There's an interesting point here. How do companies record their precedents? Where do organizations record the decisions they took and why? Seems like it would have many benefits beyond corporate branding. Ray Dalio recommends a similar practice in investment; obsessively recording his decisions and the rationale behind them to feedback and improve strategy.
As far as the company values - I was thinking about the military and creeds. Like the Navy SEALs creed for example. “...I lead by example in all situations. I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies...” Not very light and fluffy. Also - I kind of like the idea of a creed as most creeds talk about values like perseverance, but the creed seems to better apply it in the context of the organization - in this case the SEALs. I also think you can have a successful organization where people bring all sorts of diverse values and motives - you just need to agree on a mission and the values that must be shared to carry out that mission successfully (and accomplish it the right way as far as morals / ethics / legality etc.)
This reminded me of a question you can ask an interviewer during the interviews that gets at the idea of precedents: "Can you describe a situation where the company's values were challenged, and how was it handled?" or an even more direct "Have there been instances where the company's actions contradicted its stated values? How were these conflicts resolved?"
But at the same time I'm sure you can expect a somewhat soft response.
Call me a cynic, but I see corporate values as much more of a marketing exercise than something more genuine. Since 20 or so years ago, the idea that we should “follow our passion” and find meaning in work has taken hold. As a result, all sorts of companies have shifted their pitch to prospective hires, not just startups trying to codify their initial cultural vibe.
For me, values are first and foremost for advertising jobs and keeping current employees engaged. That doesn’t mean they’re never genuine, but as you observe they’re rarely a formal set of principles that a business is run with. Perhaps a bit like folks going to church, sort of believe, but also compromise their beliefs where it is sufficiently expedient to do so?
We make you close your eyes and tell us what flavor sour patch kid you're eating so we can build data visualizations that meticulously track your taste bud performance vs your colleagues--because we like to have fun.
precedents are awesome - and ideally they lay out a trade off you can say with your chest - some random notes i jotted down about values when we started:
### **having a sense of urgency**
- constantly asking "how can we achieve the same outcome with less work"
- prioritizing getting it right over getting it scalable
*tradeoff: when we build something for the first time - we expect duct tape on it. we acknowledge the debt we take on*
### **having drive & aggression**
- winning does matter, and you're always striving for more
- always push for the extra mile, always looking at the next highest peak
*tradeoff: we acknowledge it might cause someone to inflate their achievements, and it comes at the cost of comfort*
There's an interesting point here. How do companies record their precedents? Where do organizations record the decisions they took and why? Seems like it would have many benefits beyond corporate branding. Ray Dalio recommends a similar practice in investment; obsessively recording his decisions and the rationale behind them to feedback and improve strategy.
As far as the company values - I was thinking about the military and creeds. Like the Navy SEALs creed for example. “...I lead by example in all situations. I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies...” Not very light and fluffy. Also - I kind of like the idea of a creed as most creeds talk about values like perseverance, but the creed seems to better apply it in the context of the organization - in this case the SEALs. I also think you can have a successful organization where people bring all sorts of diverse values and motives - you just need to agree on a mission and the values that must be shared to carry out that mission successfully (and accomplish it the right way as far as morals / ethics / legality etc.)
This reminded me of a question you can ask an interviewer during the interviews that gets at the idea of precedents: "Can you describe a situation where the company's values were challenged, and how was it handled?" or an even more direct "Have there been instances where the company's actions contradicted its stated values? How were these conflicts resolved?"
But at the same time I'm sure you can expect a somewhat soft response.
Call me a cynic, but I see corporate values as much more of a marketing exercise than something more genuine. Since 20 or so years ago, the idea that we should “follow our passion” and find meaning in work has taken hold. As a result, all sorts of companies have shifted their pitch to prospective hires, not just startups trying to codify their initial cultural vibe.
For me, values are first and foremost for advertising jobs and keeping current employees engaged. That doesn’t mean they’re never genuine, but as you observe they’re rarely a formal set of principles that a business is run with. Perhaps a bit like folks going to church, sort of believe, but also compromise their beliefs where it is sufficiently expedient to do so?
> Instead of posting and advertising their values, I think we’d all be better served if companies shared precedents.
Tell me about a time when ...
We make you close your eyes and tell us what flavor sour patch kid you're eating so we can build data visualizations that meticulously track your taste bud performance vs your colleagues--because we like to have fun.
precedents are awesome - and ideally they lay out a trade off you can say with your chest - some random notes i jotted down about values when we started:
### **having a sense of urgency**
- constantly asking "how can we achieve the same outcome with less work"
- prioritizing getting it right over getting it scalable
*tradeoff: when we build something for the first time - we expect duct tape on it. we acknowledge the debt we take on*
### **having drive & aggression**
- winning does matter, and you're always striving for more
- always push for the extra mile, always looking at the next highest peak
*tradeoff: we acknowledge it might cause someone to inflate their achievements, and it comes at the cost of comfort*
Footnote 3 made me laugh so hard I choked on my coffee.