The Value of Values

As a leader of a company, there’s great value in establishing the values and principles under which the companies should operate. It’s a North Star for how we will reach your goals. The specificity can vary, based on the needs and size of the company - there is no magic formula.

Following is a message I sent to one of my teams, when we were in the early of days of building our business. It’s deliberately high level, and avoids the specific matters that we were addressing at the time.

It's natural for a startup to have highs and lows, victories and defeats; it will be exciting and frustrating and rewarding. As we experience those ups and downs, it's important that we not only do the right work, but we work the right way. In that regard, consider the following principles non-negotiable. They must be true today, in six months, and in ten years. 

We are accountable and ethical. We are consistently accountable to each other, to our customers, and to the military families and veterans we serve. We maintain a high ethical standard in the decisions we make and the actions we take.

We are direct but respectful. When we have issues, they're discussed in a professional and constructive way. We encourage openness and don't undermine one another behind closed doors. We're willing to have hard and honest conversations.

We encourage debate but act as a team. We will disagree along the path to important decisions, but once those decisions are made, we work collaboratively to execute.

We have urgency in our days and patience in our years. It's only through daily execution that we earn the right to be deliberate in achieving long term goals. Some days are better than others, but we stay focused and resilient.

To be the kind of company I know it can be, we must stay true to these principles. Thank you for your continued hard work, and your commitment to our customers, and each other.