The key to a productive team is fostering a culture of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. With a culture of AMP in place, you'll be able to recruit, retain, and develop top talent.

1. AUTONOMY
MASTERY
PURPOSE

2. QUICK
BACKGROUND

3. I’ve seen good and bad
cultures at work
VideoBlocks
Company: ~15→~80
Eng Team: ~3→~20
Applied Predictive
Technologies
Company: ~60→~120
Eng Team: ~15→~25
Opower
Company: ~150→~170
Eng Team: ~25→~25

7. WHO
CARES

8. “Culture eats strategy
for breakfast”
- Peter Drucker

9. AUTONOMY - Desire to be self directed
MASTERY - Desire to get better
PURPOSE - Desire to do something that has
meaning
“AMP”

10. Benefits of
AMP well
researched

11. The
Candle
Problem

12. The
Candle
Solution

13. The
Candle
Problem
2.0

14. 1945 - Hints of AMP
No Prize Prize
1.0: Tacks in Box Faster Slower
2.0: Tacks out of Box Slower Faster

16. Large
tasks?
What about

19. Transformations
driven by AMP
well documented

20. AMP Creates a Culture
of Innovation

21. Majority of employees who
leave a company, are
“quitting their managers”

22. What can
you do?

23. AUTONOMY
∎ Hire Self-Starters
∎ Foster Ownership
∎ Provide Guardrails
∎ Tolerate Failure
∎ Ensure Social Safety Net
∎ Loosely Defined Job Roles

24. MASTERY
∎ Match Projects With Interests
∎ Prioritize Learning
∎ Push Outside Comfort Zone
∎ Encourage “Scaffolding”

25. PURPOSE
∎ Engage at High Level
∎ Foster Trust
∎ Transparency
∎ Celebrate Wins
∎ Say Thanks

26. “Autonomy, Mastery, and
Purpose eats strategy for
breakfast”
- Aaron Silverman

27. THANKS!
Any questions?

28. Appendix

33. New
York
Times
Article
(Link)

35. AMP
Detailed
Breakdown

36. Hire Self Starters
∎ Self starters have a track record of having the internal drive and motivation to
begin and continue tasks without external prodding or extra rewards
∎ Indications of self starters include extracurricular activities, participation and
speaking at meetups and conferences, self study, and side projects
∎ When asked about a favorite project, self starters often give an example of when
they had to come up to speed with a new technology or process and learn on the
job

37. Foster Ownership
∎ Allow team members to own problems
∎ Communicate the high level problem to be solved and give owners the whole
picture
∎ Step back and let owners decide how they want to best solve the problem
∎ Listen to and Trust owners--do not micromanage or dominate decisions

38. Provide Guardrails
∎ Clearly communicate expectations and desired outcomes
∎ Break large projects into major milestones
∎ Provide timely feedback (positive and negative) as work is completed
∎ If something isn’t going well, offer to work on it together rather than take it over

39. Tolerate Failures
∎ Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, and calculated risks
∎ Remind the team that some failures are inevitable
∎ Don’t point fingers or witch hunt
∎ Conduct blameless retrospectives that include lessons learned and
recommendations going forward to minimize the chance of a similar failure

40. Ensure Social
Safety Net
∎ Do not embarrass, reject, or punish somebody for speaking up
∎ When discussing or brainstorming, strive for equal participation among team
members regardless of seniority or expertise
∎ Get to know each other beyond work (e.g. lunch, coffee breaks, small talk, offsites,
happy hours, etc.)

41. Loosely Defined
Job Roles
∎ Encourage framing discussions around what is best for the company as a
whole, not just the team
∎ Allow employees to contribute where interested and productive regardless
of their official job description
∎ Break down barriers to inter-team interactions
∎ Proactively seek out ideas and feedback from other teams

42. Match Projects
With Interests
∎ Prioritize interest when assigning projects
∎ Focus on the strengths of team members
∎ Ensure all team members get an equal chance at projects that interest
them
∎ Allow team members to take on small side projects of their choice

43. Prioritize Learning
∎ Actively participate in the development of your team members
∎ Tie professional development to business goals
∎ Be on the lookout and adopt new trends, technologies, and tools that
would excite your team to use
∎ Factor in professional development when prioritizing and assigning
tasks

44. Push Outside
Comfort Zone
∎ Encourage team members to take on projects different and more challenging
than those they’ve tackled before
∎ Involve team members in tasks tangential to their typical responsibilities
∎ Explain why you think they will succeed and how you will support them

45. Encourage
“Scaffolding”
∎ Encourage team members to network and learn outside the company
∎ Suggest conferences and meetups your team members should consider attending
∎ Recommend and discuss books that will help professional development
∎ Share good articles and blog posts
∎ Leverage applicable online classes and workshops

46. Engage at High
Level
∎ Communicate overarching company strategic vision
∎ Connect personal and team goals to the strategic vision
∎ Ask team members for input and advice in achieving goals and vision
∎ Ensure team members feel like their ideas are welcome and will be
factored into strategic decisions

47. Foster Trust
∎ Consistently communicate honestly and openly
∎ Lead by example
∎ Deliver on the commitments you make
∎ Be vulnerable and acknowledge your own mistakes
∎ Give out credit, take the blame
∎ Step in and help when team members encounter problems
∎ Seek to improve your team’s quality of life

48. Transparency
∎ Openly share company and team performance
∎ Allow those interested in a meeting or slack channel to join
∎ Avoid indirect communication
∎ Explain why decisions were made as well as other options considered
∎ Solicit and give timely feedback

49. Celebrate Wins
∎ Take the time to celebrate wins small and large
∎ Broadcast bigger victories
∎ Name those most involved
∎ Share positive customer feedback
∎ Celebrate big wins in a meaningful and memorable way (e.g. fancy
lunch, designated happy hour, swag, team outing)

50. Say Thanks
∎ Ensure team members know their good work was appreciated
∎ Be sincere and personalize the message
∎ Be prompt and spontaneous
∎ Establish a culture of peer recognition

51. Slide Template
Credit:
SlidesCarnival