This page is maintained by @Stephane Roux
TL;DR: This page explains how we think about culture at Wonder and what our values are.
Culture is the key to a fulfilling work life and productive teams. We try to be intentional about culture and that means we understand that culture is not something you dictate or choose, but something that grows organically. So we see our role as nurturing and facilitating that growth.
To be authentic and meaningful, culture has to be rooted in the behavior, mindset and values of existing team members. If the founders try to "define" it, it loses touch with the reality of the team.
We run regular interviews with our team to ask them about how they experience working at Wonder and what they think defines our team. We also run a monthly "Pulse Check" survey to check in with the team and see if we are living up to our cultural standards. That way, when we define our working mode, set policies or decide on hiring criteria, we know that our principles resonate with everyone on the team.
Learn more here: Team Building
We try to facilitate the organic growth of culture within our team. Everyone should feel that they can actively participate in defining who we are and what we value. This doesn't mean everyone needs to spend hours planning team events! People are different and that's fine. What it means is that everyone has a say and if people want to take a more active role, they can.
Learn more here: Our Team
This also implies that culture is not fixed and permanent, but always in a state of flux. Some cultural principles are more central to our identity than others and change less, others are a function of our stage or of the way the team grew. That's natural and we encourage change.
For example, in our early days we were much more "move fast and break things". We would focus on getting things done right now without thinking too much about setting up processes. Now we are more structured and ordered. As the team grows, spontaneous team meetings and frequent changes of plans are more costly for everyone. So we decided (all together) to be more disciplined in meetings, more careful with scheduling, and to document processes and decisions more.
There are lots of empty words in the corporate world. So, rather than setting up a polished values page, we think it's more impactful to give everyone transparency over what we are about. That's what this guide is about. Make up your own mind!