How to Convertium
Hi, welcome to Convertium. I'm glad you're here.
It's going to take a while to figure this place out. I understand the importance of first impressions, and I know you want to score an extra point in the win column, but this is a complex place full of equally complex humans. Take your time, meet everyone, attend meetings and briefings, write things down, and ask all the questions — especially about all those baffling acronyms and abbreviations.
One of the working relationships we need to define is ours. What follows is a user guide on me and how I work — what to expect out of the average week, my north star principles, and some of my nuances. My intent is to accelerate our working relationship with this document.
01Our average week
We'll have a 1:1 once a month for at least 30 minutes, except during WAR ROOM situations (see below). This meeting discusses topics of substance, not updates — there's a private Notion page where either of us dumps future topics, and it doubles as a historic record.
We'll have a staff meeting with your peers in the Web Operations team every week for 30–60 minutes no matter what, tracked on a shared team agenda document. Same rule: substance, not status.
You can message me on Teams anytime you need, including after hours. I respond fairly quickly unless I'm asleep. If I'm going to be unavailable, I'll give you notice in advance — our meetings still happen unless rescheduled ahead of time.
I work a bit on weekends, medical leaves and annual leaves. That's my choice — I do not expect you to. Unless a message says URGENT, it can wait until Monday. For truly urgent items I'll call or message you directly outside Teams.
I take vacations. You should too. Disconnected from work is when I do some of my best thinking.
02North star principles
Sometimes we're on high alert and things get strange — usually an existential threat to the product, team or company. My usual people/process/product protocols go secondary to countering it. I'll tell you when we're in this state, with my best guess of how long. If we're constantly in it, something's fundamentally wrong — tell me. I might be too busy to notice I need the reminder.
03Meeting protocol
A meeting, to me, has an agenda or clear purpose, the right attendees, and someone running it to a schedule. If it isn't clear why I'm invited, I'll ask.
Stand-ups need everyone prepared — humming and hawing through your turn wastes everyone's time. They aren't brainstorms.
Send me a deck ahead of time and I'll read it before the meeting, questions ready. If I haven't read it, I'll say so.
If a meeting finishes early, we give the time back. If the goal clearly won't be met in the time left, we stop and figure out how to finish it properly, later.
04Nuance & errata
I'm an introvert, so prolonged exposure to people is genuinely tiring. Meetings of three are ideal, three to eight are fine, past eight I go quiet — don't mistake that for disengagement.
If our 1:1 feels done early, I usually still have a meaty topic or two — that's real work, brainstormed out loud, even if it feels like shooting the breeze.
If something I ask for feels poorly defined, ask me to clarify and to call its importance — I might still be brainstorming, and your question can save a lot of people a lot of time.
Ask assertively, don't tell assertively. "Alson, can you help with X?" lands well. "Alson, do X" doesn't — I've been this way since I was a kid.
I can be hyperbolic, usually because I'm excited, and I swear sometimes. Sorry. I love starting new things and sometimes lose interest once I can see how they'll end, weeks or months before they're done. Working on it.
If I'm on my phone in a meeting for more than thirty seconds, say something — my attention wanders. Opinions stated as facts are a trigger for me, as is gossip for sport; I'll usually jump in on both.
This document is alive and likely incomplete. I update it often and want your feedback on it.
05Tools & accounts
06Team & contacts
07Glossary
There will be more abbreviations, especially when it comes to client systems. Those will be shared with you during onboarding. This list will continue to grow as we go.