Ultius Company CultureOur mission, vision and values

Copyright © 2013 Ultius, Inc., A Nevada Corporation

Culture

cul·ture /ˈkəlCHər/Noun: The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.

In the context of an organization, this means that our culture is a reflection of the work we produce.

The work we produce is the result of the people we hire, and the decisions that they make everyday.

That’s why culture is important.

Who needs it anyway?

Culture

Culture is clearly important. We want to be known for having a culture that makes an impression:

Customers: When we tell them our values, they can easily relate to it first-hand through our service.

Full-timers: Understand its importance and use it as a guiding light for decision making.

Writers: Brag about working with us.

Without this impact, this presentation is just a collection of words.

What’s ours?

Mission

Our mission is to conveniently deliver high-quality content and offer tremendous client support.

What we do every day

Vision

Our vision is to be the trusted provider of content solutions for individuals, businesses and organizations, worldwide.

The paradigm we want to reach

Values

Values are the pillars of logic that we stand by. For example, think about a company decision you want to make (budget, negotiation, relationship with co-worker). Does the decision fall in line with the values we have?

Values help us make decisions by giving us a rubric.

Without constant reminder of them and an environment to enforce them, they are just words.

So, these are not just values, think of them as behaviors.

What are they and what do they mean?

Values

Company Values

• Drive

• Accountability

• Client-first

• Agility

• Innovation

• Non-complacency

• Data-driven

• Autonomy

• Teamwork

• Productivity

• Decorum

• Compassion

Our pillars of logic

Drive

You are highly competitive and don’t like losing.

You approach every task with vigor and volition.

You care about the success of the company.

You study and learn outside of your discipline.

You do productive, effective and beneficial things, even when no one is watching.

“It is not sufficient that I succeed. Everyone else must fail.”

- Genghis Kahn

We all share a common understanding of the challenges that face our organization and follow through with executing with tenacity, vigor and the competitive spirit.

Accountability

You know that other team members have transparency about your performance.

You take ownership over your projects.

You are aware of, and know the numbers associated with your role and performance.

You know that if you can’t get it done, we are going to help you. If you still can’t get it done with help, then we find someone else to do it.

It’s not about how hard you work, it’s about the results of your performance.

You are clear what you are and ARE NOT accountable for.

“It is wrong and immoral to seek to escape the consequences of one's acts.”

- Gandhi

Everyone has strict accountability for their task and role in the company. Our success and reputation is based on the tangible results that we produce.

Client-First

You reply quickly to email, chat, phone calls and customer inquiries.

You don’t settle for a mediocre solution.

Before shipping a product, design, web page, email or anything, you think about the client’s response/reaction.

You care deeply about the happiness of our customers.

You make continual changes and improvements based on productive customer feedback.

“Well done is better than well said.”

- Benjamin Franklin

A client oriented mentality that focuses on delivering top quality products and services through a shard commitment to clients.

Agility

You challenge assumptions that everyone knows as “true.”

You can move quickly and re-design plans to make it work with circumstances.

You have a flexible and open mindset that is responsive to others’ ideas and improvements.

If you make a mistake, you fix it fast and build a process to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

- Charles Darwin

Adaptation is the crux of evolution. The same is true when building a company.

Innovation

You make educated bets on where the next big opportunity is.

You try to solve hard problems and aren’t afraid to fail.

You communicate openly about ideas that can help the company improve its products and services.

You are a self-sufficient thinker and don’t need someone to hold your hand.

You give new opportunities a fair, objective and driven chance to succeed.

“Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation.”

- Milan Kundera

Invest time, capital and resources into new technologies, better processes, new products and services, and industry leading practices. Adapt when you have to and can.

Non-complacency

Even if you exceeded expectations, you are not content on the inside.

You don’t pride yourself on past performance.

You have internal anxiety about the company being irrelevant in a year from now.

You set aggressive goals for you and your projects.

“Success is like a medicine, it fools smart people into thinking that they can’t lose.”

- Bill Gates

Doing the right things day in and day out requires carrying a feeling of urgency.

Data Driven

You are a slave to numbers and data.

You take actions based on what the data tells you.

You do methodical research, planning and estimation for projects.

You know data that is relevant to your position.

You make decisions knowing that it will impact the bottom line.

“The goal is to transform data into information, and information into insight.”

- Carly Fiorni (former President of HP)

We all make decisions. The trick is to make the best possible decision with as much information as possible.

Autonomy

You make deadlines. Always.

You are self-sufficient and don’t rely on others to motivate you.

You take initiative for projects.

You keep others (superiors, team members, customers..etc.) in the loop of what you are doing/working on.

“Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads of engagement.”

- Daniel Pink

We believe in letting you do your own thing, on your own time. But with great freedom comes great responsibility.

Teamwork

If asked, your team would say that they can rely on you to do things well.

You are an intensely great listener and work towards understanding others’ views.

You stay calm during periods of duress and treat others with dignity, respect and integrity, no matter who they are.

Your practice humility.

You put the needs of the company above your needs.

You understand that when you help your team members, you are helping yourself.

“The internal dynamics of a team of people are more important than the competitive landscape of the industry.”

- Peter Thiel

You are part of a team of talented people. Every new hire is a new strand of DNA that is added to us. That DNA you add is important to us. And has the capacity to fundamentally change our chemistry.

Hiring people is like opening doors. We strive to open the right doors and neglect the bad ones.

Productivity

You expend effort to analyze the root cause of a problem.

You assess various solutions in terms of time, scope and resources.

You create long-term solutions that are going to be viable for us at any scale of business.

“If I have 8 hours to chop down a tree, I will spend seven hours sharpening my axe and 1 hour chopping.

- Abe Lincoln

Our version of productivity dictates that we spend time planning before implementing solutions.

We also address problems on a short-term and long-term basis.

Decorum

You refrain from using derogatory or otherwise offensive language towards everyone involved with the organization.

You avoid passive-aggressive and otherwise unproductive means of communicating with others.

You adhere to formal policies and procedures.

You respect the chain of command and communicate problems appropriately.

“Observe decorum, and it will open a path to morality.”

- Mason Cooley

Decorum is about behaving professionally towards others while maintaining propriety.

Compassion

You take into account others’ circumstantial dispositions and are sensitive towards that point of view.

You do what you can to help others when they are in need without using it against them.

You assess problems with the attitude that we are all people first and customers/employees second.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”

- Plato

Compassion is about having a genuine understanding of others’ perspectives and then changing your behavior to accommodate it.

Often times, compassion can foster stronger bonds and builds rapport, which is trust plus comfort.