Chappy's POMChappy's Personal Operating Manual

A guide to how I work, communicate, and collaborate

chappyasel.com·Last updated January 2026

My 30-Second Introduction

My career has always been about building to tackle bigger and bigger challenges.
After teaching myself to code at 12, I started with technical problems – building chart-topping consumer apps at first, then the Vision Pro and Apple Intelligence at Apple.
But my college research into the technological singularity revealed my real mission: how we upgrade our society and institutions as progress accelerates.
Now, as a philosopher-builder, I'm tackling that by leading The AI Collective – a global non-profit movement of pioneers on the frontier of AI, building the social infrastructure for our shared future.

My Personal Mission Statement

To be a loving, trustworthy, and inspiring leader committed to creating an environment of passion. To put the best interests of myself and the ones I love above all else. To be respected and well-regarded amongst all who know me. To be a rational, agentic, T-shaped, systems thinker committed to lifelong learning and growth with relentless ambition. To always keep the long-term in mind while also smelling the roses. To value the experiential over the material and high peaks over sustained happiness. To strive for superior physical, mental, and social health. To have a long-lasting positive impact on society by creating and empowering others to self-actualize. To make a dent in the universe.

The Golden Rule of Working With Me

My trust in you is directly proportional to your agency in decisions, your accountability in results, and your candor in communication.

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How We Collaborate

8. My Time & Availability

Working hours: I am effectively always working (usually 80-100 h/w 😅), but my core, most responsive hours are 9am - 7pm PT. You can expect me to be highly engaged during this window. (Curious? Check out Chappy’s Core Daily Routine)
Weekends: My mornings before 9am, as well as Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, are my protected deep work blocks (eg. coding, writing, researching, strategy). I will be slow to respond during these blocks. I work intensely on weekends, but I cherish this time for uninterrupted, creative deep work. Please respect this by avoiding non-urgent requests.

9. Meetings

Philosophy: I believe meetings are for two things: 1) high-bandwidth debate to solve a hard problem, and 2) efficient, team-wide status updates and alignment.
Expectations:
- Come on time & prepared: I expect the meeting leader to arrive on time and with a clear, written agenda.
- Active participation: I expect everyone on the call to be engaged and to contribute. The meeting leader is responsible for creating and facilitating these conditions.
- Pre-reads: A pre-read the night before is a gift to everyone in the meeting. It's by no means required, but it is always appreciated and allows us to use our synchronous time for the highest-value discussions.

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Communication

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Note on my response time: I am juggling a very high volume of open lines (often 100+ at a time). While I will see your message, it may occasionally take me 3-7 days to respond to non-urgent pings. Please do not take this personally; it is a function of my system for managing focus. If you need a faster response, read on!

10. My Communication Principles

Async-first: I believe the best work happens in long, uninterrupted blocks of focus. For any complex topic, my strong preference is to start with a written, well-structured document (like a Notion or Google Doc). This allows me to engage with your ideas deeply on my own schedule and it forces clarity of thought for everyone involved.
High signal-to-noise ratio: Be concise. Use bullet points. Get to the point quickly and put your recommendation or key question at the very top. I trust you've done the deep thinking; you don't need to show all your work in the initial message. Minimal ChatGPT fluff please!
Context is your responsibility: Before you ask for my input, ask yourself: "Does Chappy have all the context he needs to make a decision on this in under two minutes?" If no, provide the necessary background links or a one-sentence summary. Reducing friction for me is the fastest way to get a response.
Default to transparency: Whenever possible, our communications should happen in shared, public channels within the team. This reduces redundant conversations, creates a shared context, and allows others to learn and contribute.

11. The Right Channel for the Job

For non-urgent, day-to-day comms & FYIs: Use the appropriate public Slack channel. If you need my specific input, you must @ me or I will likely miss it. I am in over 100 channels and rely on mentions to filter what's important.
To get my input on a document: Share a Notion or Google Doc with me and @ me in a specific channel with a clear question and your recommendation. This ensures it hits my radar.
To pitch me a new, big idea: Write a concise, one-page document outlining: 1) the problem, 2) the proposed solution, and 3) a concrete first step. Share this with me via Slack.
For an urgent, time-sensitive issue (≤ 3 hours): Send me a text message prefixed with "URGENT:". This will get my immediate attention. My phone # is included in my email signature and on my Slack profile.

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Feedback

12. How to Give Me Feedback

I am running a thousand miles an hour and have multiple blind spots. I consider it a core part of your job to help me see them. Your honest perspective is a gift that helps me, and the entire mission, get better.

The golden rule: I deeply value feedback that is well-reasoned, specific, and delivered with the clear intent of improving our mission. You will always be rewarded for courage and candor, and using the method above will ensure your feedback lands with maximum impact.

13. How I Give Feedback

My philosophy: (from Radical Candor)
- My goal is always to care personally while challenging directly. My feedback is never personal; it is an investment in your growth because I believe in your potential and I want you, and the team, to succeed at the highest level.
How I recognize great work
- I believe that recognition is a critical part of a high-performance culture. My goal is to ensure you feel seen and valued for your contributions.
- How I show it:
  - Succinct public praise: I frequently give public praise for specific, excellent work, especially in our Slack channels or team meetings. My style is often succinct and direct, but it is a sincere acknowledgment of a job well done.
  - Trust and autonomy: The single greatest way I show my respect for your work is by giving you more of it. When you consistently deliver with excellence, I will respond by giving you more ownership, more freedom, and bigger, more interesting problems to solve.
  - Advocacy: I will champion you and your work in the rooms you are not in. I will use my network and my platform to create opportunities for you and to ensure your contributions are recognized by the people who matter.

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Hobbies

I have two hobbies and I take both of them very seriously!

Bodybuilding (Natural)

Outside of tech, I live a second life as a natural bodybuilder! I’ve trained with intent and intensity for 8+ years and occasionally compete in the INBF/WNBF natural federations. I track every set, iterate my programming, and measure what matters – I even built my own app to systematize progress! One reason I love lifting is the objective daily affirmation: I walk in, hit a PR, and know definitely that I’m the best I’ve ever been!

Weightlifting App: my app for tracking and analyzing workouts
“From Nerd to Bodybuilder” (article): the story linking my tech mindset to lifting
@boyswithgains (fitness Instagram): progress logs, training clips, show prep, etc.

Reading

I am a bibliomaniac. I read 50-100 books a year, and much of my personal and professional philosophy is a synthesis of frameworks from thinkers I deeply respect. If you want to understand the "why" behind how I operate, these books are the source material!

Read my full compendium of book notes here: https://books.chappyasel.com/