For Test Engineering Manager Peter Jackman and his peers at bicycle components manufacturer SRAM, LLC; working as fast as possible to find a solution isn’t always ideal.
Rather than rush toward solutions, they embrace the company value of being comfortable with ambiguity, taking time to fully understand a problem before diving into the development process.
“The ability to approach a situation with critical and nuanced thinking is essential to true growth and progress,” Jackman said.
For Jackman and his teammates at SRAM, core values aren’t just words on a wall — they’re a compass. It’s a similar story at Avant, a company that provides financial tools and solutions for middle-income consumers, where core values like “Authenticity” and “Collaboration” empower employees to make an impact, while tackling large-scale, complex problems.
“That balance works because our five values operate as a system, not a hierarchy,” Chief Operating Officer Margaret Hermes said.
Core values are also a critical component of the culture at CPI OpenFox, which builds software solutions that enable federal and state agencies to manage and share criminal data. That’s why Managing Director of Engineering Paul Jones makes time to meet with new hires during their first few weeks to ensure they know how to embrace values like “Own It” and “Do the Right Thing” in their day-to-day work.
“That direct engagement helps demonstrate that our values are lived consistently, from engineering leadership to the newest team member,” Jones said.
Read on to see what else Jackman, Hermes and Jones had to say about their company’s core values, how new hires find alignment, and how employees are recognized for putting these values into action.
SRAM, LLC manufactures bicycle components, operating a portfolio of brands including RockShox, Zipp, Quarq and Hammerhead.
Which of your core values most defines how your team works together?
A value that is important to me is the ability to remain comfortable with ambiguity and the gray areas of life. Our human tendency is to rush toward a solution, even when we don’t fully understand the problem. The ability to approach a situation with critical and nuanced thinking is essential to true growth and progress. I am lucky to work with a very capable and engaged team who are naturally inclined toward this way of thinking, which definitely makes my job easier!
How do you align new hires to your culture?
I aim to be very transparent with new hires. As SRAM is a fairly desirable place to work, especially for people who enjoy cycling and the outdoors, new employees can come in a bit bright-eyed. My challenge to new hires, as they start to see behind the curtain, is to maintain that fresh perspective, ask questions, identify gaps and obstacles, and bring a willingness to drive positive change.
“My challenge to new hires, as they start to see behind the curtain, is to maintain that fresh perspective, ask questions, identify gaps and obstacles, and bring a willingness to drive positive change.”
I steer away from the old saying, “Don’t bring me problems; bring me solutions.” Complex issues require diverse perspectives and often cannot be solved alone. I encourage people to sit with a problem for a bit, then start peeling back the layers of an obstacle or gap to truly understand the root cause.
How do you celebrate employees who live your values in action?
Slowing down to recognize success can sometimes get lost in the busy day to day and is something that I aim to continuously improve at. That said, verbal recognition and a quick “thank you” can go a long way.
Additionally, I want to see the sphere of impact and influence for high-performers continually expand. What I can do to support this is ensure that there is organizational visibility for those who are helping improve SRAM’s culture, our products and the way we work.
Avant offers financial tools and solutions that are designed to help middle-income consumers reach their economic goals.
Which of your core values most defines how your team works together?
At Avant, no single value defines how we work. Our values — “Authenticity,” “Collaboration,” “Problem-Solving,” “Customer” and “Initiative” — are equally important and deeply intertwined.
We didn’t invent these values top-down. Rather, we built them from an exercise asking all of our employees about the actions and behaviors that get rewarded at Avant, and then we pressure-tested the results with leadership feedback. Once we looked at the results, our core values were very obvious, which I think is a meaningful reflection of our culture.
One of the best things about Avant is that we’re large enough to have genuinely complex problems, but small enough that everyone feels their contribution matters. That balance works because our five values operate as a system, not a hierarchy. We have an Avant People Blog where we feature employees, and it’s rare that I read one without recognizing a consistency in how the featured employee thinks about our culture and lives our values. I love it.
How do you align new hires to your culture?
Our values are introduced to new hires during onboarding, and then all new hires are introduced to the company at Demo Day, which is a long-standing Avant tradition. Every other Thursday, we introduce new hires, demo new projects and initiatives, and hang out as a team. We think this is a great way for new hires to start to get a sense of our culture.
“Every other Thursday, we introduce new hires, demo new projects and initiatives, and hang out as a team.”
We also have leadership habits that are based on our values, which we use in manager training. Last year, we rolled out leadership training for individual contributors as well, again with a foundation in our values-based leadership habits. We really think it is important to drive consistency in expectations of leadership, which then impacts how we work together day in and day out.
How do you celebrate employees who live your values in action?
We celebrate values in action both formally and informally. We hold a Town Hall every month where our values are the very first slide. Quarterly, that Town Hall includes “Values Awards” — one per value, plus an “Overall Values Award” and an “Outstanding Team Award.” So, recognition ties explicitly back to our core values.
We create regular informal moments, too: Demo Day gives people a stage to showcase problem-solving and share what they’ve built; monthly town halls spotlight teams and individuals; and our Fun Committee, a mix of execs, the people team, and employees, runs programming ranging from “Office Olympics” to Diwali celebrations to career panels, giving people multiple ways to be seen by peers.
CPI OpenFox’s software solutions enable federal and state agencies to manage and share criminal data.
Which of your core values most defines how your team works together?
“Integrity” and “Focus on the Future” are two values that are incredibly important to me and to CPI. Integrity creates the trust needed for honest, candid conversations. Some of our best ideas begin as disagreements, develop through brainstorming and end in strong solutions because people address issues directly rather than question motives or assign blame. That trust supports our future-focused mindset. We may accept short-term tradeoffs when necessary, but we do not compromise our long-term technology strategy. We pursue performance, productivity, quality and industry-leading features, while prioritizing decisions that will benefit our customers, company, employees and products for years to come.
Together, integrity and a shared vision strengthen relationships across teams, departments and customers. The results are visible in the loyalty we earn: This year, two employees retired after 25 years with CPI, and some customers have partnered with us even longer. Their commitment shows that these values are not just stated — they are lived and appreciated.
How do you align new hires to your culture?
Culture alignment starts before hiring. We look for the right skills and attitude: people who share our priorities, think independently and confidently offer their knowledge in a candid, professional manner. Our leaders model honest feedback, continuous growth, accountability and forward-looking decisions, so new hires see these behaviors throughout engineering from day one.
“Our leaders model honest feedback, continuous growth, accountability and forward-looking decisions, so new hires see these behaviors throughout engineering from day one.”
While required access checks are completed, our onboarding team explains whom CPI serves, why we do our work, our products and the history behind our solutions. We connect this context to four values: “Own It” — Take responsibility and help solve company challenges; “Do the Right Thing” — Choose the right solution, not merely the easy one; “Strive for Greatness” — Honor commitments and improve continuously; and “Focus on the Future” — Share knowledge, plan well, build trust and consider long-term impact.
I also meet every new hire within their first few weeks to get to know them and reinforce these expectations. That direct engagement helps demonstrate that our values are lived consistently, from engineering leadership to the newest team member.
How do you celebrate employees who live your values in action?
Employees who live our values make a visible difference, and we celebrate them quarterly at companywide Town Halls. Alongside financial results, annual goals, project updates, product development, and sales opportunities, we present “Make a Difference” awards to recognize those contributions.
Employees nominate peers and briefly explain which core values they demonstrated along with the impact of their actions. Examples may include solving an overnight issue, helping a customer improve their plans, diagnosing a connection problem outside of our own systems, or spending extra time with a customer to ensure successful training. Nominations, often dozens each quarter, are read aloud so the company can celebrate each person.
At year-end, employees vote among all quarterly nominees to select the annual winner. Quarterly honorees receive gift cards and certificates; the annual recipient earns a larger monetary award and has their name added to a hallway plaque in our main office. This celebration extends to every level of the company where even our CEO regularly encourages more nominations and calls these awards his favorite part of every Town Hall.
