Why?

Our Mission & vision help focus us on where we want to go, but say nothing about how we should get there and who we want to be. Our enjoyment of our time together and our ability to attract outsiders depend not only on where we’re going but also on who we are and how we get there.

As with our mission & vision, living our values is very different from stating them:

Everyone—internally and externally—should know “who we are” and “what we’re about”. The more consistent we are in our actions & words, the quicker people will learn, the more deeply they will understand, and—if it resonates—the more committed, aligned, and focused they will be when they join. To be consistent in our actions and words as a team, we must have a clear, joint idea of what we want to be consistent about. This ultimately boils down to a handful of words we all believe capture the essence of who we are and what we’re about. It is true that actions speak louder than words. But words precede actions and thus must be taken just as, if not more, seriously.

Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

• Lao Tzu

What?

Concise and authentic values that are frequently used and referenced internally and externally.

How?

Values, when used properly, become the backbone of culture. In order to function properly, values must be well-defined and explicitly embedded into our decision making frameworks (e.g. roadmapping, hiring, reviewing, firing). We must regularly celebrate them. Every person in the organization should be able to question or challenge any decision on the grounds of value-alignment. On values, we cannot tolerate misalignment. Our values are the ultimate scoreboard by which we must hold ourselves accountable, even more so than our financial success as a business (if we “win” by sacrificing our values, we have not won at all).

Values

We value being good, radical candor, focus, excellence, extreme ownership, and renewal/play.

• Be good - reputations are built over a lifetime and lost in a moment. As a financial institution, trust in our stewardship is core to our brand and our business. As teammates, trust in each other is core to our ability to perform at a high level. This means:
  • Do what is best for our users.
  • Tell the truth and be impeccable with your agreements.
  • Be generous, with our users, with each other, and with ourselves.
  • Apologize without excuses. Forgive freely.
• Radical candor - communication and feedback are the foundations of collaboration and growth. We can tolerate neither assholes nor self-censoring if we want to thrive as a team. Ultimately, our individual and collective growth is limited by the quality and quantity of our feedback. This means:
  • Always share your perspective, especially when it feels difficult.
  • Care about each other on a personal level, enough to have challenging conversations.
  • Actively seek feedback from others, particularly around areas for improvement.
• Focus - if we try to do everything, we will do nothing. We believe in saying “no” thousands of times, so that we can say “yes” to what is truly important and meaningful to us. This means:
  • Relentlessly prune and prioritize goals, projects, and tasks. Hell yes or no.
  • Never have more than one goal at a time. Make a call, commit, iterate.
  • Set frequent and recurring meeting-free periods for deep, proactive work.
• Excellence - we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. We consistently hold ourselves and each other to a high bar. We strive for excellence in service to our customers, excellence in our craft, excellence in our respective disciplines, and excellence to each other. This means:
  • Love your craft and your role, or find new ones you do.
  • Always be shipping, learning, and honing your craft.
  • Take pride in every deliverable and interaction, no matter how small.
• Extreme ownership - we cannot learn, grow, and achieve without first accepting responsibility for the outcome. Making excuses is easy, creating something new is hard. It requires all-hands on deck and, if we fail, we fail together. We cannot afford passengers on this ship. This means:
  • Take responsibility and be accountable within your sphere of influence.
  • Take initiative and be resourceful.
  • Everything has exactly one Directly Responsible Individual (DRI).
  • When you see something wrong, fix it or figure out who can.
• Renewal and play - we operate at our best when we are well rested and full of joy. Building a company is a marathon; it is physically and mentally exhausting. It also requires a lot of ingenuity. This means:
  • Take regular breaks to refresh your mind, body, and perspective.
  • Encourage fun, laughter, and playfulness in ourselves and each other.
  • Don’t take yourself too seriously, life is short.