#694: Sam Corcos, Co-Founder of Levels — The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Assistants, 10x Delegation, and Winning Freedom by Letting Go (Plus: Creating Leverage with Tools, Systems, and Processes)
The Tim Ferriss Show
Using a User Guide to Improve Working Relationships
Creating a user guide for individuals outlining their temperament, preferences, dislikes, and personality traits can be valuable in improving working relationships and how others perceive them. This guide can offer insights for external parties like contractors and agencies as well. The user guide concept was exemplified through an experience with Dustin Moskowitz, the co-founder of Facebook and Asana, who had a detailed document outlining working with him. This approach can enhance communication, understanding, and collaboration in professional interactions.
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Sam Corcos (@samcorcos) is the CEO and Co-founder of Levels, an a16z-backed startup that shows you how food affects your health using continuous glucose monitors and other biosensors.
Please enjoy!
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[05:08] Delegation implementation and common mistakes.
[11:07] Recommended reading for delegators, delegatees, and all humans.
[13:26] Building a company culture that treats people like adults.
[15:01] Tools for performance and communication accountability.
[20:39] Why Sam considers Loom the “most important” tool in the kit.
[24:18] Friday Forum.
[27:17] Acclimating the recording-averse to Loom.
[30:40] Organizing Loom recordings for later search and use.
[36:35] Common challenges of sourcing and properly utilizing EAs/chiefs of staff.
[43:19] Novelty-seeking and board games.
[44:35] Vetting, pairing, and onboarding EAs and chiefs of staff.
[48:38] News and social media sobriety.
[55:20] Why does new employee onboarding take a month at Levels?
[1:00:59] What most delegators wish they’d known as newbs.
[1:04:57] Loom security and privacy concerns.
[1:08:10] From to-do list to calendar.
[1:13:17] How Sam skips the to-do list entirely.
[1:16:49] General schedule and repeating items.
[1:18:22] Scheduling stress reduction.
[1:21:59] Selecting books and hosting themed salon dinners.
[1:37:03] Calendly and related social hurdles.
[1:38:42] Using email proactively.
[1:41:23] The underrated power of hotkeys and shortcuts.
[1:44:42] Scheduling spontaneity.
[1:48:23] Calendar course correction.
[1:49:59] How Sam utilizes multiple EAs.
[1:51:58] Improvement growth for intermediate delegators.
[1:58:56] The Working with Sam user manual.
[2:04:20] Memo culture over meeting culture.
[2:11:55] Fighting organizational entropy.
[2:14:12] Raised secularly, what does Sam get out of theology?
[2:22:54] The perils of postmodernism.
[2:26:35] Network theory and relationship management.
[2:39:33] The investor-swaying juice cart moment.
[2:41:22] Metabolic health and the Levels mission.
[2:45:29] Who is Levels hiring right now?
[2:46:37] Physical over philosophical minimalism.
[2:51:37] Why Sam has a travel-sized copy of the US Constitution.
[2:55:21] Parting thoughts.
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