Be sustainable

We should not put time and effort into something that will not be used. We should not spend time on unneeded tedious meetings, pointless bureaucracy or unnecessarily long decision chains. We deliver small – get feedback – estimate the need and then we produce just the right amount, of just the right products, without overproduction. Our methods to do this are iterative product releases and smart progress measurements in a real-world environment. This principle does not only apply to our internal methods. It is also applicable to how we as a organisation interact with the society and environment within which we work, particularly with our aim to be a ecological organisation; meaning that we will strive to minimize our negative impact on the environment.

Be progressive and creative

We should always encourage change. We are a open-minded organisation. If we see opportunities for improvement, we will try to change our methods – even if they are proven and working. We are a innovative, experimental and fearless organisation. We will not become nostalgic, habitual or rigid. However, we will be experienced and adaptable, and we will stay curious, agile and alternative. We are a multicultural company – we love to exchange ideas and learn from people of all cultures. There are no borders able to stop an idea, and we work mostly on the still borderless internet.

Be investigative and prepared

We should expect many different outcomes for each situation, and we should search to find various solutions to the problems we face. We are a explorative organization, and we spread hazards thin, to be able to handle the dangers that come with explorations. We test many different solutions and make sure that each one has limited risks that we can manage. We stay nimble and flexible enough so that at any moment we can change course or put full force behind the solution that we empirically found to be the best one. Our investigative nature may never be used as an excuse for organizational inertia or decision anxiety.

Be independent, resilient and resourceful

We do not strive for size. We do not see organizational magnitude as an end in itself or at all as something necessary or desirable. We think that history unambiguously shows that organizations that grow to enormous proportions, always do so through hostile methods that limit freedom and democracy. They are only able to exist in a respirator made of contrived and aggressively enforced norms. Their ripple effects are many and they are brutal. We instead strive to be lean, resourceful and quick to react. We are not afraid to seem bare and unpolished; quite the opposite – we put pride in showing a ability to quickly deliver prototypes of our ideas and in early stages of development open up to end-user feedback. This method gives us a much higher capacity to adapt to the real needs of the users and obviates the destructive concept of “creating demand”.

Be autonomous and cooperative

We do not have unnecessarily long decision chains or steep decision-making hierarchies. We believe that decentralized organizations with extensive autonomy are more innovative, productive, motivating and quicker to react and adapt to necessary change, than old-model hierarchical organizations are.

We encourage personal work methods and initiatives, together with a extensive exchange of ideas and information. We rely on the creativity, motivation, responsibility and accountability of each individual and an unselfish, respectful and productive cooperation between us. Without that we are nothing.

We will never tolerate discrimination of any kind, whether it is based on gender, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity or nationality. Those are all destructive behaviors that do not belong in a modern organization or society. To empower the teams, our decision-makers work to avoid micromanagement and to be generous with trust and co-determination, together with accountability. The highest goal of the management of our organization is to render itself unnecessary.

Be transparent

We strive for transparency. We have an honest and a open leadership providing a comprehensible and clear view of the current state and goals. We think that transparency together with decentralized decision-making and personal accountability ensures quality work, motivation and effectiveness. Both customers and employees are given enough information to be able to form an opinion and the suggestions and wishes of the employees weigh in heavily when setting company strategies. This can never come at the cost of personal integrity and should never be judgemental or scapegoating in its nature.

Take responsibility

We should think big and act small. If we fail, we should fail fast and learn from it rapidly. Meaning that we should have a clear long term goal and we should get there by many small steps, each with risks as small as possible. We should pay attention to the results of our steps and make sure that if they fail, they should fail as soon as possible and with as limited negative effect as possible. Failures and successes should be learned from and adapted to so as to avoid them in the future.

We always welcome positive change without inertness or nostalgia. Taking responsibility, also means that we acknowledge that we are a part of the societies we work in, and we will gladly shoulder the social responsibilities that follow. We strive to be a democratic, cooperative, creative and responsible organization to work in, and that should also be our ideal for the societies we live in.

Inspired by the Agile Manifesto