This Is How We Work
At the Alan Frei Company, we focus on five principles:
1. Transparency and Overcommunication
2. Quality over Quantity
3. No Questions
4. Getting Things Done
5. Ownership
We will explain each of these five principles in more detail and how we apply them in practice.
1. Transparency and Overcommunication
Constant and clear communication is crucial. Here is how we practice overcommunication:
Radical Transparency: We share challenges and wins honestly and transparently with each other. Positive and negative. But always with respect.
Clear Goals: We ensure everyone is always aware of the company’s main growth target. For 2024, the quantitative goal is reaching 10k Newsletter subscribers. Our qualitative goal is to create «Great Stories With Great People.»
Repetition: To keep everyone informed, we frequently repeat important information. Even if we believe something has been communicated sufficiently, we continue to reinforce it.
Feedback Culture: We use 2 modalities to communicate feedback:
Wig-Wib: What is good? What could be better?
PEW: Perception, Effect, Wish. For example:
P «You have been late three times now» (Objective)
E «I feel like you are not taking our meetings seriously» (Subjective)
W «I wish for us to adhere to our meeting times»
2. Quality Over Quantity
Our focus is on producing high-quality work rather than a high volume of work. We prioritize being thorough so that tasks can be handled effectively if revisited or reassigned to someone else on the team. Remember: «Slow is Smooth. Smooth is Fast.»
3. No Questions
This principle pushes for self-reliance and problem-solving, and frees time by reducing unnecessary questions (more details here).
When stuck, follow these steps:
Identify the problem.
Think of 2-3 possible solutions.
Choose the preferred solution and explain your reasoning to the team.
We still encourage seeking support but prefer that possible solutions be considered first.
4. Getting Things Done
We appreciate an action-oriented mindset, which means:
Questioning the necessity and effectiveness of each task before starting. Delete and eliminate as much as possible.
Focusing on completing tasks efficiently to avoid loose ends.
5. Ownership
We cherish responsibility and accountability by:
Taking charge of our areas and tasks
Working in roles we genuinely enjoy
Mistakes happen, and they are learning opportunities. We take accountability for our actions while learning from our experiences.
