How we try to be a great team

Examining the cultural values that drive the Socratic team, a 20 person startup working on a hard ambiguous problem in education.

We've lived with these values for years, and believe that diligent and consistent application of them leads to a happier and more productive team.

Transcript

1. Shreyans Bhansali | hi@shreyans.org | @5hreyans How we’re trying to be a great team
2. What direction are we moving in? How are we working to get there? Two important questions: < Mostly this
3. What direction are we moving in?
4. Mission: How are you going to do it? *Goals*: What are you doing this week, month, year? Vision: Your ideal impact
5. Vision should rarely change. Mission can sometimes. Goals should update regularly based on new state. Everyone should be able to articulate these.
6. How are we working to get there?
7. What is it? Why does it matter? “Culture”
8. Our Cultural Values* * a draft
9. Optimize for team success. Put team success above individual success. If you see a problem anywhere, share it or fix it. Invest in systems, documentation, and simple process.
10. Bias for speed. Hard ambiguous problems require rapid iteration. Work fast through autonomous decision making, calculated risk-taking, and a bias for action.
11. Think big. Be bold and ambitious, not incremental. Find creative, practical solutions to big problems.
12. Communicate openly and clearly. Communicate clearly and ensure that the message gets across. Ask questions early and often. Disagree openly, honestly, and respectfully.
13. Invest in each other. Solicit and give feedback openly. Have high expectations from each other. Support each other by sharing time, knowledge, and connections.
14. Be human. Be yourself. Be self-critical, admit mistakes, share weakness. Bring humor, warmth, and openness.
15. Involvement from everyone. Feedback and repetition. What does it take to do well at these?
16. Ask! Disagree! Discuss! And thank you :)
17. Shreyans Bhansali | hi@shreyans.org | @5hreyans