The Four Pillars of Contently Culture

What goes into being excellent to each other and telling great stories? We brainstormed to figure it out.

At a recently Culture Committee meeting, co-founder Shane Snow presented the four main company pillars and their corresponding values. We started thinking about what kinds of behaviors we associate with those values.

As a homework assignment, we each picked a value, and brainstormed anecdotes and behaviors that typify the conduct. Here’s what we came up with:

Be excellent to each other

• Be friendly
• Put yourself in their shoes
• Trust each others’ intentions
• Give credit
• Help others
• Put yourself last
• Respect people’s time
• Respect people’s differences

Own it

• Work smart
• Figure it out
• Get it done
• Be accountable
• Say what you think
• Do the right thing
• “Take it to the streets”

Be open

• Leverage differences
• Seek contrarian viewpoints
• Change your mind
• Be curious
• Seek personal growth and learning

Tell great stories

• Use stories to connect
• Great stories build relationships and make people care
• Stories are how we learn, remember, and change the world