Company Values
Company values are the core principles, beliefs, and philosophy that guide an organisation's decisions, behaviours, and culture. For technology leaders, they define the operational boundaries and expectations for how teams build, collaborate, hire, and make trade-offs under uncertainty. Rather than being mere slogans on a wall, effective company values act as decision-making heuristics that empower engineers to act autonomously and align with the business's long-term mission.
Below is a collection of core values from prominent technology organisations.
Alphabet Inc. (Google)
- Focus on the user and all else will follow
- It's best to do one thing really, really well
- Fast is better than slow
- Democracy on the web works
- You can make money without doing evil
- There’s always more information out there
- Great just isn’t good enough
Anthropic
- Act for the global good.
- Hold light and shade.
- Be good to our users.
- Ignite a race to the top on safety.
- Do the simple thing that works.
- Be helpful, honest, and harmless.
- Put the mission first.
Source: https://www.anthropic.com/company
Apple
Apple doesn’t publish a formal list of core values like others, but its culture is defined by principles such as:
- Innovation
- Simplicity
- Excellence
- Privacy
- Inclusion and diversity
- Accessibility
- Environmental responsibility
Microsoft
- Respect
- Integrity
- Accountability
- Passion for technology
- Open and honest communication
- Big challenges are exciting
- Self-critical, questioning, and committed to personal excellence
Amazon
Outlined in their Leadership Principles:
- Customer Obsession
- Ownership
- Invent and Simplify
- Are Right, A Lot
- Learn and Be Curious
- Hire and Develop the Best
- Insist on the Highest Standards
- Think Big
- Bias for Action
- Frugality
- Earn Trust
- Dive Deep
- Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
- Deliver Results
Meta (Facebook)
- Move fast
- Be bold
- Focus on long-term impact
- Build awesome things
- Live in the future
- Be direct and respect your colleagues
- Meta, Metamates, Me (prioritising company, team, then self)
Netflix
Outlined in their Culture Memo:
- Judgment
- Communication
- Curiosity
- Courage
- Passion
- Selflessness
- Innovation
- Inclusion
- Integrity
- Impact
Salesforce
- Trust
- Customer Success
- Innovation
- Equality
- Sustainability
Spotify
- Innovation
- Collaboration
- Transparency
- Passion
- Playfulness
Airbnb
- Champion the mission
- Be a host
- Embrace the adventure
- Be a “cereal” entrepreneur (a nod to their origin story)
- Simplify
Adobe
- Genuine
- Exceptional
- Innovative
- Involved
Dropbox
- Be Worthy of Trust
- They Win, We Win
- Keep It Simple
- Own It
- Make Work Human