.svg)
COMMIT TO WILD SUCCESS.
Being good, or even great, isn’t what we’re here to do. Eat, sleep, and breathe the vision. Feel its weight and let it fuel you. Know where the team’s headed, why, and the role you play in making it happen. Know what matters and what doesn’t. If you don’t know, take ownership and seek clarification. Do what matters, ignore everything else.
ADORE PROBLEM-SOLVING.
Excitedly run towards all challenges. Attack with speed and enthusiasm. Solve problems in a way that prevents them from happening again. Share your learning with the rest of the team. Let’s get it!
HUSTLE.
Self-select into the start-up hustle. Do a lot with a little. Approach hard situations with passion, excitement, and energy. Be committed to doing whatever it takes to make the company successful. Understand the urgency and move quickly to achieve success. Love the fact that this isn’t your average 9 to 5.
DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU’RE GOING TO DO.
Commit to doing something and follow-through with it. Whether for a customer, teammate, or yourself, make it happen. If you determine it can’t be done, communicate ASAP so the team can pivot.
BE RADICALLY DIFFERENT AND RADICALLY BETTER.
Give your customers and teammates the most extraordinary, highest quality experience they have ever received. Ever. Don’t settle for what’s been done before. Take everything you do to the next level. Be creative. Innovate. Take risks. Be SO good that your customers and vendors want to poach you. When you are completely satisfied with your results, think, “What can I do to make this even BETTER?”
BRING LEVITY.
There is no reason why you can’t have some F.U.N while you G.S.D (get stuff done)! The work we do is hard, and that’s why we love it. Smile. Laugh together. Enjoy the incredibly unique and amazing people you are surrounded by each day. Bring your authenticity and humor, especially when you’re in the trenches taking grenades. Keep it lighthearted and enjoy the ride!
VALUE RESULTS AND RELATIONSHIPS.
Get to know people on a personal level. Take time to learn their motivations, goals, challenges, and strengths. Ask questions, seek to understand their diverse perspective and how they approach situations. Show you care by asking the simple question “how are you doing today?” before diving into the task at hand. Focus on connection - it will lead to greater productivity and execution.
BE ON IT.
Don’t wait to be told what to do - have a keen sense of priority, take action, and create value for the company. Be creative and generate ideas that move the company forward. Hunt for problems and be intrinsically accountable to solve them. Make decisions with speed and confidence. Gather diverse input as part of the decision-making process, but don’t wait for consensus. Trust your gut. Do the things that matter, and nothing else.
BE THE BEST, ALWAYS.
Expect excellence from yourself and those around you. Hold people accountable, and appreciate them holding you accountable. Bring your best, even when you’re tired or overwhelmed. Be 100% committed to your team, your customer, your students and the mission. Refuse mediocrity to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
LEAVE YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR.
Remove “that's not my job” from your vocabulary. Be enthusiastic about pitching in, wherever and whenever needed, in order to move the company forward. Your words and behaviors matter. Take a deep breath and make sure your ego and energy are in check before entering a conversation.
HAVE THE HARD CONVERSATIONS.
Not every conversation will be easy. Be courageous, say what needs to be said, but do so with respect and kindness. Don’t just sit back and let things happen, step up, be proactive and do the right thing, even when it feels uncomfortable.
MOVE QUICKLY AND WITH PURPOSE.
There’s a lot to be done, and a big mission to achieve. Be decisive and take action to move quickly. Enjoy the speed - let it excite you. Analyze and eliminate the roadblocks that hold you back. Focus on rapid movement in all areas of the business, but remember, pace never trumps quality. Know when you can speed things up, and when you need to take it slower. Look around - make sure you’re not moving quickly alone, or in the wrong direction. Take the team with you. Have a healthy dose of urgency.
DISAGREE AND COMMIT.
Be empowering, open, honest, and candid in the decision-making process. But when a decision is made, sincerely commit to its implementation. Don’t take it as a personal attack. Say “I disagree, and commit, and will do what I can to make it successful.” Trust your gut, but also trust your team’s.
GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE.
Invite discomfort into your life and see it as the key to learning, growth, and becoming the best version of yourself. Try things you haven’t tried before and do things that don’t necessarily come easy to you. Get excited when someone asks you to do something you haven’t done before. When you perceive discomfort, think ‘opportunity’. When you feel discomfort, think ‘I’m growing’.
TAKE RISKS.
Be bold in pursuit of the mission. Put yourself out there and experience the opportunities that come from living outside of your comfort zone. Don’t let the fear of making a mistake hold you back. Create an inclusive space for yourself, and others, to experiment, learn, fail, and grow together.
DO HARD THINGS, TOGETHER.
When your team is struggling, volunteer your assistance. When someone asks for help, give it generously. Don’t throw teammates under the bus, point fingers, or embarrass them. Recognize that the differences of the team are what make it stronger. Actively embrace diverse viewpoints. Empower others to speak up. Be proactive in building relationships with personalized, meaningful connections. Indulge in the rush you get from doing hard things, together.
THINK AND ACT LIKE AN OWNER.
Regardless of what your actual role or title in the organization is, choose to behave as if at the end of the day, you are responsible for the success of the team and the company. Take ownership over what you see, hear, and do: this includes projects, objectives, customer satisfaction, team morale - everything. Get in the habit of asking yourself: “Knowing what I know now, if I were the owner, what would I do?” Let the answer guide your actions.
LOOK AROUND CORNERS.
When asked to do something, don’t just dive in with blinders on. Step back - take time to think holistically about what challenges or opportunities could present themselves. Report back with the solution, why it’s the right call, and your thought process. Be proactive by calling attention to issues or potential issues before a mistake might be made. Instead of putting out fires, work to prevent them.
ACTIVELY SEEK DIVERSE FEEDBACK AND INPUT.
Hold each other accountable to seek input from people across a wide variety of backgrounds. The more diversity of experience and perspective, the more innovative and wide-reaching our product will be. Know that when you receive feedback, it’s because the other person believes in and wants the best for you. You give feedback when you care. If you don't care, why take the time to give it? Don’t fear negative feedback - fear silence. Shift your perspective on feedback, actively seek it out (both positive and constructive) from your team, and receive it with gratitude and grace.
WOW THE STAKEHOLDER.
Connect and form true relationships with the stakeholder (read: our customers). Take every opportunity to go the extra mile and always over-deliver. Ask them what they need and listen empathetically. If you don’t have the answer, say so, and quickly go find it. Their success is your success. Help them in every way possible. Take care of them with speed and compassion. Make the client say, “Wow! I have never seen a company so ON IT!”
NEVER BE SATISFIED.
Be hungry for growth and forward movement. Passionately and enthusiastically take on new challenges. Let the thrill of learning trump your fear of failure. Choose to have a growth mindset: value life-long learning and continuous improvement. Continually think outside the box. Be unapologetic in your endless desire for MORE and BETTER.
SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
Share your knowledge openly and selflessly. Collaborate cross-functionally and help elevate your team’s skills. Don’t just communicate what you do, communicate WHY you do it and WHY it’s important for the future of the company.
COMMUNICATE CLEARLY.
Communicate in a way that moves the project and company forward. Don’t just talk at people - help them to understand your idea and what action needs to be taken. Set clear expectations and over-communicate them. Recognize the different ways everyone contributes to the conversation and ensure all voices are heard. Ask specifically for what you need to be successful. When someone asks for clarification, be generous in your communication until understanding is reached. Remember: clear is kind, unclear is unkind.
GET GRITTY.
Have a true passion and perseverance to make our vision and mission a reality. Take challenges head on and crush them. Be unphased by the difficult task at hand. Know you got it. Trust that your team has it. Feel in your bones that this journey will be hard, but so worth it. Be motivated by creating a better future for all.
ALIGN ON WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE.
Be as specific as possible, as soon as possible, on defining success. Get clear about how success is measured and communicate that to the other team members. Make sure everyone understands. Tie success to the bigger picture of the vision and mission of equal access to education for all students.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TO BUILD TRUST.
Trust must exist for success to be achieved. Trust that everyone will show up everyday to do what’s best for the company. If you don’t trust an idea, an approach, or a teammate - selfreflect, first. What needs to happen for you to have trust? Communicate this clearly. If you’ve broken trust, realize it’s not about your intention - it’s about their experience. Apologize, & ask what can be done to rebuild trust. Take responsibility to rebuild it.
BE INCLUSIVE.
It’s not enough to be invited to have a seat at the table - everyone should feel COMFORTABLE sitting at the table. Promote allyship & create a safe space where everyone feels included, valued & has a sense of belonging. Recognize, compliment, & celebrate people for who they are & appreciate that the differences of the team are what make it stronger.
