The concept behind company values is great, but so often they are hard to implement. How many employees can recite their company values? How do you make sure they are actually used to make decisions? And how do you align or combine the values and the culture you are trying to build?

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At Cable we wanted to make sure that we created a way of working that reflected who we try to be, how we want to work, and the things that we believe will make us better at our jobs. We call this our Operating System.

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We have 4 principles, and each principle comes with a why, a how, an is not, and some ways we want to help people achieve the principle as we grow. We believe that by giving people more information about the reasons for doing certain things, and importantly what doing those things does not mean, it will help people weave the behaviours into their day-to-day working life.

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Below is our Operating System in detail, and we’d love any feedback or thoughts on this — it’s definitely a work in progress and will change over time. In particular, we’d be keen to hear any ideas for ways we can help people achieve these principles in the future!

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Updated, November 2023

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Be Kind

Why we are kind

• Being kind is table-stakes
• Being kind makes people feel included, and by including all types of people we will build better products and have a greater chance of achieving our mission
• Being kind creates an environment in which people want to stay, enabling us to build the best team over the long term

How we are kind

• We always assume good intent from others and start from a place of trust
• We are honest
• We are generous, helpful and think about other people’s feelings
• We embrace all cultures, lifestyles, and languages, and make people feel included
• If we disagree with an opinion or approach, but it is not our decision to make, we disagree and commit, never saying “I told you so”
• We ask for what we need to do our job well

Being kind is not

• Avoiding having tough conversations
• Avoiding challenging assumptions, opinions, or decisions

Ways we want to help people be kind

• Help people understand how others like to give and receive feedback
• Holding team offsites in different countries and in ways that embrace different cultures, lifestyles, and languages
• Holding unconscious bias workshops
• Highlighting situations where expectations fell short

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Be Clear

Why we are clear

• Clear communication saves time and avoids confusion
• Spending the time to communicate clearly means we are spending the time to think clearly, which will help us achieve better outcomes
• Clarity of decisions builds trust between people, allowing them to feel safe, do their best work and ultimately succeed at Cable
• Clarity of decisions builds context and helps everyone feel like true owners of the company
• Being clear enables us to work remotely

How we are clear

• We take the time to make sure our communication is clear by being succinct, using simple words and as few acronyms as possible
• We acknowledge that English isn’t everyone’s first language and people’s communication styles are different
• We default to communicating through writing
• We make it clear who the decision makers are, and who needs to be consulted
• We make it clear what context, principles, and assumptions have been used when making decisions
• We ask for clarifications, information, or context when we need it
• We provide timely updates on our work
• We renegotiate deadlines when we know they cannot be met and reset expectations
• We use public Slack channels and avoid DMs where possible

Being clear is not

• Defaulting to meetings
• Being so brief that key context is missing and that your understanding could be misinterpreted
• Including everyone in every decision
• Breaching trust or policy. Some decisions can not be shared

Ways we want to help people be clear

• Providing weekly Objective and Key result updates
• Having a company-wide All Hands every week, with a Q&A with our founders. They answer any and all questions!
• Providing timely feedback
• Holding retros on decisions and product cycles
• Sharing as much information as possible, including Board decks and investor emails

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Be Fast

Why we are fast

• It enables us to achieve outcomes more quickly
• It allows us to be single-minded in pursuit of our mission and vision
• It ensures we thrive
• It makes customers love working with Cable

How we are fast

• We put customers first and prioritize their success and deadlines
• We aim to finish first
• We are always looking for ways to increase efficiency
• We push ourselves when necessary to meet our target or deadline
• We manage our pace and keep our minds focused on the long-term objectives
• We check in early and often, with ourselves, our teammates, and our coaches
• We have clear goals and deadlines and ensure the whole team is aligned
• We rest and come back stronger

Being fast is not

• Sprinting until you burn out and then stopping
• Hiring more people to do the work for us
• Running fast without a clear direction

Ways we want to help people be fast

• Set clear goals, priorities, and deadlines
• Share updates along the way
• Train people well and provide learning budgets

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Be Responsible

Why we are responsible

• It enables us to achieve Cable’s, and our own, goals
• It enables us to have a positive impact on our customers, colleagues, and the community
• We can build stronger relationships that help us make better decisions
• It ensures we take responsibility for improving Cable and ourselves

How we are responsible

• We all feel the responsibility for every part of Cable’s success, regardless of what team we are in
• We take on responsibility ourselves and help and encourage others to as well
• We are responsible for achieving the right outcomes
• We feel empowered to make decisions and own work
• We are responsible for delivering work on time, including setting boundaries where needed
• We are responsible for constantly finding ways to improve ourselves, others, and Cable
• We are passionate about our mission and we recognize the responsibility we have for our customers, colleagues, and the community in order to achieve it
• We support each other so that we all get better at recognizing and meeting the responsibilities we have
• We present solutions, not just problems

Being responsible is not

• Wielding power without recognizing the responsibility that comes with it
• Taking a piece of work from someone else because you think you can do it better
• Working in a silo
• Helping others instead of delivering your own work
• Assuming other people will take care of it

Ways we want to help people be responsible

• Encouraging and helping others to take responsibility for work
• Providing learning and development budgets
• Providing opportunities for coaching
• Sharing our goals and deliverables
• Being clear about Cable’s successes and failures to encourage ownership
• Enabling the lowest possible decision-maker to make decisions

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Previous Versions of our Operating System

The Cable Operating System - January 2022

Turning Values into an Operating System