What has happened to our conviction?
Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?

– “Totally like whatever, you know?” by Taylor Mali

Another individual I worked with at Duo Security was Zack Urlocker. At the time he was COO. Zack had previously served as COO of Zendesk, an EVP at MySQL, and a VP at Borland.

Side note, Zack always prounced MySQL as “My-Ess-Que-Ell”. After having asked him once he told me that’s what Monty, core author of MySQL, called it. So now that’s how I refer to it.

One of the most poignant Urlocker memories I have was as part of a regular Engineering Leads meeting. He made it a point to attend regularly (I think he did enjoy the team that Chester had assembled although he also used his attendance as a high-leverage way to imbue the culture he desired). I don’t recall the exact topic but Zack was making a point and said:

If we want to be a…No, we want to be a high-performing organization…

That’s it. It was in that moment that I learned two things.

First, words matter. They convey conviction and meaning and power. Did we want to be a high-performing organization? Was that up for debate? The COO was making that clear. We wanted to be one. It also conveyed that he felt we weren’t yet one. We had work to do.

Second, public self-correction is not only something you can do, it in and of itself speaks volumes. Take ownership in the moment for what you’re communicating. Send a message to your team and those around you.

That one moment with Zack fundamentally changed how I communicate out loud. Here are a few areas I find myself publicly, self-correcting.

Gender Biases

We have a candidate coming in for VP of People? When do you interview her?…That’s a gender bias. When do you interview them?

Hey! Where are you guys going?…Where are you all going?

Weasel Words

We might want to fix that bug…Sorry, let me remove the weasel word. We need to fix that.

I could probably…It will be done by tomorrow.

At first I thought it would be awkward to so publicly self-correct. Having seen Zack do so though and the impact it had on me, I started doing it. Funnily, it’s liberating.

I can be clear about what I intended.

I don’t have to correct myself through an email.

I set the tone in the moment, even when I don’t get it right the first time.

People notice even more because it’s not common.

Words matter and they hold power.

Thanks, Zack; I think you like totally may have changed how I communicate.