Blinkist Company Values: What do they mean IRL?
Supporting and maintaining accountability means more than just sticking to a to-do list: it means taking ownership for the outcomes of our actions. We regularly review and update the accountabilities we uphold in our roles and document them transparently. To support our colleagues in meeting their accountabilities, we engage as stakeholders and commit to the decisions they make.
How does one uphold this value in real life?
- Ensures all functions are looped in at the right time
- Demonstrates care & responsibility of final product
- Owns failure and derives learnings & next actions from it
- Drives towards outcomes not outputs
- Respects the decisions made by those who are accountable
- Provides progress updates to stakeholders, informing and involving others
In order to learn quickly, foster innovation, and create impact, we dare to take informed risks. Before we do so, we collect relevant data points and consult with our stakeholders to assess the risks and benefits and make an informed decision. And when a risk doesn’t pay off, we provide a safe and supportive environment where we can share our learnings and learn alongside each other.
How does one uphold this value in real life?
- Seeks courageous, adventurous solutions to existing problems
- Calculates risks & benefits, anticipates issues
- Makes bold decisions, informed by experience, data & stakeholder feedback
- Drives through ambiguity to action
- Monitors results & derives learnings
- Communicates progress and adapts as necessary
We focus on the why and what, instead of how. We seek opportunities to simplify and fixate on the right outcome for our customers. The process (or how we get there) is malleable, open for experimentation; because we know it’s outcomes that will make an impact.
How does one uphold this value in real life?
- Begins every discussion or initiative with the outcome in mind
- Maintains flexibility to seek the best route to a solution
- Delivers timely MVPs rather than perfection
- Frames all options in relation to the desired impact
- Prioritizes tasks & meetings based on the value of the outcome
- Maintains awareness of company-wide strategic objectives and plans work accordingly
We treat each other with respect, meeting as adults on eye-level. We offer help, feedback and information freely, to support each other’s growth. We celebrate our colleagues’ achievements, their strengths and contributions; and we value constructive, critical feedback as crucial support on our route to continuous development.
- Upholds our Code of Conduct
- Risks harmony in pursuit of helping others to grow
- Provides timely, thoughtful and detailed feedback to support development
- Seeks opportunities to support team members, practically and emotionally
- Creates/ contributes to an atmosphere of psychological safety at all times
- Recognises the work & efforts of others
We’re clear about the purpose for communication and take care to provide the necessary context. We frequently ask for feedback, embrace it as an opportunity to learn, and deliver feedback clearly and directly to those involved, in a timely way. We listen closely, set clear expectations and challenge others when data or experience suggests an alternative perspective.
- Communicates with purpose and care
- Simplifies to create clarity
- Ensures communications are clearly understood
- Gives timely feedback, using the NVC method
- Speaks directly to those who are affected
- Actively listens
Nonviolent Communication
- 24 min reading time
- audio version available
We proactively share any information our colleagues need to do their best work, in a clear and accessible way. We foster full transparency on our business performance in order to leverage everyone’s knowledge, perspective, and ideas.
How does one uphold this value in real life?
- Makes business-critical information easy to find and understand
- Proactively communicates with stakeholders to ensure full understanding
- Generously shares information with others when requested
- Transparently communicates how decisions are made
- Shares alternative views without caution
- Recognises and upholds confidentiality
We relish the chance to learn, and share our knowledge so that others can evolve, too. When we make mistakes, we own them and take them as an opportunity to grow. Next time, we will make new mistakes rather than repeating the old ones.
How does one uphold this value in real life?
- Proactively reflects on work in progress, documenting learnings & next actions
- Drives own professional development
- Improves performance after receiving actionable feedback from team
- Seeks opportunities to learn about/ from adjacent teams
- Accepts failure as a path to growth
