Our Manifesto: 25 Rules to Live By
1. Education is everything
If you’re reading this right now you can thank the person who taught you to read. We all owe an incredible amount to the people who helped us learn and get to the place we’re at today. So why is it that eyes glaze over when we use the word “education” in describing our business? It’s because education traditionally has been stodgy, boring and bureaucratic. Say goodbye to that world. The education of the next generation will be (dare we say it) sexy, fun, and participative. We can’t wait to show you.
2. Equality rules
We believe in Jefferson’s ideal that all men and women are created equal. However, we think that it’s a tremendous shame that education around the planet suffers from incredible inequalities. This ends up leading to tremendous disparities in income levels around the globe. By helping give everyone equal access to world-class education, we’ll move much closer to true equality.
3. Silos suck
Throw something behind your proprietary/premium/DRM-infected wall (or simply the physical walls of your buildings) and the math is easy: fewer people will benefit from it. We need to move to a world of more transparency and universality, like eMusic and MIT’s OpenCourseWare. We need more people to understand The Grand Unified Theory On The Economics Of Free. We’ve seen the future and it’s more open than the present.
4. Simple and fun are better
Volumes are written each year in academic journals about teaching methodologies and pedagogical jibber-jabber. The plain fact is that the best teachers always make complicated things appear simple and make learning fun. So we’ll cut a deal with you. We’ll make technology that’s simple and fun to use. You create materials that are simple and fun to learn from.
5. Education has no economies of scale‚ yet…
If Kobe Bryant could only play basketball in front of 30 people at a time, how much money would he make? People who complain that teachers are underpaid are right‚ but they’re missing half of the puzzle. Until you create economies of scale for education, teachers will always be underpaid. Once you do create economies of scale you turn teachers into rock stars, give them the possibility of earning as much money as doctors or lawyers (or more), and attract new types of people (think “ambitious entrepreneurs”) to the industry.
6. Our list of heroes may have you on it
Our list of heroes includes people you might suspect. We revere Martin Luther King and Gandhi and Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks. But we also admire the “quiet heroes.” The high school biology teacher who cares passionately about both his subject and his students. The meditation instructor who sees the difference her teaching makes in the lives of the people she teaches. We spend our days building technology to serve these people. It’s pretty darn fun when your customers are also your heroes.
7. We work when and where we want
Who came up with this crazy notion that working 9 to 5 in an office building is what everyone should do everyday? That might have made sense a century ago, but it makes no sense today. We work smart, when we’re most productive, from places that energize us the most, and on projects that we’re completely jazzed about. Anything else is counter-productive. Literally.
8. The environment affects everyone
All of us impact the environment in some way. We strive to be a company that does as little to negatively impact the environment as possible. We also takes steps to mitigate any negative impact that we do have through purchasing offsets, supporting renewable energy projects, and encouraging our team to take an active role in making this planet better for the generations that will follow.
9. Give back
We’ve been given so much in our lives and so it only makes sense for us to give back to the community around us (both locally and globally). We give back by encouraging our team to contribute to open-source projects. We are also setting aside a portion of our pre-tax profits, company equity and employee time for projects that create better futures. We’re both following in the footsteps of companies like Google, Patagonia and Salesforce.com, and also attempting to blaze a new trail for corporate responsibility.
10. People matter most
Happy people are motivated and passionate. Motivated and passionate people execute like hell and have great ideas. And it’s well-executed good ideas that change the world. We optimize for happiness so that we can change the world.
11. Transparency, accountability and democracy rule
Transparency means open-book salaries, blogging tough decisions, and practicing radical honesty. Accountability means doing right by your community, both inside and outside the company. And democracy… well, let’s just say we’ve been to the mountaintop and seen the democratic organizations described by visionaries like Ricardo Semler and companies like WorldBlu. We’re building a democratic organization that’s designed to kick ass in the 21st century.
12. Fail fast
Failing doesn’t suck. What does suck is being afraid to fail and therefore not taking any risks. After all, you don’t learn without failing. So make sure to fail fast, learn your lessons quickly, share your story and move on. We don’t have the time to play it safe, and we don’t have any desire to cover up when we fail. After all, the world appreciates warts.
13. Assholes need not apply
Life is too short to work with people who aren’t a joy to be around. We want to work with nice people who show genuine concern for the people around them and realize that their actions have an impact on the ecosystem. If you’re one of those people, drop us a line. If you’re not, kindly go play in someone else’s sandbox.
14. Small is the new big
Tight teams get the most stuff done these days. Look at Google. Or 37signals. Want to work with a big, bloated team in a massive company? That ain’t us. We’re big believers in the simple notion that smaller teams of smart people can solve more of the important problems more quickly. It’s all about getting cool stuff done. Why work any other way?
15. Abundance is the new scarcity
We don’t subscribe to the belief that there’s a fixed pie and we’re all fighting for slices. We believe in a growing pie that offers everyone a larger slice. Thus, we’re stoked to share our knowledge, experience, ideas, contacts, etc. with you (yes you!) in the hopes that it might help you achieve success. The scarcity mentality is so 20th century. Abundance is where it’s at.
16. Saying yes to something means saying no to something else
Saying no to the wrong opportunities can be difficult but is always worth it. Strive to say no to things that are wrong, don’t align with your values, or simply don’t matter. Obey the 80/20 rule, prioritize ruthlessly and remember that life is over in the blink of an eye. Time is indeed the most precious commodity we have. Use it wisely.
17. Design matters
Design of our environment, our business, our software and our systems affect how we achieve, interact, and feel. We can all choose to use well-designed products or poorly designed ones. We know which ones we like to use, and which ones we strive to create.
18. Fire politicians
Advancing your own interests at the expense of the company’s is a fire-worthy offense. If you’re a big fan of politics, join the Obama or Romney campaign. Our environment is based on freedom, not fear, and we require our team to rise above all the petty bullshit that plagues so many companies.
19. Build stuff people want
Does it make any sense to throw a team in a room for six months and hope that what they produce is what the customer wants? Um, no. That’s why we involve the customer from Day One in building our product. Agile development = good. Customer observation = better. Building products that are delightful to use and solve real problems = best of all.
20. Success is everything and nothing
High-fives for everyone when we do something kick-ass. Giving the credit away to others who’ve gotten you there is the right thing to do. What doesn’t make sense is believing your own press. The world will say what they want. Sometimes it will be good. Sometimes it will be bad. Realize that in the end it’s most definitely not the critic who counts.
21. Diversity is a must
Who are the rocket scientists in corporations who think that stocking boards with old white dudes makes any sense? We live in a diverse culture. We need to get diverse input. This means hiring people that.aren’t.like.us. Greater variation in thought leads to more interesting perspectives and ultimately better decisions. So seek out those who are different and listen to them. Or go stick your head back in the sand. Your choice.
22. Learning is more important than Education
Wait, didn’t we say at the top that education is everything? Yeah…sort of. Education is what happens to you, but learning is what you actually do. Learning is an active process that implies engagement. Ultimately learning, not education, is what’s useful. We’re here to revolutionize education and the best way we know to revolutionize it is to kill it off entirely. Replace it with a world in which people learn. All the time. In new and creative ways. And have a blast doing so.
23. Be Human
Corporations are de-humanizing. Nobody speaks in synergistic marcomm-babble in the real world. People hide behind policy when they should be using their heads. And it’s too easy to sleepwalk through the day. Being Human means talking like a real person, trying to do the right thing, screwing up sometimes, learning, forgiving, being nervous, being elated, and using your brain. It can be messy, but people don’t turn into robots come 9am. We’d prefer to deal with reality instead of delusion.
24. We’re not a family
In a family, there are people who makes decisions for you for your own good. You’re an adult who makes complex decisions every day, so why are you treated like a child from 9-5? Being treated like an adult means being trusted with information, accepting decisions you don’t like (because you’ve had a say), and being held accountable for your actions. Paternalism breeds learned helplessness, and there are few more disempowering and cancerous feelings than believing you can’t change things.
25. Have Fun
This is the most important thing! Life’s a short ride, so enjoy it while you’re here. If you’re not having fun, figure out a way to change that. The power to have fun is in your hands, so there’s only one place to point fingers.
