We hire ninjas. People who hold the SLOT key — Self Learning, Level Up, Online, Teamwork / Communications — and then work as Centaurs: AI takes the first pass, you take the last pass for taste. Shadstone is a company about creativity and working online to balance lifestyle and quality of work. I’m Mike Michelini, the founder of the company, and I want to walk you through what working at Shadstone is like.
S — Self Learning - We work online with flexible hours and locations. We need to be able to learn new skills and find answers without being spoon-fed. We have SOPs and training videos, with others on the team as helpful resources. We are looking for people who can get through the noise and find the answers.
L — Level Up - Keep growing the skill. When you learn something, update the SOP so the next ninja is faster. Progress is the point.
O — Online - Our culture is built around working online, from anywhere. In exchange for that flexibility, we use the tools the company has invested in so operations stay smooth.
T — Teamwork / Communications - We are open, friendly, and willing to work with a wide range of people on the team. Share updates. Reply clearly. Friendly communication on the tools is how the work actually gets done.
Those four values are SLOT — the key that opens the Shadstone Temple (joining the ninjas). Read the key at jobs.shadstone.com/slot. Once you’re in, the map is training.shadstone.com/temple: you train as a ninja and work as a Centaur — human + AI as one team, stronger than either alone. We are looking for more people who can hold that key.
Our team consists of web creation, content creation, and marketing experts. We are building websites on the current web as well as on the web3 protocols. We are also crafting content in text, video, image, and audio forms. We are working with various partners and clients on building out websites and content that generates impactful traffic and customers for these businesses.
While the tools may come and go, as of the time of this recording at 2021, here’s an overview of the tools we are using:
Slack - For quick and easy chats between team members. We also use Slack to get to know each other and send quick messages. However, this tool is not used for tasks.
The Shadstone Portal - We have a project management and task system to coordinate and keep track of who is involved in which project and team, the assigned tasks and deadlines, and time tracking for reports. This will be your center of work for each day.
Shadstone Handbook - Once you’re a ninja, you get the book: SOPs and video tutorials for the work. It’s private — the company “bible” in the inner sanctum, not a public website. You receive access after you join.
Regarding Work - The system for the majority of our HR matters.
Google Drive, Google Cloud - For documents, spreadsheets, and large files (on google cloud), we use Google Drive and Google Cloud to share folders and files with each other.
Google Apps / Email - We have a Shadstone company email for you to use to access your docs.
Lastpass - For password sharing and management. A safe and secure tool.
We want to keep the day flexible and set a target amount of hours or projects (depending on your contract) for you to work on. We expect you to check in at least once daily (2-3 times daily ideal) on the portal and slack so that no important matters are missed.
Select the task that is most urgent (speak to management if any uncertainty on priorities) and then get rocking! Turn on your time in the portal for that task, and get to it. Review SOPs and videos if you are uncertain - and as our company values says - learn online and update the SOP with more details if you are stuck.
Connect to Slack to coordinate and push the project forward. Let the slack channel you are in know which task you are doing and then send the portal task URL there with an update. These updates could go, “I’m done Mike. Can you check it and provide feedback? > link”. This helps our operations roll smoothly.