Xelsion was about to double its headcount in a couple of months. We knew this had the potential to dilute the ethos we'd developed organically through the early days of the business. To help new hires understand what made Xelsion Xelsion we took the opportunity to document what we felt was important about our culture. Once we'd written it we realised it wasn't just about helping orientate new employees. It gives everyone in the company, including founders, managers and shareholders a code to live by. As a general document some of it is for new entrants to the workforce and some of it is for those moving into leadership roles. This makes some areas more relevant than others to different people. In cases it is only experience which can give meaning to the statements. In the absence of experience leaders offer their own to try to give this meaning. It's very much a work in progress. Not everyone liked everything. But on the whole feedback is positive and when someone at the company a month can be heard to say "hey, I just learnt something while I was teaching you" it seems worthwhile. What's your culture? Do comment and feel free to borrow and adapt from ours as we have from others. With thanks to the Netflix culture deck, Mark Suster, Xelsion employees and many others for their influence and contribution.

1. Xelsion culture brief

2. First principle
We seek to build long-term value in our
clients, employees and Xelsion
These aims are complementary and all
decisions are subsidiary to them

3. If you have a decision to take between two
options, choose the option which creates the
most long-term value; if need be at the
expense of short-term gain

4. Creating and maintaining value in a complex
environment of client needs and rapidly
evolving technology requires talent

5. We believe the best people create
disproportionately more value

6. Our expectations
High quality work
Openness and honesty
Freedom and individual responsibility
Respect for ability as well as experience
Enough time
to do great work
to think
to learn
to teach
Well rewarded for our work

7. We particularly value the following in our
colleagues

8. Teamwork
Offer help and support to clients and
colleagues
Request ideas and input from others;
taking note and acting on their
contribution
Give out and take constructive criticism
without causing or taking offense
Build a good working atmosphere with
energy and enthusiasm
Involve all relevant colleagues in a piece
of work when the opportunity arises
Contribute to company knowledge store
Talk positively about clients and
colleagues

9. Communication
Listen first, then listen some more
Concise and articulate in speech and
writing
Talk in person or on the phone to clients
where possible
Adapt communication to the needs of the
audience
Don’t say anything in email you wouldn’t
want the world to read. If in doubt, don’t
send it
Upfront if something has gone wrong,
apologise if at fault, and focus on fixing it

10. Planning and
organisation
Make time for planning
Allocate realistic timescales for activities
Build in checkpoints, milestones and
controls to monitor performance against
objectives
Good timekeeping; diary management
Remain flexible, anticipate change and
adopt agile methodologies

11. Commercial
awareness
Understand the wider business
significance of projects
Be aware of key competitors without
following blindly
Look out for opportunities to acquire new
clients
Think how to grow existing clients
Make continuous efficiency
improvements
Understand what needs to be done well
now and what can be improved later
Monitor media margins and delivery
rates

12. Analytical reasoning
Break down complex problems into
component parts
Understand root causes and strategic
objectives to develop comprehensive
solutions
Anticipate obstacles and think ahead to
next steps
Draw appropriate conclusions from the
information provided
Set up effective experiments, think
through any issues which may arise, and
have a plan for what to do with the
resulting data

13. Leadership
Set and communicate the overall vision
Establish the main tactical elements
required to achieve the vision
Be brave enough to hire people better
than yourself
Structured resource management
Consult and involve the team in decision-
making
Lead by example
Make time for leadership by delegating
Constructively challenge the work of the
team
Keep the team up to date and informed

14. Innovation
Embrace continuous evolution
Try new techniques and technologies
Not afraid to make mistakes
Challenge traditional or established
processes to make improvements
Identify opportunities in the market and
suggests ways of exploiting them
Adopt lean start up philosophies such as
minimum viable product

15. Networking
Build your networks with clients and
suppliers on relevant social media sites
Develop credibility and gain trust from
clients, suppliers, colleagues and partners
Give before you take
Keep abreast of latest news and
developments in the industry
Attend conferences and training sessions
Promote Xelsion services and ideals
Always be recruiting

16. Relationship
management
Demonstrate understanding of needs and
anticipate them
Contribute value beyond the immediate
commercial relationship
Be easy to reach and respond promptly
Address concerns calmly and truthfully
Follow issues through to resolution
Realise importance of relationship
longevity over short term difficulties

17. Knowledge
Gain proficiency in core technical
requirements
Take responsibility for personal and
professional development
Set goals and objectives beyond what is
expected
Think what knowledge and skills will be
needed in the future and plan to achieve
them
Remain current with developments in
relevant fields
Always be learning and teaching
Become recognised as the expert on
chosen topics by colleagues and partners

18. We want to respect and learn from all our
colleagues

19. We try to hire well…

20. We won’t always get it right…

21. We don’t let poor performers take the place
of top performers

22. Which person, if they told you they were
leaving for a similar job at a peer company
would you fight hard to keep at Xelsion?

23. Are these people valued highly and rewarded
well?

24. We don’t measure people by how many
hours they work or whether they are in the
office

25. We measure people on the value they create

26. Time-tracking is about calibrating the Xelsion
business model and charging clients
appropriately; it isn’t to keep an eye on how
many hours you work

27. Be open about interviewing with competitors
and bring back information to benchmark
rewards

28. Honesty always
No one should be surprised by your views or
position.

29. We don’t want to be arrogant, snobbish,
gossipy, bullying or dishonest

30. Treat Xelsion money as if it were your own
and always act in the business’ best interest.
There is no other expenses policy.

31. We’re not building to sell we’re building to
make an environment where we want to
work and can do great work

32. What’s next?

33. Acknowledgements to employees, clients,
peers, trailblazers, bloggers and journalists
for their ongoing contribution
(Netflix and Mark Suster’s ‘Both Sides of the Table’ are particular influences)