The importance of a start-up culture is regularly discussed, but it’s often talked about in terms of the cool perks you get while working for one. Things like fancy office space, games and beer often dominate the discussion. And while those are all fun and important, there is more to building and cultivating a successful culture: shared values are critical.
When I joined Mediafly in March 2010, I was quickly captured by a positive state of culture shock. Working at Mediafly was unlike any place I had ever worked. It was evident that Mediafly CEO Carson Conant was not only focused on building a great product and a great company, but also creating a very special culture. There was no food delivery, no ping pong table… and yet Carson was attracting and retaining talented folks from Columbia College, Chicago Booth, Google and Oracle. It was evident that the heart of Mediafly and its amazing team was a value system that Carson had instilled in every “Flyer”. As evidenced by our recent Mediafly 2013 Culture Survey, this value system remains as strong today as it was three and a half years ago.
Value One: Compassion
“The leadership team sees us as people – not just numbered employees”
After compiling feedback from the survey, it was clear the value cherished most by the team, not surprisingly, also happened to be one of Carson’s most endearing qualities: compassion. Our CEO is one of the most genuinely compassionate people I have ever met. His concern for the well-being of others is demonstrated daily whether he’s checking in with his executive team, rolling up his sleeves to help meet a customer demand or doing a late night Q&A session so that a product demo goes beautifully for a next-day sales call. His passion to support each member of the Mediafly team and help everyone succeed is highly regarded. As we grow, it is clear that this willingness to pitch in continues to pervade the organization. Whether demonstrated by engineers helping to clean up after a customer appreciation event or an outpouring of support demonstrated by visiting a hospitalized team member, Mediafly values compassion.
Value Two: Permission
Written into the Mediafly Handbook and each team member’s offer letter is the following language:
“You remain committed (heart and mind) to… defend your ideas (not your ego) passionately in pursuit of the best solution for Mediafly…”
This means that at Mediafly, each individual has permission to challenge the status quo, to present and defend ideas that may be contrary to current practice and/or accepted standards. The pace of change in technology today demands that the best ideas should be stated, no matter how popular or unpopular they may be. In our view it is critical to pressure test concepts and ideas in “pursuit of the best solution for Mediafly” and, indeed, in the interest and for the benefit of our customers, shareholders and perhaps most importantly, our staff.
Using the Culture Survey as our report card, we were pleased with a > 90% “Strongly Agree” response to the statement:
“I am comfortable raising questions, concerns or suggestions”
Value Three: Responsiveness
That said, it is not enough to be compassionate and support individual expression.
100% of our team selected either “Strongly Agree” or “Somewhat Agree” with the following statements:
-My questions, concerns and suggestions are listened to
-My questions, concerns and suggestions are acted upon
Whether modifying the format of quarterly all staff meetings, enhancing a company benefits package, creating a new product feature or modifying a sales pricing model; we must listen to and respond to new ideas. At Mediafly, we spend time to ask questions…even the hard ones. While some suggestions may take time (e.g. adjusting compensation, adding staff), having the discipline to understand, respond to, and implement great ideas ensures that the Mediafly team sees how valuable their feedback is. It also reinforces organizational flexibility at all levels.
THE RESULTS
As we have grown, yes, Mediafly has moved offices to Michigan Avenue; and yes, we added a ping pong table and regular Peapod deliveries (that may include choice carbonated beverages), but these types of perks do not define the Mediafly culture. By supporting our team, providing an environment that inspires/requires expression of new ideas and responding to great ideas and pressing concerns quickly, we have been able to continue to attract and retain what we say is “pound for pound” the best people available at every position.
At Mediafly, we aspire to have each of our team members say that working for Mediafly is a dream job. That’s all possible by remaining true to our core values…and, no, a game of ping pong now and then doesn’t hurt.
About the contributor:
John Evarts is the COO/CFO of Mediafly, Inc. an enterprise mobility software provider based in Chicago, Illinois. John serves as Executive-in-Residence for the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and speaks regularly on topics in small business strategy and operation. Recently, John has had the opportunity to speak at the SAP SME Summit (November 2012), serve as panelist with SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (January 2013) and has been quoted by the Economist (Scaling SME’s: Building a flexible platform for growth, February 2013).
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