Scaling Company Culture Jeff Lawson
@jeffiel twilio.com

January 10 August 11 February
12

Jan ’10 “Values” Continuous Improvement
Detail Oriented Learners Humble Hungry Spirit of Challenge

What is culture? What are
values? What’s the difference?

People
Product
Process

Culture is
living values.

Values are observed in three
tangible ways: Rituals Heroes Symbols

Rituals New Employees Build a
Twilio App in their first 2 weeks Answer 20 support tickets Attend 7 “Twilio 101” Sessions Present their app and get “knighted” Get a “Buddy” to show them the ropes New Engineers Deploy code their first day (Add their name to the website)

Rituals Monday, 10:30 AM All
Hands (w/ Bagels) Read some recent tweets Introduce new Employees Learn their Names All Hands Appreciation All Hands Q&A Monday, Noon Company Lunch, Meet new People Wednesday, 6PM Company Dinner New Employee Demo their Twilio App Track Jackets & Kindle “Knighting” Spin the Birthday Wheel of Fate Thursday, Noon Lunch w/ Tech Talk for continued learning Friday, Noon End of Sprint Demos Photoshop Friday

Heroes

Symbols
Our 9 Things

Live The Spirit of Challenge
✤ Tackle hard problems. If our ambitions aren’t terrifying, we aren’t pushing ourselves enough.

Empower Others ✤ We’re here
to unleash the greatness of others, inside and outside the company.

Start with Why ✤ Start
by understanding why customers will care. Use data to challenge assumptions.

Create Experiences ✤ Every interaction
with Twilio should inspire confidence and admiration.

No Shenanigans ✤ Be thoughtful.
Always deal in an honest, direct and transparent way.

Be Humble ✤ Everybody has
something to learn, so seek first to understand, then be understood.

Think at Scale ✤ Anticipate
where we’re going and invest in systems that provide a consistent customer experience as we grow.

Draw the Owl ✤ There’s
no instruction book, it’s ours to draw. Figure it out, ship it and iterate.

Draw the Owl ✤ There’s
no instruction book, it’s ours to draw. Figure it out, ship it and iterate.

Be Frugal ✤ Profit is
the engine that lets us achieve our goals. If we do more with less, we can do more.

Live The Spirit of Challenge
Our 9 Things Empower Others Start with Why Create Experiences No Shenanigans Be Humble Think at Scale Draw the Owl Be Frugal

“How did we get here?
The firm changed the way it thought about leadership. Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm, you will be promoted into a position of influence.”

"The value of your company
is driven by your company’s values." Howard Schultz, Starbucks

Scaling Company Culture Jeff Lawson
@jeffiel twilio.com