How Ably's core values came to be

The text discusses the process of defining and implementing company values at Ably, a technology firm. Initially, the company had an informal culture with flexible working hours and a focus on collaboration. As the team grew from 13 to over 40 members across Europe, concerns arose about maintaining this culture. To address these concerns, the company decided to define its values, which would help maintain cohesion and align employees towards their mission of becoming the definitive infrastructure for realtime internet. The process involved gathering insights from employees through surveys and interviews with founders. This resulted in six core values: Open for all, Bias for action, Even the best do better, Technology needs humanity, Dependable by default, and The greatest rewards lie on the hardest paths. These values were shared with employees during a quarterly summit, where they received positive feedback. However, after running workshops to assess how well the company was living up to these values, it became clear that some needed adjustment. One value was reworked to focus more on bold creativity, while another was removed as it no longer aligned with the company's mission. The remaining five values were embedded into various people-processes such as hiring, onboarding, and performance reviews. The text emphasizes that defining meaningful values is an ongoing process, requiring regular reassessment and adjustment to ensure they remain relevant and reflective of the company culture.