On our website, we list our core values for the world to see. When we created these as a team, we also created a list of “Five things we do every day” because good habits don’t just happen – they need a little love and direction. We agreed that these would be for internal use – the glue that makes the core values stick. So while you won’t find them on our site, we wanted to share them with you here.
1. Review goals and core values
Staying the course is the only way we operate. By checking in with our goals (personal, professional, and company) and our core values, we are always reminded of, and can intentionally shift, the course that we have set for ourselves.
2. Have one non work-related conversation with another “Proofie”
In our world, it’s easy to be so deep into the day-to-day work of creating, ideating, iterating, following up with clients, and making sure priorities are being handled that you can lose you – those strands that make each of us unique. If we didn’t stop and say, “Hey, what’s good in your world?” we would be missing out on the “good” stuff.
3. Send one proactive update to the “general channel”
Because we’re a semi-remote company, our communication needs to be loud and clear. We use Slack to communicate as a team and encourage each other to send updates on projects, so that no one is left guessing or wondering, “Is that site is 50% developed or 80%?”. The “general channel” in slack is the perfect place to keep each other “in the know.”
4. Spend time on personal and professional development (writing, reading, working on a non-client related projects, learning, etc.)
This directly supports our core value “Be better than yesterday.” If we are not learning or intentionally working on ourselves, how can we get better?
5. Say “thank you” and/or show gratitude to each other, a client, a potential client, family member, etc.
The saying, “a little bit goes a long way” could not be more true here. We pride ourselves on being nimble and we move pretty quick. Pausing for a moment to show gratitude is a reminder that we are not alone – we have so many to thank for where we are and who we are today.
Are these on a check list? No. These are things that go without saying and, sometimes, those are the most important things.
What do you do everyday to be sure that you are staying true to yourself and your work?