Simplicity

Complexity and simplicity are two sides of the same coin. Often, simplicity shrouds complexity because sometimes complexity is necessary. Simple does not necessarily mean easy, and complex doesn't necessarily mean confusing. That said, for me, simplicity means that I care about reduction of the unnecessary and the careful curation of what's truly important, in order to make space for meaningful work and priorities.

As an example, in today's modern world we are completely inundated with data, noise, information, notifications and the demand for our attention and time is unparalleled. It's becoming extremely hard to make decisions due to the infinite things we have to choose from so it's becoming necessary to curate and reduce the things that distract you in order to make good decisions and set healthy boundaries for yourself.

Authenticity

When I considered this value of mine, I had a few different words bouncing around my mind, namely honesty, transparency and directness — all of which are things that deeply matter to me. But, none felt like they truly covered what I fully valued and I realised that they all sort of roll up into one word... "authenticity".

What does it mean to be authentic? Well, to me, it means to be true to yourself. To be unapologetic about who you are, your morals and to stand up for what you believe to be right (and do it with kindness for others), to be vulnerable and open with your heart, to be transparent in your work and to be honest with yourself and others. Authenticity means that what you see is what you get with me. I don't play games, I don't lie, I don't cheat and I will always be real with you, even if it's uncomfortable.

Community

Similarly to authenticity, a few things roll up into community for me: collaboration, empathy, scalability, ethics, accessibility, diversity and inclusion. You have to consider how your actions affect others, both currently and later down the line as your community gets bigger.

You may remember how to do something and that's okay if there's just you and one other person on your team but what about when there's ten of you, or fifty, or a thousand? Making a change to something may work for you but how will that impact everyone else who uses it? How do your actions and decisions affect others from different backgrounds and cultures who may not speak your language or look like you or have the same abilities and privileges as you?

I have worked closely with many open source communities for the last decade of my career and I truly believe that to build a strong culture, a tight community, you have to think bigger than yourself.