Setting values helps with aligning a group around a shared vision and big goals. That said, I don’t think the process should take too long — for us, it took maybe 10 minutes. It should reflect your beliefs and how you already operate. Many of these values were learned the hard way, through time and experience.
Company values are also deeply personal to who the founders are as people, and what’s right for one team might not be right for another. I’m sure there are plenty of people who might disagree with our values, but we need to be authentic and reflect our strengths and motivations. In fact, I’d argue if your values are not at least a bit debatable or contrarian, there’s likely no alpha in them.
These are ours:
- Burn the Midnight Oil: Hard work is the bedrock of our company. Effort matters. Inputs matter. Embrace, love, and respect the process and the journey. Stay up late, get it done. Working smart and hard isn’t an either/or choice. Do both.
- Iterate, Adapt, Win: Our resilience in the face of ambiguity, uncertainty, and change is our biggest strength. We live in a dynamic world. Whether we are winning or losing now, if we are flexible in the face of change, then we'll always come out ahead in the long term.
- Day In Day Out: We neither rest on the laurels of our victories nor get demotivated by setbacks. There are no shortcuts or instant gratifications. Show up when things are hard. Especially when things are hard.
- Extensive Excellence: Build excellent products. Be better, even if it takes longer, is more uncertain, and is much harder. Becoming masters of the craft takes time. It’s only with deep expertise that we find the insights that allow us to serve our customers better.
- Action is Information: Never spend time debating something if taking action will teach us more, faster. Almost every decision or path is reversible, but time is the most valuable resource. Standing still is never okay.
- Do Right by Others: Treat others (co-founders, employees, partners, investors, peers) with respect and honesty. Strive to do the right thing, and build a high degree of trust and reputation for high integrity.
What are your values?
