Company values at SnapStream
Wednesday, August 31st, 2005 at 6:42 pm by rkuo
One of the things we recently did here at SnapStream is codify a set of company values for the entire team. As Jack Welch puts it…”So much hot air about something so real.” I’d venture to say what Jack meant by that is that a lot of companies have values, but fail to make them *real* to their employees. Instead, by inaction they basically opt for equating their values to pithy sayings posted in the hallway.
We’ve had these values for a while in each employee, of course. Writing them down, figuring out what the real core of each value was, and making those values conscious, visible and actionable for all of our employees was the next step for the company.
The trick isn’t really in the writing down of these values themselves, as I’ve found out. Although, don’t get me wrong, that certainly took some time. It’s the process itself…involving people, embedding the knowledge of the values into the company culture, and translating the values into constant action that is the tricky part.
So without further ado, I thought it might be interesting for SnapStream enthusiasts to know what our values here at SnapStream are:
1. Only hire passionate, disciplined, and intelligent people. People are our most important asset.
2. Put a human face on the company.
3. Invest in infrastructure that allows us to get more done with less.
4. Cut waste and inefficiency relentlessly. Leaner and simpler is better.
5. Embrace and effect positive change, rather than looking for reasons not to change.
6. Never stop learning. Seize opportunities to improve yourself and the team.
7. Work together and cooperate to achieve our goals. Tear down any walls that form in the company.
8. Follow up on everything. Ask what the next action is, write it down, and follow up on your next actions.
9. Take the customer’s perspective constantly. Measure the company against the customer’s standard of quality and not just your own.
10. Look for the unexpected angles that will make customers remember us.
11. Make the company a leader. Favor directions that uniquely differentiate us from “regular� companies.
I could write an essay on each of the values…but I’m going to leave it at that for the moment.
Like I said earlier, everyone has to work and think constantly to make sure these values translate into real results. And by real, I mean changes that our customers can see. I and the others here have spent a lot of time working to create these values, and I’m spending more time this week checking up with everyone, getting feedback, and encouraging open thinking about how we can apply our values to our daily work. But I can see hints of change already, so I’m sure the effort will be worth it!
One of the things we recently did here at SnapStream is codify a set of company values for the entire team. As Jack Welch puts it…”So much hot air about something so real.” I’d venture to say what Jack meant by that is that a lot of companies have values, but fail to make them *real* to their employees. Instead, by inaction they basically opt for equating their values to pithy sayings posted in the hallway.
We’ve had these values for a while in each employee, of course. Writing them down, figuring out what the real core of each value was, and making those values conscious, visible and actionable for all of our employees was the next step for the company.
The trick isn’t really in the writing down of these values themselves, as I’ve found out. Although, don’t get me wrong, that certainly took some time. It’s the process itself…involving people, embedding the knowledge of the values into the company culture, and translating the values into constant action that is the tricky part.
So without further ado, I thought it might be interesting for SnapStream enthusiasts to know what our values here at SnapStream are:
1. Only hire passionate, disciplined, and intelligent people. People are our most important asset.
2. Put a human face on the company.
3. Invest in infrastructure that allows us to get more done with less.
4. Cut waste and inefficiency relentlessly. Leaner and simpler is better.
5. Embrace and effect positive change, rather than looking for reasons not to change.
6. Never stop learning. Seize opportunities to improve yourself and the team.
7. Work together and cooperate to achieve our goals. Tear down any walls that form in the company.
8. Follow up on everything. Ask what the next action is, write it down, and follow up on your next actions.
9. Take the customer’s perspective constantly. Measure the company against the customer’s standard of quality and not just your own.
10. Look for the unexpected angles that will make customers remember us.
11. Make the company a leader. Favor directions that uniquely differentiate us from “regular� companies.
I could write an essay on each of the values…but I’m going to leave it at that for the moment.
Like I said earlier, everyone has to work and think constantly to make sure these values translate into real results. And by real, I mean changes that our customers can see. I and the others here have spent a lot of time working to create these values, and I’m spending more time this week checking up with everyone, getting feedback, and encouraging open thinking about how we can apply our values to our daily work. But I can see hints of change already, so I’m sure the effort will be worth it!
