Company Culture Mission Statement:

To establish an open source culture of trust, transparency, and improvement and make Upbound a place where everyone is authentically empowered to do their best work.

Core Culture (Values):

1. BE ACCOUNTABLE

   Everyone at Upbound is responsible for delivering solutions that help solve both business and product problems in pursuit of our collective company goals. To do that we must deliver on our promises and hold ourselves and each other accountable to focusing and driving results that tie directly back into these goals.

   Target Behavior (Reward)	Anti-Behavior (Rectify)
   Do what you say you’ll do Be a driver towards results, not a passenger Focus and solve problems that matter and have impact to the goals of the team and company	Miss deadlines or commitments Assume someone else will do it Focus on small or menial tasks that don’t tie back to team and company goals

2. DEMONSTRATE CRAFTSMANSHIP

   A true craftsperson is a lifelong learner who strives to deliver the best possible result their skills can produce when given a project. They are constantly iterating on their solutions to improve results and delight their customers.

   Target Behavior (Reward)	Anti-Behavior (Rectify)
   Demonstrate excellence in your work A balanced output on not just what is delivered, but how it is as well Delivers a “wow” to stakeholders and customers Constantly pursue improvement and development of your skills within and adjacent to your “trade”	Delivers incomplete or poorly done work. Shortsighted solutions to problems Demonstrating little or no initiative or ambition towards developing and improving your professional skills

3. CHAMPION THE CUSTOMER

   You have a deep empathy for the customer and keep their business objectives and challenges top of mind as you navigate through solutions to problems.

   Target Behavior (Reward)	Anti-Behavior (Rectify)
   Decisions always account for customer impact Ensuring for the best possible customer experience and outcomes Consistently help customers break through barriers	Poor follow through/up with customers Not acting in good faith Not arriving at or communicating a reasonable solution or outcome to a customer ask

4. COLLABORATE DECISIVELY

   Your goal with every interaction is to add clarity, alignment, and context to every decision and objective. You habitually dismantle ambiguity and rebuild it with intent and clarity.

   Target Behavior (Reward)	Anti-Behavior (Rectify)
   Resolve ambiguity with intent and clarity Clearly communicate expectations and ownership of decisions Every meeting has an agenda, goal, and clear owners for any action items Disagree and commit to a decision that moves the solution forward Document and contextualize your work	Indexing too heavily on consensus driven decision making Taking credit for other’s work Silencing or ignoring the minority or dissenting opinions Ignoring or circumventing a decision that you don’t agree with Weaponizing “disagree and commit”

5. CARE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES

   We care deeply about our customers, our open source ecosystem, and our fellow Upbounders. We have an unwavering determination to make them thrive.

   Target Behavior (Reward)	Anti-Behavior (Rectify)
   Promote the health and wellbeing of the people in our communities Go out of your way to help those that are struggling Assume the best intentions Be curious, not judgemental	Talking negatively about members of our communities Being antagonistic or confrontational Being indifferent when seeing someone struggle

6. ACTS AS AN OWNER

   An owner sees a problem and feels an immense responsibility to solve it no matter what pocket of the business it lands in. As an owner, you care deeply about the success of Upbound and are a champion of the people and culture.

   Target Behavior (Reward)	Anti-Behavior (Rectify)
   Take the initiative to get problems solved, even if outside of your lane Always have the best interest of the company in mind when making decisions Champion and promote a healthy culture	Negatively representing Upbound, it’s customers, or the wonderful people within it Promote your self interests at the expense of the company or other Upbounders Only consume, not contribute to the company culture

7. ENGAGE VULNERABILITY

   Like an open source project, Upbounders work to make themselves and everyone around them better by creating a safe environment where everyone can contribute, fail forward, and learn from each other.

   Target Behavior (Reward)	Anti-Behavior (Rectify)
   Have no ego and admit when you’re at a deficit or wrong Proudly and openly communicate learnings from your failures Advocate for under-represented voices, especially if it’s your own Help someone who is struggling Create an environment of psychological safety	Hide or cover up mistakes Being a jerk in any form for any reason Publicly ridiculing or shaming someone Ignoring or being indifferent to those that are struggling Creating or promoting a hostile environment