the cloudx cultural charter
DESCRIPTION
The CloudX Leadership Team's thoughts on creating a company that matters! Why we're called to be different and we're destined to be exceptional and how we will maintain that balance as we grow!TRANSCRIPT
THE
CulturalCharter
Called to be different. Destined to be exceptional.
What’s Culture?
A set of shared beliefs, values, & practices.
What’s a Charter?A document by which a corporate body is organized, defining its rights & privileges.
Why care about a cultural charter?
Because great culture attracts great people
&great people make great things happen.
And for us to do great things, we need a living charter to define two things:-who we are&-why we do what we do
Why not make a culture that’s exceptional?
We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. ― Steve Jobs“
So we must make the vision plain, so that those who read it can run with it…
This document is part manifesto &part employee handbook.
Part who we are &part who we want to be.
Thank You HubSpot for saying it so eloquently!We figured…why mess with it?
When something is aspirational (not yet true)we try to call it out.
Who we are…
is:
A visionary & leader in Document Process Outsourcing
What’s that you say?...click here to find out!
We help our customers…
• Transform manual processes• Improve productivity • Obtain dynamic visibility within their processes• Realize sustained, measured value• Feel generally awesome
We were born to be unique.
Beginning with our values.
Strength & Honour
Our Charter:
1. Aggressive in purpose2. Make work fun3. Great people4. Leaders are servants5. Live to give6. Own it7. Best idea wins8. In tune9. Stay in the light
1Aggressive in purpose!
It’s not enough to have lived. Weshould be determined to live for something. - Winston Churchill“And so, we must be
relentlessly determined to live and work towards something great!
Our mission is to championDocument Process Outsourcing.
We transform transactional document processes, creating unprecedented levels of efficiency & value.
Which is no easy feat, but ultimately what sets us apart...though at times it can make us a little OCD.
But it matters because our customers are partners and they count on us to make their processes hum!
We simplify complex problems while serving our customers quickly, accurately, & reliably.
We believe all should have access to our solutions, especially the little guys.
We will passionately deliver ourvalue proposition and we will be known for our work ethic & our excellence!
Because our customer’s success is dependent on it…Not to mention our success too…ironic, right?
If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.– Henry Ford
Therefore,
@
we will all give our 100% best effort and excellence will be the result.Because anything less would be uncivilized…
Our number one priority is happy customers.
Customers get happy when we execute well and deliver value & that’s why we obsess about the details, performance, & visibility we provide them.Delivering value means we can’t rest on our own laurels,but have to proactively find ways to improve all day, every day.
And if our customers are happy, then they will be ours for the long haul…
It’s important to note though, that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Or so the saying goes, therefore…
2Make work fun!
Who doesn’t want an
place to be from?
We do this by keeping it light! And we all know there is nothing lighter than an angry owl!
We still get it done, but we’re not overly serious with ourselves or each other!
Serious is for doctors and emergency rooms.
If we’re going to spend a lot of time together, then we’re going to keep it enjoyable…
People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.-Dale Carnegie
And when our work is fun, we’llsoar higher & faster!
Which leads us to…
3Great people
Great people are:Pleasant
They are humble, kind, & treat others as they would like to be treated.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
– Mother Theresa
Great people are:RighteousThey do good and act honestly.
All virtue is summed up in dealing justly. - Aristotle
Great people are:Impartial
They are objective and are open to ways to improve.
The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.
― Albert Einstein
Great people are:Zealous
They are passionate in their purpose.
When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn. – John Wesley
Great people are:Effective
They get stuff done and don’t make excuses. Period.
Determine never to be idle…It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.
- Thomas Jefferson
Great people are:Driven
They are competitive & and work to win. Driven people want the ball.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit.–Vince Lombardi
Great people are:• Pleasant• Righteous• Impartial• Zealous• Effective• Driven
Yes, acronyms are cheesy, but they’re a good way to get the point across!
Great people make winning a reality!
It’s in their DNA & they elevate others around them & without them nothing worthwhile gets accomplished!
And because of that we are selective about who plays on the team.
Life is too short to be angry…
So we select those who brighten, uplift, & inspire.
Who value team over self...
And who get that when the team wins, we all win.
This means:- laying down egos & agendas- sacrifice, toil, & sweat- execution, discipline, & resilience- responsiveness with urgency- collaboration & unity
We’re one body with many parts.
But in the end…
Victori spolia!
To the victor,go the spoils!
Therefore, adherence to the cultural charter & individual performance are the basis by which we attract, retain, reward, & release people.
Though without great leadershipvictory is unattainable.
So our priority is to model &develop strong leadership fromwithin understanding that…
4Leaders areservants
This isn’t just a mantra, it’s an
actuality @ Because everything rises & falls on leadership, therefore our leaders must be effective.
Effective leaders:
Lead by example & are willing to do anything asked of their people.
Actually know their people, their skills, & how to maximize their contribution.
Eliminate obstacles that hinder the productivity & potential of their people.
Embrace every opportunity to mentor & grow their people.
But isn’t serving kind of...weak?
Positions are not things to be lorded over others. Instead, leaders exist to create vision, set course, uphold values, & most importantly, serve those whom you lead.
That’s nice, but what does it mean to serve?-to work for somebody-to be used for something-to assist somebody in a particular way
Absolutely not.
Leaders help their people…
Break performance barriers…
And the best leaders begin as the best followers!
But that’s not to say you shouldsit silently in disagreement…
It just means that it’s critical to…
Contrary to popular opinion, few are born leaders.
Pick up the banner!
In a word leadership = influence!Which is non-positional, meaning everyone should exert influence just by their example.
However, we do have traditional leadership roles, ultimately because we must provide clarity and accountability to our people, our investors, & our customers.
We believe that the primary way to exert influence is through a selfless spirit…
In other words…
5Live to give
Giving means being generous.
- with our time & resources…This is especially true of our interactions with our teammates and our customers.
- with our thoughts & cares.Which are available for everyone to give in abundance, and should be given freely.
For it is in giving that we receive.- Francis of Assissi
Which is not to say that we give to get.That would be greedy & not cool...like this guy!
Instead we choose to help others because most folks won’t go the extra mile…
But @
We will be radical about giving…
Thereby demonstrating our unique giftings, which are collectively powerful & create remarkable experiences for our people & customers.
Because we believe that the best experiences are shared with others…
What are we about if we’re not about building community?
Therefore as good stewards, we will give back to the communities where we work & do business.This means dedicating funds to help those who need it, intentionally & consistently.
@ we obsess about taking responsibility…which leads to our next point…
6Own it!
Personal responsibility is a fading concept today.
Bottomline…it’s up to each of us to take action when something that needs to be addressed comes to our attention.In other words, we don’t turn a blind eye to things that demand resolution.
The price of greatness is responsibility.- Winston Churchill
For us to be great, we each must do our part, doing more than what’s required & taking charge of things that demand our attention, correction, or intervention.
@
Which distinguishes us from the crowd & reassures our customers.
Which often starts with a simple idea & births our next tenet…
It also means that our attention to detail must be on point & that we relentlessly improve…
7Best idea wins!
Ideas = currency and @ no good idea will go unheard.
This means that ideas, supported by the best facts will win the day.
Not egos, agendas, or politics.
Candor in voicing ideas will not be used against you, because it is theobligation of every one of us to speak up when we have something to say.
We recognize that there is no monopoly on great ideas, & collaboration is key to our success.
At we will create a seed-bed for fresh ideas & we’ll do this a few ways:
1. Build a company wide e-book library.
2. Fund educational and topical certification initiatives.
3. Allocate dedicated time for innovation.
4. Foster off to on shore advancement & relocation.
Sharing information creates a shared reality. Not only does it make the whole wiser than the individual parts; it also serves as an effective system of checks & balances to correct mis-interpretations by individuals who don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle.
- Colonel Peter Blaber, Delta Force Commander“
And when you have a shared reality, it fosters unity, which makes things cometogether quickly & powerfully.
And when we are united, strong, & nimble, ourdelivery of value will be that much better.
It will also enable us to get real feedback from our customers, while demonstrating our flexibility…in other words we’ll be…
8In Tune!
We’ll know what the market wants before we enter it, & when we do, it’s going to be with shock & awe.
In tune means we solicit advice from the frontlines.That’s anyone who has the real-time intel we need to make sound decisions.
Frontline folks =our customersour peopleour partnersindustry analystsbenchmark organizations& subject matter experts
One of the most important elements in teaching, conducting, & performing, all three, is listening. – Itzhak Perlman
Un-informed decisions mean uncertain outcomes!
Which is not to say that we don’t take risks, because without risk there’s no reward.
It’s just to say that the risks we take are calculated, based on tuning into the context of the situation to unlock an opportunity or a market.
Context is worth 80 IQ points. – Alan Kay
And one of the ways we maintain context is bykeeping our compass heading on true North!
In other words…
9Stay in the light!
Which means clean living…
It means operating with high moral standards.
Which sounds lofty, but in reality is simple…instead of adopting tons of policies & procedures, we abide by a simple philosophy for most things…
Use good judgment.Thanks again Hubspot for saying it so concisely!
Which applies to pretty much everything, including:
-Social Media policy-Work from home in a blizzard policy-Sick day policy-Travel policy
Unless it’s a biggie, in which case, we’ll spell it out clearly!
What is good judgment?
1. Team > SelfFavor the team over yourself.
2. Company > TeamFavor the whole over the few…aka department.
3. Customer > CompanyThis one can be tricky…but when our customers succeed we do
too.
The Challenge:
No compromise.
If we uphold this charter, we’ll create an awesome company & have fun in the process.
And we’ll also make a big difference in the lives of many others around the globe, which is something to get fired up about.