Buffer culture 0.6 (With a change to Be a No Ego Doer)
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The document outlines Buffer's evolving culture and core values, emphasizing positivity, transparency, self-improvement, and gratitude. It lists ten key values that guide the company's practices and interactions among team members and with users. The document serves as a framework for fostering a supportive and effective work environment.
Buffer culture 0.6 (With a change to Be a No Ego Doer)
- 1. The Buffer Culture Powered by Happiness Version 0.6
- 2. Always a work in progress • As with everything we do and ourselves, this document is a continual work in progress • Updated February 18th, 2015
- 3. Start with why Culture: what gives Buffer the best chance for progress of the product, happiness of users and the team, and personal growth while part of the journey?
- 4. The foundation of our values In the founding months, Joel & Leo read, re- read and internalized Dale Carnegie’s famous book, How To Win Friends and Influence People. A lot of the Buffer values are derived from his deeply impactful words. In January 2013, when Buffer was 7 people, we discussed what words define the culture we have, and put together this document.
- 5. The 10 BufferValues 1. Choose positivity and happiness 2. Default to transparency 3. Have a focus on self improvement 4. Be a "no ego" doer 5. Listen first, then listen more 6. Have a bias towards clarity 7. Make time to reflect 8. Live smarter, not harder 9. Show gratitude 10. Do the right thing
- 6. Choose positivity and happiness • You strive to approach things in a positive and optimistic way • You avoid criticizing or condemning team members or users • You avoid complaining • You let the other person save face, even if they are clearly wrong • You are deliberate about giving genuine appreciation
- 7. Default to transparency • You take pride in opportunities to share our beliefs, failures, strengths and decisions • You use transparency as a tool to help others • You always state your thoughts immediately and with honesty • You share early in the decision process, to avoid “big revelations”
- 8. Have a focus on self improvement • You are conscious of your current level of productivity and happiness, and make continual changes to grow • You have a higher expectation of yourself, than Buffer does of you • You regularly and deliberately do things that make you feel uncomfortable • You practice activities and develop habits that will improve your mind and your body
- 9. Be a "no ego" doer • You don't attach your personal self to ideas • You are adaptable and comfortable with making decisions and working in situations of uncertainty • You have a bias towards action: Done well today is better than perfect next week • You practice humility • You ship code the moment it is better than what is live on our site
- 10. • You seek first to understand, then to be understood • You focus on listening rather than responding • You take the approach that everything is a hypothesis and you could be wrong • You are suggestive rather than instructive, replacing phrases such as ‘certainly’,‘undoubtedly’, etc. with ‘perhaps’,‘I think’, ‘my intuition right now’ Listen first, then listen more
- 11. Have a bias towards clarity • You talk, code, design and write in a clear way instead of being clever • You over-communicate, repeating things more times than you would intuitively • You use more words to explain, even if it feels obvious already • You don’t make assumptions, you instead ask that extra question to have the full picture
- 12. Make time to reflect • You deliberately find time for reflection, because that’s where your life-changing adjustments come from • You have a calm approach to discussions and ponder points in your own time • You find time to jump out of the trenches into the higher level thinking that will move the needle • You understand the value of patience and treat it as a muscle which needs practice to grow
- 13. Live smarter, not harder • You value waking up fresh over working that extra hour • You always aim to be fully engaged in an activity, or resting • You single task your way through the day • You are at the top of your game, as you focus on expanding capacity of your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual energy • You choose to be at the single place on Earth where you are the happiest and most productive, and you are not afraid to find out where that is
- 14. Show gratitude • You regularly stop and are grateful for your circumstances • You are grateful for the work co-workers do to push the company forward and to help you move faster • You approach customer conversations with humility and the knowledge that it’s a privilege to serve these people • You have gratitude for platforms, tools and open source that laid the foundation for the possibility of the company: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” - Isaac Newton
- 15. Do the right thing • You choose what’s best for customers and the company in the long-term • You correct the mistake even when no one would notice • You strive to provide the best solution, even if that means foregoing profit • You get excited about opportunities to help others