At Formation Bio, an AI-native drug development company, everyone on Matt Stehle’s team is expected to act like a scientist.
The company’s core value, “Be a Scientist,” guides the way Stehle and his teammates navigate complex processes, evolving information and high-stakes decisions.
“It encourages us to stay curious, ask better questions and continuously improve rather than defaulting to baseline expectations,” the senior vice president of operations said.
Manager of Talent Development Kia Rivera’s team at wearable wellness device company WHOOP also takes a values-driven approach to her day-to-day work, leaning heavily on the core value, “Bias for Action.” She said this value is reflected in the way she and her peers take ownership, make decisions and keep things moving forward, even when the path isn’t always clear.
Rivera’s team also aims to ensure that every new hire knows how to embrace values such as this one, which is why they host an orientation program that highlights WHOOP’s values, culture and approach to work.
“We want employees to understand from day one that our core values aren’t just words on a wall — they’re a guide for how we work, make decisions and show up for one another,” Rivera said.
Below, Stehle, Rivera and leaders from MORSE Corp and AcuityMD share how their company’s core values guide employees’ day-to-day work, how new hires are introduced to these values, and how they celebrate employees who put these values into action.
With its 24/7 wearable device, WHOOP provides intelligent health guidance across sleep, recovery, strain, fitness and longevity.
Which of your core values most defines how your team works together?
Our people team prides itself on our ability to work together to turn complex and nuanced employee needs into thoughtful action. “Bias for Action” shows up in the way we take ownership, make decisions and keep things moving forward, even when the path isn’t always clear.
“‘Bias for Action’ shows up in the way we take ownership, make decisions and keep things moving forward, even when the path isn’t always clear.”
Supporting our employees often means there isn’t a perfect answer or an established playbook, and we can’t always wait until we have every piece of information before taking action. In those moments, we lean on the experience, judgment and perspectives across our team to quickly align on what needs to happen, determine the best path forward and execute with confidence.
At the end of the day, “Bias for Action” is about being thoughtful while still moving with purpose. We focus on following through, solving the problem in front of us and making sure we deliver for our employees.
How do you align new hires to your culture?
We want employees to understand from day one that our core values aren’t just words on a wall — they’re a guide for how we work, make decisions and show up for one another. Every new hire participates in an orientation program that dives into our values, culture and what it means to work at WHOOP.
We also believe that understanding our culture means understanding where WHOOP came from and where we’re going. New hires have the opportunity to participate in an “Ask Me Anything” session with our founder and CEO, Will Ahmed, where they can ask questions about our origin story, business priorities and vision for the future. It gives employees meaningful access to leadership early in their WHOOP journey and has consistently been a highlight of the onboarding experience.
How do you celebrate employees who live your values in action?
Every quarter, our “Unlocked Awards” recognize employees who bring our core values to life in exceptional ways. Employees nominate colleagues who personify our core values and whose actions have made a meaningful impact. A cross-functional committee selects the recipients, who are then recognized at our company all-hands meeting and receive an award and cash bonus.
What makes the program especially meaningful is that recognition starts with peers. The nominations tell stories of employees going above and beyond for their teammates, our members and the business — making our values tangible through real examples. Celebrating those stories companywide reinforces that how we achieve results matters just as much as what we accomplish.
MORSE Corp develops solutions to tackle challenges faced by the U.S. National Security Ecosystem.
Which of your core values most defines how your team works together?
“The Smart Team that is Easy to Work With” defines our culture at MORSE. It guides how we hire, how we collaborate and how we partner with our customers. To be a truly exceptional team, we need individuals who are talented in their domains of expertise, but an ability to work well with others is equally, if not more, important. All eight of our core values are ingrained in our teams and drive our continued growth.
How do you align new hires to your culture?
We introduce new hires to the MORSE culture from day one. During their first morning, new employees are introduced to the entire company as part of our weekly all-hands meeting, where everyone stays connected on companywide updates. Later in that first day, we share the mission, values and the story of MORSE. Within their first month, CEO Andreas Kellas meets with the new hire cohort to dive deep into why MORSE exists and our core mindset and values. Finally, scheduled check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days of employment ensure we maintain strong alignment as new hires settle in.
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Formation Bio’s AI-powered platform is designed to optimize every aspect of drug development, offering more efficient trial design, faster trial completion and higher-quality data capture.
Which of your core values most defines how your team works together?
The value, “Be a Scientist,” is especially important for my team because our work sits at the intersection of complex processes, evolving information and high-stakes decisions. It encourages us to stay curious, ask better questions and continuously improve rather than defaulting to baseline expectations.
“Being a Scientist” requires seeking out and evaluating the strongest counterarguments, testing assumptions and iterating quickly, especially when you don’t have complete information. These habits help us collaborate with rigor and humility while driving to outcomes that support the company’s growth.
How do you align new hires to your culture?
It begins at the first candidate touchpoint, and we screen for our values at every stage of the interview process. We’re explicit about their meaning, why they’re non-negotiable, and the patterns and anti-patterns we see in our most impactful employees. We assess our values deeply because we want to understand how candidates think, how receptive they are to different perspectives, and their level of intellectual humility.
If we’ve done our job during the interviews, candidates can make an informed decision to opt in to our culture. Once they start, it’s about reinforcing the expectations we’ve already set. New hires are walked through our operating model and how we deliver on our mission through adaptability, velocity, domain and business acumen, and decision-making.
We also expect new hires to tell us where we can improve. I tell every new employee I meet that there is nothing we do today that cannot be improved, and that it’s their responsibility to identify and empathetically communicate the highest-leverage opportunities to make us better. Culture alignment is a two-way street: We set clear expectations and expect new employees to strengthen the culture from the start.
“Culture alignment is a two-way street: We set clear expectations and expect new employees to strengthen the culture from the start.”
How do you celebrate employees who live your values in action?
We make recognition specific, timely and tied to observable behavior. Peers and managers recognize colleagues by calling out what someone accomplished, which value it reflected and, most importantly, the impact it had on the business. Twice a year, we also nominate colleagues for our “Values Awards.” We recently recognized four “Formies” at our September company retreat in our new Boston office. What makes these awards truly resonate is that they come from peers who see how you show up and the impact you have every day.
AcuityMD’s intelligence platform is designed to help medical technology companies identify target markets, surface top opportunities and grow their businesses.
Which of your core values most defines how your team works together?
The value that most defines how we work together is “Build with Grit.” When something needs to get solved, people don’t wait for it to land in the “right” department or go up a chain of approvals; they pull in whoever has the context or skills to fix it, even if that means looping in someone outside their team. Nobody owns a problem alone just because it started in their inbox. That means people are comfortable raising a problem before it’s fully solved, because the expectation isn’t that you have all the answers — it’s that you take initiative and go find them, together.
“Nobody owns a problem alone just because it started in their inbox.”
How do you align new hires to your culture?
New hires go through our “Welcome Week,” a structured, in-person onboarding program at our Boston office, held monthly so every cohort gets dedicated time together in their first few weeks. The week blends culture immersion with functional ramp. Before anyone sets foot in Boston, new hires receive a personalized “Ramp Up Guide” and a day-one welcome from their manager and the people ops team. We built “Welcome Week” on the belief that showing people our culture in person, not just describing it in a deck, sets them up for long-term success and gives every new hire a cross-functional cohort they stay connected to well after week one.
How do you celebrate employees who live your values in action?
We recognize values in action in a few ways. Day to day, employees use Bonusly to send each other public shoutouts: a simple way to recognize and appreciate a coworker, backed by a small incentive. Twice a year, we run the “AcuityMD Values Award:” five awards, one for each of our core values, decided entirely by peer nominations. We also spotlight people during our companywide all-hands meetings, calling out specific examples of someone going above and beyond. And for exceptional impact, managers can nominate someone for our “Spot Bonus Program,” a way to reward standout contributions as they happen.
