Lannie Le

What’s it like working with Khalid?

• When working with Khalid, the final results and outcomes are almost always much better.
• Working with Khalid can be challenging and uncomfortable at times, especially during crunch time, high-pressure or high-stakes situations.
• This is because of Khalid’s directness in communication, coupled with his expectation of teammates to have checked personal egos at the door before entering the professional arena.
• But as described in the first point above, the better results and outcomes are always worth the discomfort.
• Those with ample experience working with Khalid know that the discomfort won’t linger. Because his intensity is never an attack on the person he works with.
• That said, there are also times when working with Khalid is purely enjoyable and not at all challenging.

What should you know when working with Khalid?

Be sure you understand the specific DL (Delegation Level) Khalid is expecting from you. Note that DL varies depending on the task/project/mission at hand. Make sure you ask him to specify if he doesn’t tell you upfront.

Know that Khalid has extremely high standards, which makes him demanding and exacting (and that’s why the outcomes are almost always better).

Know that thoughtful organization is important and valuable to Khalid.

• Be sure to think through how you organize information, files, systems, etc.
• Be sure to pay close attention to visual formatting, which is an effective way to organize information.

You can trust Khalid to be very clear in his communication. He expects clear communication in return.

You can trust Khalid to be open-minded and fair. Even when he sees things differently or disagrees with you, he will ask for and listen to your perspectives and opinions.

• Unless it’s a red alert situation, in which case a decision must be made quickly, with no time to waste.
• In these red alert cases, you must trust Khalid as the captain of the ship to make the right call, based on his gut instincts and the culmination of his life experiences and lessons learned.

After listening to your differing perspectives and opinions, if he agrees with you, he will quickly and openly change his mind, as he has done so many times. Khalid is also fair in his evaluation and decision.

What is his working style?

I recommend you dig into Khalid’s DiSC and Kolbe A assessments to understand his working style. On a high level, I’d describe his working style as logical and analytical. Khalid’s extremely fast in whatever it is that he’s doing.

• He has a knack for typing so fast that there’s a trail of typos.
• He’ll appreciate you cleaning up the typos for him.

What’s his communication style?

• Articulate: clear and concise
• Direct: blunt and straightforward
• Impassionate most of the time, but once in a while, intense

Anything else you believe is important to know before working with Khalid?

Expect Khalid to ask you to send a Contact Report after you meet with him. Remember to take notes when you meet with him, so you don’t scramble after trying to piece together notes from memory, which can be both unreliable and unnecessarily time-consuming.

Because Khalid is the captain of the PD ship, the chief executive, it can be easy for newcomers to put him on a pedestal, but then judge him unfairly when he errs.

• No one is perfect, and everyone errs. Everyone has room to develop, improve, and grow.
• Know that Khalid is constantly looking for ways and actively doing something to improve.
• Also know that he doesn’t lose sleep over some of the things he has accepted about himself.

Trevor Landon

What’s it like working with Khalid?

Immense – if you are a professional and can roll with the punches and get the best out of your time together. There will undoubtedly be learnings on many fronts.

What should you know when working with Khalid?

It’s not for the faint of heart. Step into the dojo and leave your ego at the door. Be hungry, humble and ready.

What is his working style?

Depends on the situation. He can adapt to the circumstances.
Typically: Organized. Structured. Fast-paced. Educational.

What’s his communication style?

Depends on the situation. He can adapt to the circumstances.
Loving and caring when he/or team needs.
Aggressive and blunt when he/or team needs.

Anything else you believe is important to know before working with Khalid?

Don’t be a little b****.

Sarah Eskandarpour

What’s it like working with Khalid?

It’s highly refreshing, intense, and fun.

The degree to which someone appreciates and benefits from working with Khalid correlates with their self-worth and self-awareness. Khalid becomes a foil for those lacking these qualities, the shining light on the shadowy parts of the self they’ve avoided and haven’t yet faced. But those with a solid, healthy sense of self-worth and awareness can handle and appreciate the attention, growth, and challenge that come with having Khalid in their lives, pushing them to be better professionally and personally.

[Khalid, in case this is helpful, below is a longer description of what I’ve observed between you and newcomers. Feel free to include depending on the audience and use case of this commentary.]

I’ve seen many newcomers experience Khalid. After 11 years of working closely together, I’ve noticed some clear patterns:

At first, people may think he’s a bullshitter. That what he says is lip service. I believe this stems from the baggage people bring about what a CEO should be like. They project emotions onto him: anger, discomfort, fear, nervousness, etc, especially after he’s invested time, shared personal stories, and shown the intensity of his care. People don’t always know what to do with it. He’s unconventional, nothing like the run-of-the-mill CEO.

Funnily enough, many actually underestimate him. Khalid is constantly, deeply, and inexhaustibly thinking about the team and the company. Often, people don’t see the depth of care and thought behind his actions.

The wiser newcomers don’t rush to crystallize their opinions of him. The wiser ones see that Khalid celebrates debate and discourse, that no idea is too precious to be challenged. They see that his intensity comes from urgency: time is running out to get to our goals. They see that his stories about childhood, upbringing, and his relationships are his way of humanizing himself and lending credibility to his views, especially for those who, like him when he was younger, need that connection.

The less-wise decide he’s some type of person and continue on without fully appreciating the CEO they have. Much to their demise.

What should you know when working with Khalid?

• Lead with the punchline, then get into context, if needed.
• He holds you accountable for what you’ve committed to.
• He sees you not just as who you are today, but as who you can become, and he’ll do as much as he can to help you get there (to the extent that you’re willing to try).
• Don’t present opinions as facts. If it’s an opinion, say so. He’ll typically ask for proof of any stated position. Good luck if you don’t have any!
• Answer the question he asks, not the one you want to answer.
• He observes, journals, and puts far more care into his actions and thoughts than most people are used to.
• He’s a great leader of people, knowing when to speak up and when to observe.
• He’s allergic to complacency and weakness. Don’t be a lil’ bitch and you’ll be fine.

What is his working style?

• Simple and straightforward
• Process-driven
• Mission-oriented
• Tough but fair
• Respects and appreciates clarity

What’s his communication style?

• Clear, concise. No bullshit.

Anything else you believe is important to know before working with Khalid?

He’ll never fault you for giving anything a good ol’ college try. For doing something new and failing. He loves failure. He celebrates when someone goes all in, takes things into their own hands, and stumbles because that means they tried something and had the courage to put themselves out there.

Jenn Nguyen

What should you know when working with Khalid?

• Khalid is hands-on and deeply involved in PD’s vision and culture. He is our guardian and the driving force behind practices, rituals, and processes that make PD PD.
• You can expect an intense environment where excellence is the baseline. He believes in striving for the impossible and will push you to do so. His presence tends to raise the bar, whether that’s how clean a space is, how thoughtfully a document is formatted, or how deeply a team debates ideas.
• He deeply respects and appreciates his team. While his style is intense, it comes from a place of love and a sense of responsibility to push his team to become the best versions of themselves.
• Khalid shows up fully as himself, unfiltered, and he expects others to do the same.

What is his working style?

Khalid’s working style can be described as:

• Extreme ownership: He believes accountability rolls up to the CEO and leaders. He takes extreme responsibility for the team’s successes and failures and expects his leaders to do the same for their domains.
• Do what it takes: He believes in sweating the small stuff. He is willing to roll up his sleeves when needed, whether reorganizing an office late into the night or setting up formatting standards for documents.
• Every moment is a learning opportunity: Khalid sees every experience as an opportunity to learn and improve. He will ask for your reflections, so be ready to think deeper and articulate your thinking.
• Decisive and action-oriented: He values momentum and is not afraid to make quick, bold decisions, especially when it comes to hiring or strategic bets for PD’s growth. He’d prefer to try and “fail fantastically”.
• Data-driven yet honouring intuition: He values data and clear reporting when making business decisions. However, he also trusts his gut and is willing to fly blind when necessary.

What’s his communication style?

Khalid is a direct and unfiltered communicator. You will always know where you stand with him.

• Clarity: He values sharp and purposeful communication. Be concise, structured, and avoid vagueness.
• Direct: He shows up as himself, and when he feels a sense of urgency, his empathy can give way to directness. He will tell you directly if he disagrees with your approach.
• Proactive: He values being kept in the loop and does not appreciate when important information isn’t surfaced proactively. He expects bad news to be delivered as soon as possible.
• Big-picture driven: He communicates the bigger picture, whether it’s the long-term vision for the company or the importance of personal dreams.
• Debate: He encourages open debates, but they must be backed by reasoning.
• Light-hearted: Alongside his intensity, he uses humour and can be informal. He’s been known to make offside jokes and appreciates when people are warm, bubbly, and “grimy” all at the same time.

Anything else you believe is important to know before working with Khalid?

• Growing is non-negotiable: He believes that to uphold the company’s core values and to become your best self, you must be an “eternal student of life.”
• He sees PD as a place where you can achieve your personal and professional dreams, as long as you continue growing and stay engaged in your journey.
• Leadership is serving: He views leadership not as a position of authority, but as one of service to the team and the company.
• Culture requires intentionality: He believes a great culture doesn’t happen by accident. It must be designed and cultivated like a garden. He expects every team member to contribute to and uphold the company’s unique culture.

In short:
Expect intensity, discipline, and high standards (you’ll feel the heat!) He will challenge you, often uncomfortably, but always with the goal of making you, and PD, better.