Our Values Manifesto:
How We Do Great Work
This is hard work. We want to instill the right practices and mindset in everyone here. Doing this work now enables us to cut out the BS later. We commit to being a values driven company. Values give us a framework and a set of heuristics to use for making every day decisions at the company.
These are not just words on a screen. This list of values is why we want to get up in the morning and run to the office. We know that focusing on how and why we work the way we do will garner the results that we desire for the company, our customers, our shareholders, and ultimately, ourselves.
Do Great Work
Our foundational value. Everything we do at GoSpotCheck stems from the concept that we are here to do great work. Mediocrity has no place here. So what is great work?
Great work is simple and polished. It is not clunky or complicated. Take the time to make things simple, direct, and specific, from emails to your teammates to our product infrastructure.
Great work comes from a process that we commit to everyday, to take care of the little details. To learn from mistakes to make sure we are producing something great no matter what. No misspellings or sloppy work. We care about design and make sure that everything we deliver looks professional and high quality.
Make sure reports are robust and numbers always tie out. Take the time to make sure our results match the highest standards. From a status report to a training in our help center, we never send anything to a customer that doesn’t match the quality we aspire to achieve.
Great work is never rushed, but can still happen at a strong and fast pace. There is a difference between moving fast and moving with intention – doing great work involves recognizing and understanding that difference.
Focus On What Is Important
Everyday we are challenged to do what is most urgent alongside what is most important. The important work allows for prevention, improvement, better planning, and recognizing new opportunities. Important work can have a 10x impact while unimportant work just simply gets the task done.
We understand that deadlines and urgent requests always must be attended to, but we also understand that it is our goal to focus as much as possible on the hard and important things. What we do not want to do is gravitate towards doing things that are urgent but not important, which is a surprisingly easy trap to fall into.
Solving hard and important problems requires creativity by looking for connections between ideas and asking the right questions. If the work is hard and feels like it can have a huge impact, it means that we are focusing on the right things.
How do we know what is important? First, since our customers are the groundwork of our existence, if a customer has a problem, we understand that those problems are important. We don’t shun them if they don’t understand software or because they are poor at communication. Sometimes customers may ask for things that don’t sound important. However, we commit to never rush to a judgement before we have done the work to understand their why. Sometimes they will be wrong, but sometimes, they will provide the insights that we need to continue to build a great business.
Second, we rely on our accumulation of knowledge around our market, our customers, and the problems that we can uniquely solve to separate the unimportant from the important. With enough practice and focus on understanding the important, we can move much faster than any other company.
Communicate Frequently, Openly, and Honestly
We respond quickly to communication (emails, calls, etc.). We are friendly and laid back in our communication style. We never snap at each other and certainly never snap at customers.
Customers come to us because they have problems that we help them solve. They are frustrated and will often take that out on us. We will stay calm and be the voice of reason. Our products help them work better and make their processes easier so when you communicate with customers, always stay cool. We put ourselves in their shoes and communicate with them in a way that will make them feel great long after the conversation has ended.
It’s hard to admit when you are wrong. It’s also hard to tell someone something they don’t want to hear, but there will come a time when you have to do these things. Strong relationships are built on honest communication and we commit to that, both within our company and with our customers.
We foster an environment where people can say what they think and address concerns straight on, not in whispers behind closed doors. No one should ever feel like they cannot ask a hard question or propose an idea that may seem crazy. You are here because we believe in you and believe in your abilities, so don’t be shy.
Own It
We take responsibility for all that we do. When we make mistakes, we admit to them and take responsibility for fixing them quickly. Take credit for your failures and mistakes and share your success.
Owning it goes beyond just taking responsibility, it means thinking about everything you do as something that you own. What can you improve? How can you make things faster, easier, more effective? If there is a process that is slowing you down, what would make it easier? Who on the team has knowledge that can help you overcome those challenges?
When working with our teammates at GoSpotCheck, we don’t require supervision. When the ball is in your court, it is squarely in your court. You may not have all the answers right away, but, because you communicate well, you will notify the person asking you the question that you will get back to them. Don’t fall victim to receiving status update emails from your teammates. Whomever you owe something to should never have to question the status of the deliverable.
Take pride in your assignments. No bitching allowed.
Go to Bed Smarter
We thrive and grow based on how much we learn. Learning is not something that happens from time to time – it requires that you have the mindset to ask: What happened here? What can I change? What can I do differently?
Take the time to learn your craft so you can be the best. Enrich your life with books and study those that you admire. We create an environment where we all come to the table understanding that none of us knows it all – we don’t know the answers to all of our customers’ problems, we don’t know everything about building great products, we don’t know how to be the best managers in the world. But we do know something that is significantly more powerful – if we commit ourselves to learning, we can get there.
Focusing on improving yourself will lead you to make connections between ideas and themes in ways that you wouldn’t have otherwise. It requires that you have a curious mind and that you seek to understand the details and the big picture.
Companies atrophy because they choose to stop learning. Or, more specifically, because their people decided to stop learning. Why not just do it the way we did it yesterday? Well, what worked yesterday will not work tomorrow. The only way to improve is to learn about our market, our customers, and ourselves. We will outlearn any company in the world and that is our weapon for massive success.
Have Fun, Stay Sane, Take Care
If we do things right, we will be here for awhile. GoSpotCheck is a reflection of the people that are part of our company. We choose to build this company in the fabric that will make our company the best place we have ever worked.
We commit to being optimists. We will always look at the positive side of the situation while not being ignorant of the negative. Positivity goes a long way when it is applied day in and day out. We are constantly fighting the odds and stretching ourselves, so it is critical to balance that with a healthy mindset.
We understand that we spend most of our waking hours at work, so we strive for happiness in our workplace. We want to spend as much time doing things we enjoy, little time doing things we dislike, and not much time in a neutral state because life is short.
We don’t let stress override our good judgement or our attitude, certainly when dealing with customers, but more importantly, when dealing with each other. You have chosen to spend your time here. As a team, we have chosen to make this the best place to work.