Manual – Put The Player First

Hey!

If you’re reading this, it’s likely that we’re gonna be working together.

I’ve got ADHD, I’m a millennial and I have a distinct worldview. So, I put together this manual about how to work best with me.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me as well.

Note: I am flexible on most of these items. The goal is for us to understand each other better and make our relationship work.

Personal Working Style

My preferred methods of communication are Discord, WhatsApp or email. Most of the time, I’ll be able to give an immediate response. However, sometimes, things do slip through the cracks. If I’ve not responded in 24 hours in a weekday, please send me a reminder.
I have dedicated days for meetings – Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays. In dire situations, I can make it work on Mondays & Fridays. And my preferred time for meetings is in my evening time. That’s between 18:00 hours and 22:00 hours in the UTC+5.5 timezone.
I prefer feedback in a written fashion, ideally in bulleted format. I do not take offence, so feel free. You’ve got carte blanche. That said, I prefer advance notice about problems so that we can fix them before things go out of control.
I usually make quick decisions and often come up with multiple creative solutions for any challenge. These solutions are then tempered with reality and pragmatism.
If we have a conflict or disagreement about something, I prefer to talk it out on a video call, as opposed to text or email as nuance is hard in written text.

Collaboration and Expectations

When onboarding or starting a new project, I prefer to have a kickoff call where we delineate responsibilities and commitments. Often, there will be an accompanying document that gives structure to the process and acts as a log of progress.
In my coaching relationships, I tend to go above and beyond what’s normally expected. I do this because I really REALLY want my clients to succeed. It makes their investment worth it and it makes me look good.
In my coaching relationships, I expect the assignments to be completed at least 2 days in advance so that I have time to review it.
I prefer an iterative approach to goal setting, where we define a goal for the next 6 weeks. We can refine our goal as we make progress. I’m quite comfortable with changes in scope or direction as well, as long we have clarity.
I can be a good accountability partner, so don’t worry about slowing down or slipping up. I’ll be there for you.

Tools and Resources

I prefer to use Miro, Discord, Google Meet, Fathom.Video, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Docs as my collaborative tool stack. Other than that, I use livestreaming, Obsidian, Audiopen, BeefText, Spotify and the Autofocus productivity method on my local machines.
Before working with me in a coaching engagement, I prefer that my clients watch my The Put The Player First Framework explained video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-XNk_Akgg
In our coaching engagement, we’ll be predominantly using Miro, Google Docs & Google Sheets for collaborative work. Our task management system will be maintained in Google Sheets or Miro.

Boundaries and Work-Life Balance

My working hours are Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, from 09:00 to 22:00 in UTC + 5.5. I will be unavailable between 13:00 to 18:00. Most communication outside these hours will be responded to asynchronously.
Mondays & Fridays are the sacred days where I either work ‘on’ my business or spend time with family. Synchronous access to me on these days are rare.
In case of an emergency, you can reach me via Discord or WhatsApp.

Continuous Improvement

During our work together, I will ask for regular feedback about what we’re doing and how to make it better. It would be EPIC if you can give me the feedback in terms of Start, Stop & Continue: Things we should start doing, things we should stop doing and Things we should continue doing.
I am continuously learning new techniques and strategies that can help me deliver superior value to my clients, faster. If you have something you’d like to share with me that can make things more valuable, please let me know! (Fun fact: This document exists because of my friend Terry!)
Another thing about learning: I have a tattoo that reads “Learn, Do, Make, Ship.” With ADHD, learning has become a super skill and I’m continuously learning. You can ask me at any time what I’m learning. It’ll usually be something related to making the business better.

Marketing Strategy and Execution

The marketing strategy we develop in our coaching engagements will be bespoke. It’ll be customized to you, your preferences and your situation. Everything I recommend will be things I have done before and have hands on experience in.
The ideas I recommend are often designed to be ADHD proof. Think of that as being “industrial strength” versions of ideas and approaches. If you don’t have ADHD, no problemo. My recommendations will work even better for you!
I am a big believer in systems and slacking. Systems allow us to build leverage and slacking helps us do only the stuff that matters.
I also like to optimize for fun. If you’re having fun with something, you’re gonna stick with it longer.
When we are building marketing campaigns, we will adopt a hypothesis driven approach to figuring out what needs to be done.
Personally, I invest in upgrading my skills to stay relevant with marketing trends. However, I genuinely believe that some fundamentals and first principles don’t change. I get the fundamentals and I periodically think through things through first principles. I also have the good fortune of learning from my clients and translating ideas and strategies to other folks. Don’t worry, I don’t take clients in the same field, so no competition.

Client-Specific Involvement

The day to day execution of the coaching assignments will require various amounts of time depending on the stage you’re in and your skill levels. I will support you with all the assets you need to make progress happen.
As a guideline, you can expect to spend about 2 to 3 hours per week on the assignments. There will be additional time you’ll need to invest in growing the business.
In an ideal scenario, you would work through the assignments and leave comments on your document for me to respond to. You could even compile your questions and send them to me and I’ll respond to them asynchronously as well.
You don’t need to worry about your level of marketing knowledge or expertise. I’ll take you from zero to profitable in our journey. I’ll also make recommendations for skills, tools and books that you can read to improve your skills.

Adapting to Market Changes

Sometimes, the world gets upended. There are things that happen that are outside our control or influence. Think AI or Covid. In those moments, we will think through things together and find a solution that works. Don’t panic.
These ideas apply to personal changes too.
In particular, when we face a strategic move by a competitor, we can brainstorm our response to profit from their actions and grow our business too.

Technology and Tools

In terms of marketing tools or software, I prefer that clients use the tools that they are most comfortable with. That said, the tools used should be fit for the purpose and have the necessary features. This often means that paid subscriptions will be necessary.
My tool stack consists of Miro, Gsuite, ConvertKit, Restream, Typefully, Tidycal, Gumroad, Komodo Decks, Discord, Fathom and AudioPen. I also use Obsidian, Textreme 2, along with premium versions of Twitter/X and ChatGPT.
When it’s relevant, I’ll recommend appropriate tools for you to integrate into your business.

Ethics and Values

I value integrity and respect above all else. Everything I do will be governed by my Code of Honour.
The strategies I recommend will be aligned with your values as well as with my code as well. This usually translates to non-coercive marketing approaches that elevate your human side.
All your data is kept safe in my own accounts and will be deleted once our engagement is over. I’m not certain that it’s all GDPR compliant, but I do not share your data in any way with anyone else.