2. THIS DOCUMENT OUTLINES THE
PRINCIPLES BY WHICH KAPOST
OPERATES AND BY WHICH ALL OF
US INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER
3. IT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS: WE ARE
ALWAYS REFINING
IT IS ALSO ASPIRATIONAL: WE
STRIVE FOR IT, BUT RECOGNIZE WE
DON’T ALWAYS ACHIEVE IT
4. BUT WHILE IT’S ASPIRATIONAL,
EVERY ONE OF US CAN HOLD EVERY
ONE OF US ACCOUNTABLE TO THESE
PRINCIPLES
5. KAPOST CULTURAL VALUES
1. WE TAKE OUR JOBS VERY SERIOUSLY
2. . . . BUT WE DON’T TAKE OURSELVES SO SERIOUSLY
3. NO JERKS
4. WE ALL KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON
5. WE ARE ALL RUNNING BACKS
6. . . . IN FACT, WE’RE ALL-STAR RUNNING BACKS
7. WE EVALUATE BY RESULTS
8. WE SUCCEED AS OUR CUSTOMERS SUCCEED
9. WE’RE MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
11. IN FACT, WE THINK IT’S IMPORTANT
TO PASS OUR WORK DAYS WITH A
SMILE ON OUR FACE
SO WHILE WE GO ABOUT KICKING
ASS, WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF FUN
12. ENJOYING OURSELVES AT WORK IS
HOW WE WANT TO LIVE OUR LIVES
ENJOYING OURSELVES AND
TREATING EACH OTHER WELL (SEE
“NO JERKS”) ALSO MAKES US A
MORE EFFECTIVE COMPANY:
IF WE CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER,
WE CARE ABOUT THE COMPANY
AND THUS ARE MORE DEDICATED
13. MUCH OF THAT FUN COMES FROM
ENJOYING EACH OTHER
WE VALUE COLLEAGUES WHO
BRING FUN AND LAUGHTER TO THE
TEAM
20. BUT YOU CAN’T REALLY BE
DEDICATED, YOU CAN’T REALLY
CARE, IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND
WHAT’S GOING ON
21. FURTHERMORE, YOU CAN’T DO
YOUR JOB TO THE BEST OF YOUR
ABILITY WITHOUT KNOWING
WHAT’S GOING ON
(ESPECIALLY BECAUSE WE DON’T
WANT COMMAND & CONTROL, WE
WANT “RUNNING BACKS”; SEE
LATER SECTION)
22. THEREFORE, WE ARE VERY
TRANSPARENT ABOUT WHAT’S
GOING ON IN THE COMPANY:
GOALS, FINANCIALS, STRATEGY,
FUNDRAISING, ETC.
23. IF THERE’S SOMETHING YOU WANT
TO KNOW THAT ISN’T CONVEYED,
THEN ASK
THERE ARE NO TABOO QUESTIONS
24. . . . BUT NOT EVERY QUESTION WILL
BE ANSWERED
THERE ARE LIMITS: E.G., LEGALLY
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION,
PRIVATE COMPENSATION DATA
26. WE ARE RUNNING BACKS
WE ARE PEOPLE WHO TAKE THE
BALL AND RUN WITH IT
27. WE THINK WORK IS MOST
REWARDING WHEN YOU FIGURE
THINGS OUT YOURSELF
WHEN YOU OVERCOME
CHALLENGES WITHOUT
INSTRUCTIONS
WHEN YOU TAKE OWNERSHIP OF
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND GET
THE JOB DONE
29. WE ALSO THINK THAT COMPANIES’
SUCCESS IS A FUNCTION OF THEIR
RUNNING BACKS
IN OTHER WORDS, A COMPANY
WINS IF ITS EMPLOYEES ARE
TAKING OWNERSHIP AND MAKING
THINGS HAPPEN
33. WE WANT EVERYONE AT KAPOST TO
BE SUPERBLY QUALIFIED FOR THEIR
ROLE, AN ALL-STAR AT THEIR JOB
ALL-STARS DO EXTRAORDINARY
THINGS, AND START-UPS WIN BY
CONSISTENTLY BEING
EXTRAORDINARY
35. AS ORGANIZATIONS GROW,
COMPLEXITY GROWS
EXPONENTIALLY
COMPLEXITY LEADS TO PROCESS
PROCESS STIFLES INNOVATION,
TURNS OFF ALL-STARS, SLOWS
GROWTH, CAN RUIN A COMPANY
36. FOCUSING ON ALL-STARS CREATES
TALENT DENSITY
TALENT DENSITY CONTAINS ORG
GROWTH & THUS COMPLEXITY
TALENT DENSITY CONTAINS
PROCESS (ALLOWS FOR MORE
AUTONOMY) AND ITS NEGATIVE
EFFECTS
37. IMPORTANT TO NOTE: YOU CAN BE
AN ALL-STAR FOR YOUR ROLE AT
MANY POINTS IN YOUR CAREER
PATH
39. ALL-STARS WANT TO SUCCEED
THE COMPANY WANTS TO SUCCEED
IT IS THE OBLIGATION OF EVERY
MANAGER TO DEFINE WHAT
SUCCESS IS FOR EVERY ONE OF
THEIR REPORTS
40. SUCCESS IS NOT DEFINED BY FACE
TIME
SUCCESS IS DEFINED BY AN
OUTCOME, WHICH IS HOPEFULLY
CLEARLY MEASURED BY A NUMBER
41. THUS WHAT THE COMPANY CARES
ABOUT IS THAT YOU ACHIEVE YOUR
OBJECTIVES
THE COMPANY DOESN’T CARE
WHERE OR WHEN YOU DO THAT
42. AS A RESULT:
IF YOU NEED TO WORK FROM
HOME, TO GO TO CHILD’S EVENT IN
THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, ETC.
. . . THE COMPANY IS COOL WITH
THAT, AS LONG AS YOU MEET YOUR
OBJECTIVES
43. ALSO AS A RESULT:
IF YOU ARE MEETING YOUR
OBJECTIVES AND WANT TO TAKE >3
WEEKS OF VACATION, THE
COMPANY IS ALSO COOL WITH THAT
44. SOME KEY POINTS HERE
#1 - TALK WITH YOUR MANAGER:
MAKE SURE YOUR MANAGER
APPROVES EXTRA VACATION TIME,
ETC. AND THAT BOTH OF YOU ARE
ON THE SAME PAGE ON WHERE YOU
ARE RELATIVE TO YOUR
OBJECTIVES
45. #2 – MAGIC HAPPENS WHEN
HUMANS INTERACT IN PERSON:
WHILE WORKING FROM HOME,
REMOTELY, ETC. WHEN NEEDED IS
COOL, COLLABORATION IS
ENHANCED BY FACE-TO-FACE
AGAIN, TALK TO YOUR MANAGER
ABOUT THE RIGHT BALANCE
47. A GROWING BUSINESS CAN GET TO
BE REALLY COMPLEX
BUT HERE’S A SIMPLE THOUGHT TO
STEER OUR WAY:
WE SUCCEED AS OUR CUSTOMERS
SUCCEED
48. IF THROUGH ALL OF OUR EFFORTS—
IN ALL DEPARTMENTS—WE STAY
FOCUSED ON MAKING OUR
CUSTOMERS SUCCESSFUL, THEN
WE’LL BE SUCCESSFUL
USE THIS PRINCIPLE AS A GUIDE IN
DECISION-MAKING
49. FURTHERMORE, LET’S NEVER
HESITATE TO GO OVERBOARD IN
SERVING OUR CUSTOMERS
LET’S CONSISTENTLY GO THE EXTRA
MILE SO THAT WE DELIGHT THEM
51. KAPOST MISSION:
TO EMPOWER MARKETERS TO
TRANSFORM MARKETING FROM
INTERRUPTING AND ANNOYING
THEIR BUYERS TO INFORMING AND
ENTERTAINING THEM
52. CONTENT MARKETING IS MAKING
THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
KAPOST IS A MAJOR DRIVER OF THE
CONTENT MARKETING REVOLUTION
WE FEEL FORTUNATE TO WORK AT A
COMPANY MAKING A POSITIVE
IMPACT
54. THIS DOCUMENT UTILIZES THE
THINKING OF MANY OTHERS, IN
PARTICULAR:
NETFLIX CULTURE DOCUMENT:
HTTP://WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/REED2001/
CULTURE-1798664
HUBSPOT CULTURE CODE:
HTTP://WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/HUBSPOT/THE-HUBSPOT-
CULTURE-CODE-CREATING-A-COMPANY-WE-LOVE
