The Buffer Culture Powered by Happiness Version 0.3 (alpha)
Always a work in progress • As with everything we do and ourselves, this document is a continual work in progress. • Updat...
Start with why Culture: what gives Buffer the best chance for progress of the product, happiness of users and the team, an...
The foundation of our values In the founding months, Joel & Leo read, re- read and internalized Dale Carnegie’s famous boo...
The 9 BufferValues • Always choose positivity and happiness • Default to transparency • Have a focus on self improvement •...
Always choose positivity and happiness • You always approach things in a positive and optimistic way. • You never criticiz...
Default to transparency • You take pride in opportunities to share our beliefs, failures, strengths and decisions. • You u...
Have a focus on self improvement • You are conscious of your current level of productivity and happiness, and make continu...
Be a "no ego" doer • You don't attach your personal self to ideas. • You let others have your best ideas. • You approach n...
• You seek first to understand, then to be understood. • You focus on listening rather than responding. • You take the appr...
Have a bias towards clarity • You talk, code, design and write in a clear way instead of being clever • You over-communica...
Make time to reflect • You deliberately find time for reflection, because that’s where your life-changing adjustments come fr...
Live smarter, not harder • You value waking up fresh over working that extra hour • You always aim to be fully engaged in ...
Show gratitude • You regularly stop and are grateful for your circumstances • You are grateful for the work co-workers do ...
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The Buffer Culture - Version 0.3

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What gives Buffer the best chance for progress of the product, happiness of users and the team, and personal growth while part of the journey?

This is the deck we use to try to answer this question, and to guide our little company.

We'd love to hear your comments :-)

Published in: Business, Spiritual, Technology
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  • Hello, nice to meet you, i 'm ,Mrs kate, (katelouise12@hotmail.com) I am From UK, i need a good friend in person, how can i relate to meet you, good friendship is nice to me, i like to meet you for long term friendship, waits ur reply, thanks contact me in my email address, (katelouise12@hotmail.com
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  • I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this website. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your web site?
    Preschool Franchise Opportunity and How to Start Play School
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  • For example on page 6 you say 'Never complain' I say 'complain responsibly'.
    Our whole business is built on the complaints of our customers and within the company. Responsible complaints are so important to me. But now it sounds like I am complaining so I have broken your rules/values to never complain.
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  • I really appreciate the idea of detailing a culture so that members of the team/company can always refer to it especially after a dispute has eschewed. But I have to admit I have some concerns about some of your points. Like how does one go about disputing your culture? Is there room for decent and what is the process for that.
    Finally how do you go about resolving disputes. I have a feeling I would not get past the first interview based on these three questions.
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  • Really nice to see broad-minded values stated as being subscribed to by a company. I caution against the use of 'always' and 'never', though. I think they are severe words among an otherwise very encouraging collection of concepts.
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The Buffer Culture - Version 0.3

  1. The Buffer Culture Powered by Happiness Version 0.3 (alpha)
  2. Always a work in progress • As with everything we do and ourselves, this document is a continual work in progress. • Updated July 26th, 2013.
  3. Start with why Culture: what gives Buffer the best chance for progress of the product, happiness of users and the team, and personal growth while part of the journey?
  4. The foundation of our values In the founding months, Joel & Leo read, re- read and internalized Dale Carnegie’s famous book, How To Win Friends and Influence People.A lot of the Buffer values are derived from his deeply impactful words. In January 2013, when Buffer was 7 people, we discussed what words define the culture we have, and put together this document.
  5. The 9 BufferValues • Always choose positivity and happiness • Default to transparency • Have a focus on self improvement • Be a "no ego" doer • Listen first, then listen more • Have a bias towards clarity • Make time to reflect • Live smarter, not harder • Show gratitude
  6. Always choose positivity and happiness • You always approach things in a positive and optimistic way. • You never criticize or condemn team members or users. • You never complain. • You let the other person save face, even if they are clearly wrong. • You are deliberate about giving genuine appreciation.
  7. Default to transparency • You take pride in opportunities to share our beliefs, failures, strengths and decisions. • You use transparency as a tool to help others. • You always state your thoughts immediately and with honesty. • You share early in the decision process, to avoid “big revelations”
  8. Have a focus on self improvement • You are conscious of your current level of productivity and happiness, and make continual changes to grow. • You have a higher expectation of yourself, than Buffer does of you. • You regularly and deliberately do things that make you feel uncomfortable. • You practice activities and develop habits that will improve your mind and your body.
  9. Be a "no ego" doer • You don't attach your personal self to ideas. • You let others have your best ideas. • You approach new ideas thinking “what can we do right now?” • You are humble. • You always ship code the moment it is better than what is live on our site – no matter what.
  10. • You seek first to understand, then to be understood. • You focus on listening rather than responding. • You take the approach that everything is a hypothesis and you could be wrong. • You are suggestive rather than instructive, replacing phrases such as ‘certainly’,‘undoubtedly’, etc. with ‘perhaps’,‘I think’, ‘my intuition right now’. Listen first, then listen more
  11. Have a bias towards clarity • You talk, code, design and write in a clear way instead of being clever • You over-communicate, repeating things more times than you would intuitively • You use more words to explain, even if it feels obvious already • You don’t make assumptions, you instead ask that extra question to have the full picture.
  12. Make time to reflect • You deliberately find time for reflection, because that’s where your life-changing adjustments come from • You have a calm approach to discussions and ponder points in your own time • You find time to jump out of the trenches into the higher level thinking that will move the needle • You understand the value of patience and treat it as a muscle which needs practice to grow
  13. Live smarter, not harder • You value waking up fresh over working that extra hour • You always aim to be fully engaged in an activity, or resting • You single task your way through the day • You are at the top of your game, as you focus on expanding capacity of your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual energy • You choose to be at the single place on Earth where you are the happiest and most productive, and you are not afraid to find out where that is
  14. Show gratitude • You regularly stop and are grateful for your circumstances • You are grateful for the work co-workers do to push the company forward and to help you move faster • You approach customer conversations with humility and the knowledge that it’s a privilege to serve these people • You have gratitude for platforms, tools and open source that laid the foundation for the possibility of the company: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” - Isaac Newton

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