The document outlines the culture and values of SMARP, a company that aims to improve lives through better communication. Their six core values that guide work are: get shit done and be accountable; fear missing out; work smart and hard; be a team player and collaborate; get out of your comfort zone; and be part of the solution with a positive attitude. Results matter more than effort, and they value diversity, transparency, constant learning, and operating like a team where everyone contributes to overall success.
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Purpose of this document
INTRODUCTION
This document outlines who we are and who we aspire to be as Smarpers.
It is here to serve as a guide to our ways of working.
We realize we are not quite there yet on all aspects, but it is important to
know what we want to be and acknowledge what we need to work on
improving. As we evolve this document will be updated as required.
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4. WHY DO WE EXIST?
To improve the lives of our
customers* through better
communications.
* Especially their employees. We consider them our end-customer even if they are not the buyer.
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5. WHY DO WE EXIST?
We do this by creating a platform
that serves as the primary place
where employees find and share
professional content.
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6. WHY DO WE EXIST?
We are working to make
knowledge sharing simple and
rewarding for all our customers.
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7. WHY DO WE EXIST?
Better knowledge sharing
enables value driven leadership.
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8. WHY DO WE EXIST?
Our platform is built to support this evolution and works best with customers who share our
thinking and vision.
Old thinking:
Profit
Hierarchies
Controlling
Planning
Privacy
New thinking:
Purpose
Networks
Empowering
Experimentation
Transparency
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Organizations need to evolve
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10. WHY IS CULTURE IMPORTANT TO US?
As a SaaS company, we are just
people with laptops.
As such, our culture and people determine our destiny.
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11. WHY IS CULTURE IMPORTANT TO US?
We believe that a great culture
attracts exceptional talent.
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12. WHY IS CULTURE IMPORTANT TO US?
Exceptional talent
+
Great culture
+
Compelling vision
=
Success
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13. WHY IS CULTURE IMPORTANT TO US?
Our vision and goals are
ambitious as nothing noteworthy
was ever achieved through
mediocre goals.
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14. WHY IS CULTURE IMPORTANT TO US?
Exceptional people are not
fulfilled by mediocre goals. We
look for and hire exceptional
people who believe in our vision
and values.
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15. WHY IS CULTURE IMPORTANT TO US?
Exceptional people don’t need
turn-by-turn directions but need
a destination.
We value ownership and autonomy and encourage everyone to find the best path to their
destination.
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17. HOW WE WORK
Our six values guide our
everyday work.
They are here to help us make better and more aligned decisions. The hashtags are used
internally when referring to the values.
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18. HOW WE WORK
1. Get shit done, be accountable
#GSD
All Smarpers are encouraged to act fast and take full ownership of their work. Being able to act
fast and in an agile way is one of our core competitive advantages as a growth-company.
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19. 2. Fear of Missing Out
#FOMO
We do not fear failing, but instead fear missing out on opportunities. We fail fast and treat each
failure as a learning opportunity.
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20. 3. Work smart, work hard
#BESMARP
We always look for the smartest way to do things. This means finding the solution that has the
highest impact with the least amount of time or effort required. This allows us to move quickly
and prevents us from doing things in a certain way just because “that is how it has always been
done”.
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21. 4. Be a team player, collaborate
& have fun
#COLLABORATE
We operate like a professional sports team where we win and lose together. As such, it is
important we collaborate closely and celebrate our successes together.
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22. 5. Get out of your comfort zone
#NOPAINNOGAIN
We all grow by doing things that are outside of our comfort zone. Constant learning is a big part
of our culture and that happens best by trying new things.
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23. 6. Be part of the solution -
positive attitude
#SOLVER
As we move quickly and evolve we will always face new challenges. We encourage everyone to
find solutions to these challenges and work with a positive and supportive attitude.
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24. We value diversity.
We believe that team diversity makes us smarter and better equipped to work with and
understand our diverse global customer base. Thus, we have about 20 nationalities in our team
and embrace our differences.
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26. Results matter more than the
effort we put in to achieving
them.
Time alone is not a measurement that creates value for us or our customers. We measure results,
not working time when looking at impact.
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27. We are data driven and measure
our results based on facts and
impact.
This is a work in progress as we constantly try to identify and improve on the data we collect and
what conclusions we can draw from it.
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28. Arguments should be won by
the person who has the best
data-backed and logical
argument, not by rank or the
loudest voice.
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29. We believe in consultative
decision making.
Everyone has a voice and will be heard but once a decision is made, we expect everyone to put in
their best work regardless if they agree with the decision.
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30. We like simplicity.
Simplicity in our product, simplicity in metrics, simplicity in goals, simplicity in compensation
models. Most important, simplicity in how we work.
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31. We aim to be as transparent as
possible.*
Transparency is not about being able to get information by asking, but about being able to find
any information and answers without asking.
* Except when we are legally required not to be or need to protect the privacy of individuals.
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32. We believe in constant learning.
We experiment constantly and believe in learning by doing. We take risks and value creative
solutions. We don’t mind failing, as long as we learn and don’t repeat the same mistakes.
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33. We win together and lose
together.
We operate like a professional sports team where individual efforts are highly valued, but results
are achieved together. Everyone needs to be a contributing member of the team for us to be
successful.
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34. As such we understand that:
Company result > Team result > Individual result
We value individuals who show that they are able to prioritize our customers and the entire
company when making decisions. We have no room for those who pursue individual gains at the
expense of others.
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35. We are proud.
Proud of our positive impact on our customers.
Proud of our growth.
Proud of the people who grow with us.
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