CODIUM CVPs and CVs — Core Values

What are CODIUM’s Core Values?

Before talking about Core Values, I would like to split the “core values” into two. What are the two? Why two? Isn’t core value just a single set? Because when I think of “core values,” it has “2 sides” of the same coin, meaning:

1. Core Value Propositions (CVPs): what are the “core value propositions” the company commits/promises/delivers to the employees: This means CVPs is the enabler that elicits/brings out the Core Values which naturally leads to the second point:
2. Core Values (CVs): these are the desired “traits” that we want all employees to exhibit/act accordingly. The point of having core values is because when employees have these traits/mindset and/or act accordingly, the company wins/achieves its business objectives.

Here’s my take: Companies like to think/advertise that their employees exhibit such and such CVs, but unfortunately disregard and/or forget how to critically provide the environment/enablers that elicit/bring about/enable the desired employee’s CVs. That environment/enablers they often disregard/forget is what I call CVPs. I believe you cannot really talk about CVs until you first have established CVPs as a company.

So, we are in luck because we worked out and announced to the employees what CODIUM’s CVPs are. Here they are — a slide taken from our last company’s Townhall:

CODIUM CVPs

Now that we’ve got CVPs out of the way, what’s CODIUM’s CVs? My definition of CVs is the traits/characteristics/competence required to set apart CODIUM from other companies and are what make CODIUM most desirable from the customer’s point of view. As a side benefit, the CVs also help attract “culture-fit” candidates. Below, are our Core Values:

CODIUM CVs

• มีความอยากลอง/อยากทำ — This is the most important seed. The “fuel” of our company is that we try — as much as we can — to get people to work on things that at the very least interest them.
• สบายใจ/Informal/friendly/teamwork — This is the second most important: To get the best efficiency/effectiveness, ความเป็นกันเอง among team members are critical. This is the core foundation of our company’s “vibe”
• Learn through Fuck up — This is the third most important: We want to provide psychological safety for our employees to fuck up. The buck stops with me — Pac. I will handle any fuck ups that happen be it monetary loss, angry customers, or any legal issues …in exchange we empower our people to fuck up and level up — like a Super Saiyan.
• Empowered to make decisions — And our people are expected to make the fucking decision…supplemented by coaching/mentoring/advising from seniors of course. My most favorite line is: “If you were in my shoes, what would you do? What decision would you make and why?”
• Customer is not God — Do what’s best for “company” — We do the right thing — as much as we can. Doing what’s best for the company does not mean doing what’s profitable. Our definition of “company” is the intersection and balancing act among 5 stakeholders: Customers, Employees, Shareholders, Partners/vendors, and finally the country/society. We always ask all of our employees to do it right for the “company.”
• Innovative/unorthodox — keep pushing the boundary: Being a tech company, we live and die by our innovativeness. We enjoy coming up with novel solutions that not only delight our customers but also actually are practical / cost-effective / real-world usable
• เคร่ง/แต่ไม่เครียด — “9-to-5” Unicorn — We don’t believe in (too much) hard work. Life should be a balance. The most fun part of work is when you get to work on things when you are fully rested. We want to be the first “unicorn” that works 9-to-5. Fuck the Chinese “996” work culture
• Flat culture — we don’t give a hoot about job titles and seniority. People are equal. We respect people. We listen to more experienced people regardless of their age/gender/beliefs/or whatever biases humans can have. We just want to work — doing innovations.
• Data-driven — Finally, our company believes in transparency and data-sharing. We should not use emotions but use facts/data to help (but not blindly rule) in decision makings or how we act.

As for the opposite of our CVs, CODIUM is not suitable for:

• People who need structure because we expect our people to come up with the structure
• People who cannot think for themselves what to do next
• People who are illogical or lack common sense
• People who aren’t team players
• People who want to climb the corporate ladder; CODIUM people care more about “climbing up” our work/skills/experience
• People who act formal or are egotistical / need “instructions” / and turn off their brains/critical thinking
• People who are not at least interested / intrigued by what they are working on
• People who are afraid to fail / don’t want to try things out
• People who want to come to work to amass power and followers / need to form an army / need someone to กราบตีน them
• People who are workaholic
• People who believe clients/customers can do no wrong
• People who cannot make decisions and always defer to somebody else (especially their boss) to make every decision for them — including when to take a bathroom break (just kidding — or not?)
• People who just want to deliver cookie-cutter, no-thinking-required / re-hashed solutions over and over

Some references that corroborate/support the CVs listed above:

• “Nothing is possible” https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sivabudh-umpudh_bskbrabrrbrfbsibrebrxbsqbrebrd-bskbrabrrbrfbsibrebrxbsqbrebrd-activity-7039239647884972032-YWcv
• An honest review of the company’s culture: รีวิวประสบการณ์การทำงานที่ CODIUM | by Kai Kai Sirikan | CODIUM | Medium