Harley Finkelstein

When he's working on an important project, he'll still go in and write code to make sure that it's done a particular way. So one is I think getting into the weeds is really important at any stage of company. The second is I have a default to action. One of my superpowers is being exothermic. I try to add energy to things. But when I see a problem, my first instinct is to try to solve it.

That works very well in my business. That works less well in my marriage. I mean that. My wife and I have a great relationship. We've been I've said this publicly before, but since getting married 11 years ago, we've been seeing a couples therapist just to kind of help us make sure that we're communicating properly.

That works very well in my business. That works less well in my marriage. I mean that. My wife and I have a great relationship. We've been I've said this publicly before, but since getting married 11 years ago, we've been seeing a couples therapist just to kind of help us make sure that we're communicating properly.

And I think when she comes to me with a problem, her name is Lindsay, when Lindsay comes to me with a problem, my first instinct is to try to solve the problem. Doesn't work great because sometimes she just wants me to commiserate, be empathetic, to just be sympathetic, to say, yeah, that sucks.

And I think when she comes to me with a problem, her name is Lindsay, when Lindsay comes to me with a problem, my first instinct is to try to solve the problem. Doesn't work great because sometimes she just wants me to commiserate, be empathetic, to just be sympathetic, to say, yeah, that sucks.

I don't have that, and that's not great in a marriage perspective, but in a business perspective, default to action really, really does help. The other thing that I think is super helpful is, I mentioned this term earlier, but I'm really an eternal optimist. I think getting things done is important, done is better than perfect, but sloppiness is not acceptable.

I don't have that, and that's not great in a marriage perspective, but in a business perspective, default to action really, really does help. The other thing that I think is super helpful is, I mentioned this term earlier, but I'm really an eternal optimist. I think getting things done is important, done is better than perfect, but sloppiness is not acceptable.

But when I see a problem, I try to figure out what is the best version of the solution for that. I also think that the people you work with on a day-to-day basis, one metaphor that I really love, we use it at Shopify a lot, is the trust battery. This idea that when you begin to work with someone for the very first time, you started a 50% trust battery.

But when I see a problem, I try to figure out what is the best version of the solution for that. I also think that the people you work with on a day-to-day basis, one metaphor that I really love, we use it at Shopify a lot, is the trust battery. This idea that when you begin to work with someone for the very first time, you started a 50% trust battery.

And over time, with consistency and them doing what they say they're going to do and you doing what you say you're going to do, the trust battery goes up and eventually gets to 100%. And when it gets to 100%, that's when you're cruising. That's when you can really jive with someone. You can work so well together because you can rely on them. And that's really important.

And over time, with consistency and them doing what they say they're going to do and you doing what you say you're going to do, the trust battery goes up and eventually gets to 100%. And when it gets to 100%, that's when you're cruising. That's when you can really jive with someone. You can work so well together because you can rely on them. And that's really important.

The flip side is, eventually, if it doesn't go well, the trust battery gets lower and lower and lower. And like an old cell phone that hasn't been charged in two years, eventually it could never be recharged. And so thinking about the metaphor directionally of do I have a full trust battery or not is a good litmus test to ask.

The flip side is, eventually, if it doesn't go well, the trust battery gets lower and lower and lower. And like an old cell phone that hasn't been charged in two years, eventually it could never be recharged. And so thinking about the metaphor directionally of do I have a full trust battery or not is a good litmus test to ask.

And the last thing I'll say is, I mentioned my wife, our family motto with my wife and my children is how you do anything is how you do everything. And to me, that's just a proxy for intentionality. I think that I put as much effort into editing those quarterly earnings scripts or closing a large partnership as I do into writing an email to one of our merchants to say thank you.

And the last thing I'll say is, I mentioned my wife, our family motto with my wife and my children is how you do anything is how you do everything. And to me, that's just a proxy for intentionality. I think that I put as much effort into editing those quarterly earnings scripts or closing a large partnership as I do into writing an email to one of our merchants to say thank you.

I think this idea of being super intense, you don't have to do everything, but the things you do do that are important, being really intentional about... the level of effort and energy you put into it really, really matters. And people see that. People, I don't wear a suit every day, I wear a black t-shirt, but the person who makes my black t-shirts, his name is James Purse.

I think this idea of being super intense, you don't have to do everything, but the things you do do that are important, being really intentional about... the level of effort and energy you put into it really, really matters. And people see that. People, I don't wear a suit every day, I wear a black t-shirt, but the person who makes my black t-shirts, his name is James Purse.

James Purse thinks as much about black t-shirts as Elon Musk thinks about rockets and thinks about lithium ion batteries. There are these people that get so interested in these challenging things. I love that. That inspires me.

James Purse thinks as much about black t-shirts as Elon Musk thinks about rockets and thinks about lithium ion batteries. There are these people that get so interested in these challenging things. I love that. That inspires me.

You'll never really know exactly what number you're at. You're never going to say I'm at 87% or 52, but you can sort of understand directionally. Yeah, the trust battery with this person is going up or it's going down. And if it's going down, it better go up pretty soon. Otherwise, you're going to have a problem.