I’m skilled in setting high standards and systematically planning to achieve my goals.

• Efficiency and Reliability: I prefer efficient and reliable solutions, ensuring tasks are completed effectively.

• Resilience and Persistence: I have learned to overcome challenging mental and physical states. Handling setbacks and uncertainty has made me risk tolerance, demonstrating persistence in the face of adversity.

• Self-Awareness and Continuous Improvement: I’m very invested in self-development, keenly self-aware of my personal patterns, and actively work on becoming more capable.

• High Work Quality: I work independently and maintain high standards in my deliverables.

• Speed and Efficiency: I work fast without sacrificing accuracy.

• Openness to Change: I’m able to articulate my reasoning and willing to update my opinions when faced with new, better evidence.

Weaknesses

• Perfectionism: I may be overly perfectionistic, which can hinder flexibility when circumstances require adaptability.

• Impostor Syndrome and Self-Criticism: I tend to undervalue my skills and achievements, occasionally leading to feelings of worthlessness or aimlessness.

• Emotional Management: I’m working on in-the-moment awareness of strong emotions and improving emotional regulation.

• Difficulty Embracing Uncertainty: I struggle with accepting uncertainty, which can impact my decision-making and productivity.

• Impatience: I can get annoyed if things don’t progress quickly enough.

• Neurotic Tendencies: I acknowledge being neurotic at times.

Things I Do That May Annoy You

• Delayed Responses: Although I read messages promptly, it can take me a few days to respond. I recognize this might be frustrating, especially if you value quick replies.

• Strict Work Hours: I don’t work after 18:00 (6 PM), which may affect coordination with team members in different time zones or with different schedules.

• Dislike Being Interrupted: I highly value deep work and prefer not to be interrupted during focused tasks.

• Double Standards on Interruptions: While I dislike being interrupted, I might interrupt you if I’m stuck and need help, even if you’re working. I acknowledge this inconsistency and am working on being more considerate.

Quicks (Pet Peeves)

• Meaningless Tasks: I dislike meaningless tasks and most forms of unnecessary bureaucracy, though I appreciate self-imposed structure that adds value.

• Lack of Dependability: I value when others follow through on commitments without needing reminders.

• Dishonesty: I expect honesty, including admitting when you don’t know something.

• Low Work Quality: I expect high-quality work from myself and others and can beat myself up if I don’t deliver work that I think is good enough.

• Slow Pace: I prefer working fast without losing accuracy and may become frustrated with slower processes.

Work Style

Work Style Spectrums

• Ask vs. Guess Culture: I lean towards Ask Culture.

• Direct vs. Indirect Feedback: I prefer Direct Feedback.

• Task-Based vs. Relationship-Based Trust: I balance both but have a preference for Task-Based Trust.

• Confrontational vs. Avoids Confrontation: I prefer to address issues directly, using Nonviolent Communication.

• Consensual vs. Top-Down Decision Making: I favor Collaborative Decision-Making but am comfortable taking leadership when needed.

• Linear vs. Flexible Scheduling: I value Linear Scheduling, emphasizing structure and punctuality.

Project Management

Task Management Practices:

• I use a custom-made “Kay’s Operating System” on Notion for tracking goals and tasks.
• I organize work in one-week sprints with Monday planning and Friday retrospectives.

Tools and Platforms Used:

• Communication: Slack, Gmail, WhatsApp.
• Building: VS Code (Python), Excalidraw, Figma, Webflow, Canva.
• Organization: Notion, Google Suite.

Goal Setting and Tracking:

• I set clear objectives with measurable outcomes and always include a definition of done to my tasks.
• I plan and track weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals.

Meeting Structures and Preferences:

• I complement my daily stand-up calls with a quick written record of my talking points to keep myself accountable.
• I prefer meetings with prepared agendas that end on actionable steps.

Availability and Scheduling

Typical Working Hours and Time Zone:

• Time Zone: Krakow, Poland (Central European Time, CET).
• Working Hours: My workday starts after my morning routine and sports, beginning around 9:30 AM, and ends strictly at 18:00 (6 PM).
• Time Zone Differences: Even though my routine is currently stirct, I’m open to coordinating across time zones with prior planning.
• Preferred Deep Work Times: Morning hours after the daily standup (usually ends at 10:00) until 12:30. Second block starts after lunch and extends from 13:00 - 15:00
• Scheduling Meetings: I prefer to have meetings by the end of my workday in the time window from 16:30 - 18:00. 1 day advance notice for scheduling is appreciated to plan efficiently.

Non-Work Commitments:

• I devote significant time to sports in the morning before starting work.
• I’m expecting to become a father in February 2025, which may affect my availability around that time.
• Evenings are reserved for personal activities, rest, or time with friends and my partner.

Focus Areas for Growth:

• Improving emotional management and acceptance of uncertainty.
• Enhancing skills in conflict resolution and communication.
• Developing expertise in product management to influence the AI Safety market.