Working With Me

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Savoy Companies · Executive TeamAugust 2026
The Readout

Working With Me

Eleven pages. Ten surveys. Six questions. One team.
Familiarity beats talent. Trust is speed.

Seth Bame & Barrett Linburg, Co-CEOs45 minutes
Why we did this3 min

The strongest teams know each other cold. After ten years together we should finish each other's sentences.

Everyone wrote a page. Six questions. Nobody saw anyone else's.
Then a gut-check survey. No looking back at your page.
Today: the two side by side. Names on everything. A user manual, not a review.
The rule: react to what surprised you. Where survey and page disagree, the survey is the truth.
Warm-up · Who said it?5 min

Who wrote this? One from each of you. Three at a time. Guess, then tap.

"Obviously I don't think I have any flaws, but I know I do."
Tap to reveal
Seth
"If you don't see me, I may be underwater or close to it."
Tap to reveal
Marc
"I'd rather be caught than finish the wrong thing beautifully."
Tap to reveal
Amber
"When the workload gets heavy, I really don't look any different. I simply figure out a way to get things done."
Tap to reveal
Clay
"I don't naturally like being told no. That's exactly why I need people around me who will do it."
Tap to reveal
Barrett
"Once I'm double-checking your work, we have a different relationship, and it's slow to undo."
Tap to reveal
Tyler
"I do not broadcast stress, so you may not see it coming."
Tap to reveal
Jeff
"I don't blow up. I go quiet and pull inward."
Tap to reveal
Brian
"A timely reminder is helpful, not intrusive."
Tap to reveal
Jeremy
"When I'm buried, I close my door. It isn't personal."
Tap to reveal
Bradley
"If it comes wrapped in sarcasm or avoidance, it won't land well."
Tap to reveal
Lisa
The room, split · 1 of 53 min

How we decide

Decide fast, adjust laterWhat the pages said

SethBarrettTylerClayMarcLisa
Tyler: "80/20 is my default setting."

Gather first, commit onceWhat the pages said

BrianBradleyJeffAmberJeremy
Jeff: "I will not be rushed into a call I cannot stand behind."
Survey says
Only 3 of 10 kept "move fast": Seth, Lisa, Chris.
Clay and Marc flipped. Pages said fast. Gut said gather.
8 of 10 speed up the moment they hear "this is reversible."
The page is who we present. The survey is who we are.
The room, split · 2 of 52 min

What to walk in with

Bring me your answerFinished thinking. Numbers. The ask.

SethBarrettTylerBradleyJeffJeremyLisaBrianClay
Bradley: "Don't hand me a problem and wait for me to solve it for you."

Bring me in earlyHalf-formed beats finished

AmberMarc
Amber: "I'd rather be in early on a half-formed idea than clean up a finished one."
Survey says
The pages: 9 of 11 demanded finished work.
The survey flipped it. Next slide.
The survey's biggest finding3 min
Nobody saw anyone else's answers

7 of 10 want it early.
7 of 10 deliver it finished.

Want it early: Amber, Brian, Clay, Jeff, Jeremy, Lisa, Marc
Deliver it finished: Bradley, Clay, Jeff, Jeremy, Lisa, Marc, Seth
Doing both: Clay, Jeff, Jeremy, Lisa, Marc
Still want it finished: Seth, Bradley, Chris, Barrett — know your door
We are over-preparing for each other.
Half-formed on Wednesday beats perfect on Friday. Agree?
The room, split · 3 of 54 min

When we're underwater, what do people see?

You'll see it and hear itVisible stress, asks for help

Nobody

I go quietShorter replies, closed door, no change at all

SethBarrettTylerClayBrianMarcBradleyLisaJeffAmberJeremy
11 of 11 go quiet. Survey: 8 of 10 said the next office can't tell.
Silence is our only status signal. And we all agreed to respect it.
Every stalled item we chase each month is this slide in action.
Everybody has the same problem. Let's fix it.
The room, split · 4 of 53 min

When you're buried, what do you want from us?

Give me spaceProtect my focus. Batch it. Don't knock.

BradleyLisaMarcTylerBrianBarrett
Marc: "Leave me alone. I'll solve it."

Come get meAsk me directly. Remind me. Cut my list.

JeffJeremySethAmberClay
Jeff: "If you are not sure where I am, ask me directly."
Survey says
7 of 10 picked space. 3 picked come get me: Chris, Clay, Jeremy.
9 of 10 will take the opposite when their way isn't working. The one No: Seth. He knows.
Exercise · 60 seconds
Say out loud the name of the person in this room you work with most.
Find their chip. If they're on the other side from you, your instinct for helping them is wrong.
Rescue people their way, not your way.
The teach4 min

Throwing life preservers

We are wired quiet. Culture Index reads this whole room as reserved. A system has to carry the signal, because willpower won't.
Silence reads as progress. It isn't. Jeff: "that is when mistakes slip in."
The three moves
1 · Water line. Put a color in your weekly update: green, yellow, or red.
2 · Flare. One sentence, before the deadline: "I'm underwater on X. Y is at risk."
3 · Rescue. Answer a flare using the last slide: space people get scope cut, no meeting. Come-get-me people get a knock on the door.
A life preserver is never an insult here.
You already voted for this: 9 of 10 said poke the quiet teammate.
The room, split · 5 of 5 · Culture Index3 min

Hard feedback: what comes back, and why

SparksPushback and questions. That's processing.

SethBarrettTylerAmberJeremyMarc
Culture Index · Ingenuity
TylerExtreme
Seth · Barrett · Amber · MarcHigh
JeremyModerate

QuietIt lands, then it processes. Give it a beat.

BrianBradleyJeffLisaClay
Culture Index · Ingenuity
ClayModerate
Brian · Bradley · LisaTraditional
JeffLow
What Culture Index teaches
High-Ingenuity wiring argues out loud. Traditional wiring checks quietly.
So sparks are processing, not aggression. And quiet is processing, not agreement.
All 11 pages agree on the delivery: direct, specific, private. No sandwiches.
Talking points · 1 of 42 min
Amber's page

"If you've got a problem with how IT works, I want it first, not fifth."

The point
Complaints should go to the owner first. Every domain, not just IT.
Survey: 8 of 10 say they already do this. Chris and Lisa honestly said they don't.
Ask the room: if 8 of us go direct, why do fifth-hand complaints still exist?
Talking points · 2 of 43 min
Jeremy's page

"New ideas on top of half-finished work creates prioritization distrust."

The point
4 of 10 could not name their #1 priority: Amber, Brian, Jeff, Lisa.
All four serve every division at once. The blur is worst in shared services.
Priority confusion is not a them problem. It's a Co-CEO output.
Do it now: Seth and Barrett say each of the four's #1 out loud. One sentence each.
Talking points · 3 of 42 min
Marc's page, seconded by Jeff and Lisa

"What loses my trust: cheap talk, and silence after I deliver."

The point
Three pages flagged recognition on their own. Jeff: "encourage out loud." Lisa: "praise strong performance."
Work that gets silence reads as "it didn't matter."
Decide: where does recognition live day to day? Motivosity is dead.
Talking points · 4 of 42 min
Seth's page · Barrett's page

"My guess is some of you would say 'it's Seth's company, you learn to live with his way.'"

The point
Both Co-CEOs put it in writing. Barrett: "I don't naturally like being told no. That's exactly why I need people who will."
That's standing permission to push back. On the record, from both of us.
Ask the room: is Seth right? One sentence each. No rebuttals from the front.
Two patterns · 1 of 22 min

Silence is not progress

All 11 of us go quiet under load. 8 of 10 confirmed: nobody can tell.
So stalled work never announces itself. It just stops coming up.
The fix is not more interruptions. It's status that shows without anyone raising a hand: OKRs current in SOS, water lines, flares, scheduled check-ins.
New team rule of thumb: if it isn't visible in SOS, assume it's stuck — not fine.
Two patterns · 2 of 22 min

We all said it: "I hold on to too much"

Tyler"building the bench instead of being the bench"
Brian · Jeff"delegating the detail instead of carrying all of it myself"
Bradley"my instinct is to do everything myself"
Jeremy · Barrett"delegating outcomes, not methods"
Marc"building the team... room to do the work I'm built for"
Seth"letting people empower themselves to make decisions"
The point
Eight of eleven wrote the same growth item, independently, nearly word for word.
The bench below this room is the constraint on next year. Delegating IS building it.
One word2 min

This team under pressure, in your words

FocusedBrian · Jeff · Amber CalmJeremy CommittedClay ResilientLisa SuperchargedSeth "I wanna go FAST!"Chris SiloedMarc
Nine words describe strength. One describes a wall.
Pairs · Work session7 min

Pick one real thing. Change how you run it.

1 · Open the packet to your partner's page. Pick one line. Read it to them: "this is the one I'll act on."
2 · Name one live priority you two share right now. Real work, this month.
3 · Agree the specific change: who does what differently, starting when. It becomes an SOS task.
Marc + Amber
The two "bring me in early" answers. Brand runs on the systems Amber builds.
Chris + Barrett
Capital formation is a two-man raise right now. Align the pipeline.
Seth + Lisa
HR runs through Seth daily. Her formula (outcome, priority, deadline) meets his queue.
Jeff + Bradley
GC meets development. Every handoff between you two is a draw, a budget, or a schedule.
Jeremy + Tyler
Opposite feedback wiring: quiet meets sparks. And equity reports on what renovation builds.
Clay + Brian
PM operations and the money that reports on it. Month-end runs through both of you.
Decide before we stand up3 min

You already pre-voted our new habit. It's close.

4 votes · Say "reversible" or "permanent" up front. Brian, Chris, Clay, Marc. Free, and 8 of 10 said it speeds them up.
3 votes · Standing check-ins on at-risk items. Amber, Bradley, Lisa. The fix for the silence problem.
3 votes · Friday recap: commitments, owners, deadlines. Seth, Jeff, Jeremy. Jeremy's page begged for it.
Tyler's vote is still out. He can break a tie live.
Adopt the vocabulary today — it's free. Then debate check-ins vs. recap and pick one.
If it isn't a task in SOS, it doesn't exist. The task gets created before anyone stands up.
Close
Silence is not progress. Flare early.
Bring it half-formed. Bring it to the owner first.
Build the bench. It's the constraint on next year.

Ride for the brand.

Working With Me pages live in the vault · 15-People/Working-With-MeSavoy Companies